New iPhone means business for O.C. companies

A prototype case for the new iPhone will start growing, layer by layer, inside a 3-D printing machine in Irvine within hours of Apple announcing the device Wednesday morning. Though rumors have pointed to Apple launching a larger iPhone for months, local executives whose companies are shaped by Apple's handhelds are cautious about acting on rumors. They'll be watching along with the rest of the world for confirmation of what the next iPhone will be. CEO Patrick O'Neill is seen through the wide angle lens from the olloclip at the companies Huntington Beach offices. The clip attaches to an iPhone or iTouch and converts the standard camera lens into a wide angle, macro or fisheye lens. "No one knows what they're going to do," said Andy Fathollahi, founder of Incipio, who plans to watch the announcement blogged live on a big screen TV along with his team at their Irvine headquarters. "It's like a sporting event, a quiet sporting event, because you're just reading." More than five years ago Fathollahi stood in San Francisco taking pictures of the first iPhone, separated by a glass barrier, after it was unveiled by Steve Jobs. He would use the pictures to guess at the dimensions of the phone and design a case that, albeit loose-fitting, would be among the first to market. Incipio occupied a 6,000-square-foot headquarters in Yorba Linda at the time. Though the privately-held company was in business since 1999, it wasn't until the launch of the iPhone that it grew from four employees in 2007 to about 140 today. Each year since the first iPhone Incipio has relocated to a larger facility, growing this year into a 160,000-square-foot headquarters in Irvine that includes extra warehouse space for future growth. The production system is now streamlined – a 3-D model for a new phone can be "printed" out on that machine in about a day. Incipio joins a group of Orange County companies that will be watching the announcement from Cupertino-based Apple for direction about the future of their business. Incipio makes cases for all popular mobile devices, but Fathollahi thinks the iPhone will be the most important of the year for his company. Fountain Valley-based MEDL Mobile has built more than 200 apps for a variety of customers, the majority of them for iPhone. The new iPhone will likely be released around the same time as iOS 6, a new software update for Apple handhelds introducing Facebook integration and replacing Google's maps solution with one built by Apple. Both features offer opportunities for MEDL to build into future apps. "The iPhone is still a primary driver for our business, but what's interesting is that we are now seeing mobile technology work its way into lots of different platforms," said Swartz. "For example, apps used to be standalone products. But today, most of the apps we are building integrate with websites, parallel Android apps and complex back ends. So the iPhone app becomes the tip of the spear, as opposed to the spear itself." In addition, if the new iPhone does indeed have a larger screen size than prior versions, it could mean more business for MEDL updating apps for clients. MEDL, which is traded over-the-counter at 24 cents as of Tuesday, drew about $1.59 million in revenue for the first six months of this year, up from $0.95 million for the same period last year. "We've learned that with Apple, it's never safe to assume," said MEDL president and chief creative officer Dave Swartz. "Having said that, I think a bigger screen would be wonderful to work with. I personally enjoy using apps a lot more on my iPad over my iPhone, so I do believe a larger screen would make the phone experience even better." The team behind Huntington Beach-based Olloclip, a $70 wide angle lens that slips around the corner of the iPhone, will be watching the updates reported from San Francisco as well. The 3-in-1 lens available in the Apple Store features a macro, wide angle and fisheye and was originally designed for the iPhone 4, released in 2010. When Apple revealed the iPhone 4S in 2011 with a better camera but no change to the physical design, the lens system required no changes and produced better pictures paired with the improved phone. "The fact that the Olloclip worked with the 4S was huge for us ... We would not have grown as quickly as we did if the design had changed," said founder Patrick O'Neill. "We have been working on designs for the next Olloclip for over a year and have been refining them as we go. We keep our 3D printer running 24/7 iterating new designs to see what the perfect solution is." In addition to app, accessory and case makers, at least two Orange County companies might have a hand in the construction of the next iPhone. Apple is Irvine-based Broadcom's top customer, accounting for between 13 and 15 percent of its revenue, according to J.P. Morgan analyst Harlan Sur. Broadcom has been the provider of the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combo chips inside the iPhone since the device's second generation and Broadcom is inside most of Apple's other gadgets. The company's chip in the iPhone 4S includes a version of Bluetooth that can communicate small bits of data wirelessly without draining much power. That technology could become an important component of a wireless world that sees household sensors and wearable computers communicating with your handheld all the time. An Irvine startup, Martian Watches, means to be among the first in this category. They've raised $140,000 so far on Kickstarter for a voice command watch that communicates with a cell phone over Bluetooth. Rancho Santa Margarita-based Liquidmetal Technologies is the other company that could have a role inside the next iPhone, though there's no indication that it will be. In 2010, the company was rescued from considerable debt when it entered into an exclusive agreement with Apple to put its patented material in future Apple products. The material could mean thinner, lighter parts that are stronger than if made with existing materials or make smaller, lighter gadgets overall. However, the technology requires an expensive new production process to be used. If Liquidmetal is in the iPhone, the Orange County company can only benefit licensing the technology to other industries.