Inside Apple?s Actual Distortion Field: Giant Chambers, Fake Heads, And Black Cloaks

If Apple really wanted to silence critics, they have a place to do so. I've now seen it with my own eyes.

Inside Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, CA, there are a collection of rooms that house 17 giant anechoic chambers. Basically, they're rooms where no waves (sound or electromagnetic) can reflect off of anything, so there is absolutely no interference when it comes to wireless testing. Apple places their devices from iPhones to iPads in these chambers to ensure the performance is up to their standards.

Yesterday after their press event, Apple gave myself and a handful of other journalists the chance to take a tour of these facilities. It was the first time anyone outside of Apple has ever seen them. In fact, most people who work at Apple have never seen them, we were told. The tour was led by Ruben Caballero, Apple's senior antenna expert (and, incidentally, the man in the news recently thanks to a BusinessWeek story -- a story which Apple says is a "crock" and "total bullshit"). Also there to answer questions were Apple executives Phil Schiller, Bob Mansfield, and Greg Joswiak.TEXAS INSTRUMENTS TERADATA TELETECH HOLDINGS TECHNITROL