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Cellphones

This Is Apple's Next iPhone 492

An anonymous reader writes "There has been some speculation about it. Not anymore: 'This is Apple's next iPhone. It was found lost in a bar in Redwood City, camouflaged to look like an iPhone 3GS. We got it. We disassembled it. It's the real thing, and here are all the details.' Judging by Gizmodo's reaction, it looks like a winner."
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This Is Apple's Next iPhone

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  • FAIL! (Score:5, Funny)

    by alexandre ( 53 ) * on Monday April 19, 2010 @10:15AM (#31896508) Journal

    So they actually got it connected with a SIM card or WiFi before trying it and filming the result and that's how it got remotely killed by big brother?

    Major FAIL !

    • Re:FAIL! (Score:4, Interesting)

      by five18pm ( 763804 ) * on Monday April 19, 2010 @10:23AM (#31896618)
      With both engadget and Gizmodo getting their hands on the "next iPhone" in different bars in different cities, it is difficult to believe that somebody actually lost the phones. Either both engadget and Gizmodo got fooled or this is more a marketing campaign than lost phones. I would bet on latter.
      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        I was under the impression that this was the same phone. That's what macrumors said.

      • Re:FAIL! (Score:5, Insightful)

        by discord5 ( 798235 ) on Monday April 19, 2010 @10:35AM (#31896786)

        With both engadget and Gizmodo getting their hands on the "next iPhone" in different bars in different cities, it is difficult to believe that somebody actually lost the phones. Either both engadget and Gizmodo got fooled or this is more a marketing campaign than lost phones. I would bet on latter.

        "Oh hi you techreporters. I'll just be finishing my drink and then conveniently leaving my NEW FREAKIN' IPHONE 4 *cough* here for someone totally random to find."

        What? It could happen...

        • Re:FAIL! (Score:4, Funny)

          by Kristoph ( 242780 ) on Monday April 19, 2010 @01:43PM (#31899908)

          It all sounds like a bad d&d plot device ...

          - you and your party are sitting in a bar
          - suddenly you kick something with your foot
          - it looks like last years artifact of awesomeness
          - BUT NO, ITS BRAND NEW ARTIFACT OF AWESOMNESS! ZOMG! WHAT DO YOU DO?!?

      • Re: (Score:2, Troll)

        With both engadget and Gizmodo getting their hands on the "next iPhone" in different bars in different cities, it is difficult to believe that somebody actually lost the phones. Either both engadget and Gizmodo got fooled or this is more a marketing campaign than lost phones. I would bet on latter.

        Its far more likely that these are just very well made counterfeits, and that the people at gizmodo are fucking stupid. (or they know its fake but realize that they will get a shitload of hits)

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by moosesocks ( 264553 )

        Too much about this just doesn't add up.

        1) Engadget and Gizmodo both stole phones!?
        2) I won't deny that hype-building is something of a pastime for Apple, but this is distinctly not their way of doing things.
        3) People walk around with camouflaged, non-functional engineering samples?
        4) The design reflects current trends, but the seams are so, so, so incredibly un-apple-like. Also, would a metallic phone with an internal antenna even work?

        • Re:FAIL! (Score:5, Insightful)

          by Altus ( 1034 ) on Monday April 19, 2010 @10:54AM (#31897034) Homepage

          According the TFA the phone was functional before being remotely wiped by Apple. Certainly people do walk around with camouflaged, functional engineering samples during the testing cycle for new phones. I know employees at Nokia are often given pre-release hardware to try out both in the building (early testing) and outside the building (later in testing)

          It really does sound like this is a real unit. It may have been leaked intentionally but that doesn't make it less relevant.

          The only thing that makes me suspicious is that I cant find any report on what chip it is using. I would expect them to say something about that, even if all they said was that the processor didn't have any markings on it. I would think that would be one of the first things they would look at.

          • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

            by nahdude812 ( 88157 ) *

            It's camouflaged but still has an Apple logo on the back? I agree with some others - this strikes me as more of a marketing stunt than an accidental leak. Letting it run for long enough to verify that it's of legitimate origin, then remotely disabling it isn't inconsistent with this.

            Though what I don't get is... this new design is ugly. Maybe it is just an easy access case used while the product is still being engineered (eg, trying several antenna configurations inside the case, etc). But if that's the

            • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

              by nine-times ( 778537 )

              Well the claim is that these were probably supposed to be camouflaged a bit to look like normal iPhones, and that the casing probably isn't what the final thing will look like.

              Bah, who knows.

          • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

            by LWATCDR ( 28044 )

            If this wasn't intentional then someone is looking for a new job.
            And b.
            If you find a lost cell phone shouldn't you really try and return it? Since it is an iPhone one could probably take it to an Apple or AT&T store and they could read the sim and contact the owner.
            Just saying that finding a cell phone and then keeping it seems a lot like stealing to me.

      • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

        by Ipeunipig ( 934414 )

        Plus being "Found" in the city of their greatest competitor??

        Maybe it was a super secret spy mission from M$ and he was so happy it was successful that he went to celebrate at the local bar before handing the 'package' over to Gates himself!!

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by Sockatume ( 732728 )

        Engadget never got its hands on the device. They got their hands on photos of it.

      • by node 3 ( 115640 )

        Why do people always seem to think things can only be solved in exactly two ways?

        A third (and more likely) way, Gizmodo bought the phone from someone who stole it or maybe found it. "Found it in a bar" is more plausible than "fell off a truck" in this type of situation.

        Not sure that there are two phones, but either way, the same sort of thing comes into play, except you're right to think it highly coincidental that two phones were "found" in the same way. Sounds an awful lot like stolen prototypes.

        It would

      • Re:FAIL! (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Abreu ( 173023 ) on Monday April 19, 2010 @11:04AM (#31897170)

        Considering how Gizmodo always squees over every little thing Apple makes, it seems specially suspicious

  • iPhone - NOT (Score:3, Interesting)

    by WrongSizeGlass ( 838941 ) on Monday April 19, 2010 @10:18AM (#31896536)
    Take a good look at the photo of the back of the phone. The bottom of the device looks white (like a white iPhone) and has the normal iPhone contours. That device is different from the other pictures they're showing.

    And not showing the UI? Shenanigans!
    • Re:iPhone - NOT (Score:5, Insightful)

      by radicalskeptic ( 644346 ) <`moc.liamg' `ta' `x'> on Monday April 19, 2010 @10:20AM (#31896586)
      If you'd actually read the article, you'd know why they consider it to be a next gen Apple phone (many parts inside branded APPLE, in a case designed to make it look like a 3G iPhone, behaves just like an iPhone when you connect it to a Mac, uses the Mac proprietary dock connector, etc, etc). Are you saying that everyone at Engadget had been fooled, or are you saying they are playing a late April Fools joke on us? Frankly I don't think either is very likely.
      • Re:iPhone - NOT (Score:4, Insightful)

        by WrongSizeGlass ( 838941 ) on Monday April 19, 2010 @12:22PM (#31898626)

        If you'd actually read the article, you'd know why they consider it to be a next gen Apple phone ...

        I RTFA yesterday and the what the article says doesn't matter. The picture of the back of the device - the only part that displays the Apple logo or any other Apple info - is not the same device as the other photos. They're not claiming the found two separate new iPhones.

    • I .. (Score:5, Funny)

      by Ignatius ( 6850 ) on Monday April 19, 2010 @10:56AM (#31897064)

      0) Fixed that for you; 1)Linux; 2)Car analogy; 3)Insensitive clod; 4)A Beowulf cluster 5)In Soviet Russia; 6)??? [citation needed]; 7)Profit!

