iPhone 4G revealed?
The iPhone 4G was revealed accidentally after having been left in a bar by an Apple employee.
The new iPhone model was apparently left in a Redwood City bar by Apple employee Gray Powell, who had had the 4G in a case which disguised it as an existing model. The misplaced iPhone 4G then found it's way into the hands of bloggers after being picked up by another drinker.
Analysis of the new iPhone 4G is still underway, but initial reports indicate that the phone will have a better camera, a new secondary microphone for noise cancellation and a 16 percent larger battery.
There are lots of cosmetic tweaks too. The volume control has been changed into two separate metallic buttons, the screen is slightly smaller but boasts a higher resolution and the back of the device is now flat.
The iPhone 4G is also about 3 grams heavier than the existing model 3G model.
Gizmodo has disassembled the device after using it for about a week and claims that it is almost definitely a genuine Apple 4G prototype.
For more information on the latest Apple devices you can check out our review of Apple's iPad as a games device, then let us know your thoughts in the forums.
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Discuss in the forums ReplyLooks better though, zero innovation over 3/4 products and now shaped like a Zune.
"Gizmodo has disassembled the device after using it for about a week"
Admission of fraud followed by vandalism, Gizmodo you thieving c*nts.
Originally it was found by someone in the bar, who did try to contact Apple when he realised that this was no ordinary 3GS (why he didn't leave it at the bar or report it to the police is beyond me though), but got no response from them. Engadget first got their hands on it, then Gizmodo bought it. According to Gizmodo, they didn't know how this phone was obtained when they paid an un-named source to get their hands on in (according to reports, this was between $5000 and $10,000). Under California law, they aren't guilty of handling stolen goods unless they knew it was stolen. They do have to make every effort to return it to the owner; however the guy that originally picked it up could face some interesting legal questions from local law or Apple... Apple are treating this as stolen, hence the letter to Gizmodo asking for it back (which they appear to be complying with).
There's absolutely no doubt that this genuine now, Apple's letter requesting it's return pretty much confirms it. Even though they use words like "device" and "unit", not "iPhone" or even "phone". At this point it can only be a pre-production prototype - the design is very likely to change. Although very little other hardware detail really exists, besides what can be seen on the device.
Whether you like Apple or loathe them, this is still big news. I really hope the production models look like this prototype. I've pretty much decided on an iPhone later this year, and that prototype looks much better than previous models (IMO, obviously).
Oh, and please don't even *start* the Apple vs. PC vs. Linux stuff. This debate was old when I was a kid: my Atari was better than your Amiga, my SNES was better than your Megadrive, etc, etc. If it's possible to flog a dead horse, then we're way past dead horses with this one - this dead horse is a skeleton by now.
Wrong the Amiga was better than the atari and the megadrive was better then the snes...ok no it wasn't...
(owner of 10 Megadrives and 3 SNES's)
P.S BLC thanks for the additional info.
For those interested in more...
Original Engadget article: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/17/iphone-4g-is-this-it/
Original Gizmodo article: http://gizmodo.com/5520164/this-is-apples-next-iphone
"How Apple lost it": http://gizmodo.com/5520438/how-apple-lost-the-next-iphone
Apple's "Give us our tech back" letter: http://gizmodo.com/5520479/a-letter-apple-wants-its-secret-iphone-back
http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=186413
:)
Now that the iPad rumours have come true and the device is released, Apple needed a new way to stay in the spotlight so cue the "lost/stolen prototype", followed, doubtlessly, by months of hype and speculation (essentially free marketing) until the device is finally released to massive critical acclaim.
Yawn.
Can't wait to get one, my old 3G is great but I want more.
Rumours always abound but Apple never comments and leaks are rare. It is in the enviable position of being able to say nothing and have the rumour mill work overtime regardless because of the magic Apple effect.
I agree... I think that the whole thing is just fishy. Why would they let an employee just walk around with the phone like that? And if it just a one time testing situation, how could they conveniently just lose it?
