One of the more popular uses for aluminum recently has been in mobile devices — more specifically, giving smartphones a sleek and durable outer body.

Just how durable can it be? PhoneBuff.com decided to put the HTC One’s aluminum body to the test. Try putting yourphone against a key, a steak knife, and a mallet to see what will happen. If your phone withstands as much punishment as the HTC One’s aluminum body, then you you should be pretty good. From LatinosPost.com:

The One’s screen uses Gorilla Glass, which has proven to be very resilient to scratches and shattering. As expected from the results of other videos, the One’s display handles the keys without a problem.

The same goes for the steak knife, and it holds up perfectly to a pounding by a rubber mallet.

The aluminum back of the phone is a bit less tough. The keys leave noticeable marks, but those wipe off with a soft cloth.

The knife is barely more successful, but a little buffing with the cloth removes the evidence.

The full video is available at YouTube.

We’ve probably all heard about investing in gold these days. You can’t escape it, from flashing “We buy gold” signs outside of urban storefronts to low-budget commercials on late-night TV. The idea of investing in gold is based more on the old notion of gold equating to wealth. However, if you want to give investments a more measured – and less glamorous – perspective, perhaps you should look at aluminum.

The gold market is really about, well, gold. Aluminum and other industrial metals, though, take a big picture look at things like manufacturing needs, international supply chains, and industrial demands. In short, it’s an actual investment, much like real estate or stock, not just turning in some old gold jewelry for cash. And at least one expert thinks that aluminum might be a wise investment. From his self-explanatory article entitled “Zinc And Aluminum May Be The Metals To Invest In This Year”, here’s investment analyst John Mylant:

Investors interested in metals should look toward metals like tungsten and antimony, or base metals like lead and zinc. Those are the areas where there’s a critical shortage of product and a deficiency in the construction of additional mines over the last 10 years. But if one is looking to get the most out of an investment this year, I would suggest exploring Zinc or Aluminum as investments. Either of the two may have the best possibilities for growth this year.

For a closer look as to why Mr. Mylant is so keen on aluminum, we turn to his article “Aluminum Production Rising Globally – What This Means For Prices”:

We have been used to reports of rising Chinese production with modest cutbacks in the West, but what we have seen in recent months is rising production in the West in addition to China. True, global run rates dropped in January, but the previous three months had seen a steady rise with the IAI forecasting smelter capacity outside China to rise by 5.5% this year and by another 3.7% next year. That represents the addition of around 2.5 million tons annualized over the two-year period, according to the article.

The growth this year is expected to come primarily from the Gulf region (up 23%) and non-China Asia (up 14%). The first hot metal was produced in December at the 740,000-ton-per-year Ma’aden/Alcoa integrated smelter/alumina project in Saudi Arabia, with ramp up over the next two years. This will help take Middle East production to 5.4 million tons by 2015, more than double the production from 2009 of 2.4 million tons.

Investing in industrial metals isn’t nearly as sexy as hot stocks or get-rich-quick land opportunities but Mr. Mylant feels the opportunity is there. Do you dare take the plunge? As with every investment, there’s a risk – but at least expert data backs up the speculation.

Apple products seem to be getting lighter and shinier all the time — remember when the old iMac with its huge see-through plastic body used to be considered streamlined and modern? However, the iPhone body has stayed roughly the same over time, with only small tweaks here and there.

However, the tech world is abuzz with rumors that the next iteration of the iPhone will feature something a significant manufacturing change — the possibility of an all-aluminum body. What makes this possible? A new patent filed by Apple that eliminates the need for glass radio transmissions. From AppAdvice:

A new U.S. patent granted to Apple may give us a glimpse of future iPhone design. First spotted by AppleInsider, the so-called “microslot antenna” technology allows an antenna to be embedded directly into the case of a portable device, making it impossible to see with the naked eye.

Currently, like in the pictured iPhone 5, the glass bands on the top and bottom of the handset allow radio waves to pass through freely. And on LTE-enabled iPads, the black bar accomplishes the same feat.

TechCrunch takes this a step further and speculates on the impact for the iPhone’s body:

If you’ve been paying attention to Apple over the past decade or so, then you can probably tell that the company likes a certain design ethic (all-aluminum case construction) that it hasn’t been able to achieve with the iPhone. From plastic backing, to glass with an antenna built into a strip along the outside of the phone, to glass “windows” top and bottom, the iPhone has always been an exception to this preferred design aesthetic, owing to the need for radio communications to flow freely.

Don’t expect Apple to say anything publicly for a while — they like their secrets neatly tucked under their turtlenecks. But there’s a good chance that iPhone fans will be carrying a little more aluminum in their pockets over the next few years.