  • by Rogerborg ( 306625 ) on Monday April 19, 2010 @10:19AM (#31896560) Homepage

    And they "got" it from whom? Directly from Larry Lightfingers, or via Frankie the Fence?

    J'accuse: they're dealing in stolen property, and they know it, or should know it. But ethics be damned, because ZOMG IPHOAAAN!!!!11! Right?

    • by martas ( 1439879 ) on Monday April 19, 2010 @10:28AM (#31896678)
      either that, or this is yet another "accidental" leak by apple.
  • by Bullfish ( 858648 ) on Monday April 19, 2010 @10:21AM (#31896594)
    Whether this is truly a new iPhone or not, Gizmodo's opinion doesn't count for much. They would adore Job's lunch kit if they found it in an alley
  • Reward (Score:2, Interesting)

    From TFA:

    > So I called around, and I now believe this is an actual unit from Apple -- a unit Apple is very interested in getting back.

    If it's so important for Apple to get this phone back, I wonder why there's no reward...
    • Re:Reward (Score:4, Insightful)

      by DIplomatic ( 1759914 ) on Monday April 19, 2010 @10:50AM (#31896972) Journal

      From TFA: > So I called around, and I now believe this is an actual unit from Apple -- a unit Apple is very interested in getting back. If it's so important for Apple to get this phone back, I wonder why there's no reward...

      How do you read the sentence a unit Apple is very interested in getting back. and NOT think Apple offered Gizmodo something in return for the phone? Information, maybe, if not direct money. I'm aware the sentence didn't contain the word "reward" but you can read between the lines.

  • by viraltus ( 1102365 ) on Monday April 19, 2010 @10:23AM (#31896614)

    Android getting too popular and want to create expecation Steve?

  • by aapold ( 753705 ) on Monday April 19, 2010 @10:24AM (#31896622) Homepage Journal
    Doesn't sound like apple does it?

    $5 says its some wannabe iPhone killer, just waiting for everyone to say how great it is before they go "tada! we secretly switched your java with folgers" in hopes of generating hoopla...
  • "Let's work with Gizmodo to make a big deal out of this new iPhone. This is top secret stuff, and people are going to salivate over it like nobody's business." Maybe.
  • Obviously it's infected with some virus.
    • Obviously it's infected with some virus.

      You think it's got Pokerus? 'Cause I really need to work on my EVs...

  • Still too big (Score:3, Insightful)

    by BadAnalogyGuy ( 945258 ) <BadAnalogyGuy@gmail.com> on Monday April 19, 2010 @10:24AM (#31896640)

    The phone is still too big for those of us who want to use it for jogging. There are plenty of apps related to jogging, not to mention the whole "portable music player" feature. But the phone is just too bulky to take jogging.

    Something a quarter of the size would be great. Keep the resolution, but shrink the whole thing by half in both dimensions and you'll keep perfect compatibility with existing apps.

    I'm sad to see that this looks like more of the same old same old. It'll be another iPhone that I have to pass up because it just isn't what I need.

    • by Nethead ( 1563 ) <joe@nethead.com> on Monday April 19, 2010 @10:32AM (#31896734) Homepage Journal

      You insensitive clod!

      Not all of us are young with good eyes and good knees.

      • Not all of us are young with good eyes and good knees.

        Once you start using your fingers, as you're supposed to, you'll see you can hold it much closer to you face, making good sight unnecesary.

        You're welcome.

        • dude, you don't get presbyopia.
        • ...you can hold it much closer to you face, making good sight unnecesary.

          One of the first things to go is the ability to focus at close-in distances. Watch your elders hold magazines and newspapers at arms-length, trying to get the page far enough away that they can focus on it. I'm not that bad yet, but it is irritating to get my head behind the equipment where the SN is stamped, only to find that I can't read the numbers because they're too close for me to focus.

    • It isn't "compatibility with existing apps" you'd need to be worried about, its compatibility with the laws of physics....