Too true, I've never left a phone in a bar, no matter how drunk I am and mine is just a bog standard nokia, how can you forget a secret prototype iphone??? Unless he was especially stupid.
Well, lots of people interested in technology, judging by the number of hits that Gizmodo have got... I think it's also pretty safe to say that Gizmodo would care about getting such a scoop.
And judging by the number of views that the earlier forum thread has, I'd say a lot of people on the B-T forums also care.
I think the 4G part if it is not referring to the modeling being 4th generation, but the phone signal. Here in America we are just starting to ramp up in the 4G GSM network. But sadly, whether a phone is on the CDMA or GSM network they are usually just referred as a 3g or 4g phone. It would be nice if they had to specify network.
Hey, maybe he was blacking out, or needed to go and ralph. Apple's letter demanding the handset back is proof enough of this incremental "Improvement".
What? about the new expensive shiny thing from Crapple? What a waste of time and money!
http://openparachute.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/troll.jpg
What about the new expensive shiny thing from ATi, Nvidia, AMD, Intel, etc? A good number of this site's members/visitors will probably replace their GPUs and CPUs more often than smartphones these days (with most reasonably-priced mobile contracts now being 2 years) - doesn't that make CPUs & GPUs a waste of time and money also?
Although I also agree it must be a marketing stunt, I have my doubts it's completely legit
You guys! lol
Stop it!
No really. Have a clue?
:|
Wow, never saw that reaction coming!
Seriously the only thing thats even worth noting thats changed in an iPhone is 3G capabilities and quite frankly, thats not even that big of a deal. And yet theres how many versions?
The interesting thing I find here is how could Gizmondo not believe that it was stolen, or obtained by less than legitimate means? Obviously it's hard to prove what they thought, but surely since Apple is so tight lipped about their new products before release Gizmondo would have known that it was dodgy for them to get their hands on this proto-type and then dismantle it.
"YAH YAH! APPLE FANBOI HAHAHAHA!!!! APPLE IS TEH SUXX0RZ LOL!"
Wow, never saw that reaction coming.
Maybe you might try constructing a reasonable and well considered argument, rather than relying on insults and closed-mindedness? You might find that people start to take you seriously.
I'm really not going to dignify your comments with any other reply.
But you're new, you didn't know better.
Your not going to dignify my comments with any other reply, by replying to my comments?
Rriiiggghhhtttt..............!
Oh and the new design is pretty sexy tbh.
Android's making a hell of a lot of progress recently, I think. And guess what: I don't have to pay for a new OS. :p
But then again, it's not that expensive...
Sorry but I made that post at work by using the 'Post Comment' at the bottom of the news article, not in the forum - the forums are blocked at work. So no, there is not an edit button.
I know how to use an edit button - please don't patronise me.
And so Apple's vision of getting customer "buy in" completely works - you're now almost irrevocably tied to their products :).
As far as I knew - correct me if I'm wrong, because I only own an iPod touch - but upgrades for the iPhone OS are free for those with an iPhone on contract. Only iPod touch users have to pay to upgrade the OS, and even then it's only for major versions (such as version 3.1.2 to 4.0, not 3.1.1 to 3.1.3). I upgraded as soon as I bought my iPod; although the £5.99 cost of an OS upgrade seemed nothing at the time, compared to the £160-odd I'd just spent on the device!
Until Windows Phone 7 devices start to appear on the market (real production units, not just demo models) and the OS matures a little, Android is the only serious competition for the iPhone. HTC + Android seem to be making some serious in-roads at the moment. Though they're a very long way from seriously competing with Apple's brand power.
Yes, I think you're kinda right there. I gladly paid the 5 or 6 quid for 3.0 because it really brought something new to the device [iPod Touch 2nd Gen].
Yet I decided against an iPhone when I got my latest phone contract in December and I'm happy I went with Android. Though I have to admit iPhones have their selling points, my girlfriend wouldn't want any other phone for example. It's just soooo easy to use. ;)
... and that works fine for me as long as the devs keep pumping out quality apps ;)
Of course if the devs drop iPhone then I am buggered ... not likely though ;)