Redwood City bar and a new iPhone prototype that was foundSo a tech blogger walks into a bar and finds the next iPhone prototype. Stop me if you've heard this one…Seriously,
Gizmodo may have gotten the significant scoop on the rest of the tech journalism universe with a fortuitous discovery of just what seems to be a prototype of the next iPhone (iPhone 4G?). It was really found it in a Redwood City bar by a
Gizmodo reporter. After checking with John Gruber of
Daring Fireball, who's Apple connected,
Gizmodo discovered that Apple had lost a prototype and was "very interested" in getting it back. Whether or not they were ready to use payday advances to sic Sherlock Holmes on the case is unclear.
In 3GS clothing, an iPhone prototype
The plastic case of the iPhone prototype looks like an iPhone 3GS on the surface. You will find many details that make this iPhone different:
- Front-facing video camera in addition to a back camera with a flash and larger lens
- Micro-SIM – more secure, a lot more storage, a lot more allowable connections. This would be the first use of this tech in a U.S. cell phone
- Higher-res display (exact numbers unclear so far)
- A second microphone port and 2nd volume button
- Metal buttons
- A flatter, a lot more squared-off design
- Higher-powered battery… 5.25 WHr (watt hours) at 3.7V, compared with 4.75 WHr within the iPhone 3GS
Red herring or new iPhone?
Gizmodo believes that this new iPhone is a discovery for numerous reasons. It was running the iPhone 4.0 operating system before that OS was even announced
first of all. The iPhone prototype was killed before Gizmodo could dig any further to the OS second of all. It was indicated that it was an unreleased unit when it connected to a Mac OS X system and was recognized as an iPhone in both Xcode and iTunes, but no firmware updates were available. According to
Gizmodo, the fact the Mac OS X System Profiler reported it as an iPhone in restore mode is consistent with the phone having been "remotely wiped."
The proof is under the hood
The components on the inside are Apple-labeled and fit together very well inside the case. If this were 3G or 3GS parts in some modified housing,
Gizmodo claims the parts wouldn't fit so well. It was designed for that case. The case is thinner than the 3GS but slightly heavier (probably because of the metal buttons). The design seemed like it was a little less sleek than most Apple products. It's boxier and kind of ugly (like tax debt), whereas previous iPhones have had more curves. This could possibly be chalked up to this iPhone being a prototype, nevertheless.
Consumers want to know what this means
The next-gen iPhone is going to be announced this summer. If the iPhone prototype found by
Gizmodo is any indication, people waiting to upgrade may want to take the plunge. Some of fans’ major concerns are addressed by a better battery, a second microphone for better voice clarity, a front video cam, and a better back camera. Sexy up the case and Apple may just have a deal.
Sources:
http://gizmodo.com/5520164/this-is-apples-next-iphone