      Pretty much all moderns smartphones are already noted for having fairly packed mainboards and pretty unexciting battery lives. Something a quarter the size(unless you are happy to have a phone an inch thick), would have a truly sad battery life.
  • by affenhund ( 1371117 ) on Monday April 19, 2010 @10:26AM (#31896668)
    Embarrassing, how the media got played to do advertisement for them. Goodbye, journalism.
    • Come on , you barely get proper journalism in proper gadget magazines , just lots of hyperbole, poorly researched waffle and laughable tests. What makes you think you'll get it on a website full of wannabe gadget mag staff writers?

    • Embarrassing, how the media got played to do advertisement for them. Goodbye, journalism.

      Marketing pays better than journalism. Nothing new here.

    • by Have Blue ( 616 ) on Monday April 19, 2010 @11:17AM (#31897420) Homepage
      Did you miss the runup to the iPad announcement? For months, the entire tech world was abuzz with rumors about the Apple tablet based solely on leaks, guesses, unofficial sources, and so on. Apple did not say a single word until late January and it was already one of the most anticipated electronic products in history. They are absolute masters at this because they've been cultivating it for years.
  • by CompressedAir ( 682597 ) on Monday April 19, 2010 @10:39AM (#31896836)

    We know it isn't chairs, but one has to imagine that whoever lost this will be getting Job'd (or de-Job'd) in the near future.

    (I know, the easy answer is "a massive fit, followed by going with a different vendor" but I was thinking something more physical.)

    Unless this is just marketing, in which case, good show Apple. If I'm going to be marketed to, I prefer a little bit of drama.

  • by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 19, 2010 @10:42AM (#31896876)

    The best feature from the article

    ...it feels even nicer in your pants.

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by Nerdfest ( 867930 )
      With the level the fanboyism is getting to these days, they better start removing the moisture detectors or making them 'water'-proof.
  • TFA says "The person was able to play with it and see the iPhone 4.0 features. Then, Apple remotely killed the phone before we got access to it."

    It's interesting that Apple has this killswitch -- looks like a good security feature to have. I wonder if regular iPhones have it, and if it's available as a 'value-added-service'. Previously [slashdot.org], the killswitch was only there to disable apps on the device.

    As a side note, Apple builds in a bunch of other phone-home elements in their prototype/developer devices. They g

  • by HockeyPuck ( 141947 ) on Monday April 19, 2010 @10:43AM (#31896900)

    I find it really strange/coincidental that someone loses a device and it somehow finds it's way to a technology review website? We're not talking finding the Mona Lisa here where the average person would know what it is. We're talking someone in a bar finding a lost iPhone and then realizing that the best place for it would be in the hands of Gizmoto. Unless the Gizmoto guys were the ones that happened to find it. Again, like an employee of the Louvre finding the Mona Lisa.

    I also find it odd that the bar would turn it over to a 3rd party, rather than holding on to it in case the original owner came back. Unless this bar has this behavior. For example, if you left your car keys there, they'd just give it to someone else.

    I don't buy it. It might be a real iPhone prototype, but I think there's some shenanigans at work here. Maybe something along the lines of:

    Apple: Hey gizmoto, we're going to "lose" an iPhone at a bar (really just hand it to you) then you write up a review of what you find as if you just happened to find it sitting at a table. If someone asks about it, we'll tell the media that "an internal source" has indeed lost a prototype.

    Gotta love free advertising. I was wondering when the next iPhone/iPad /. frontpage article would take place. Also, the iPad does blend. [youtube.com]

    • by fuzzyfuzzyfungus ( 1223518 ) on Monday April 19, 2010 @11:52AM (#31898066) Journal
      I'd say that that is the invisible hand doing its thing.

      Ok, so you are a person of somewhat dubious character who "finds" cellphones in bars(whether you did in fact "find" and made no effort to return, or whether you make a profession of "finding" is unclear; but immaterial). Now, you happen to "find" a rather curious device, a clearly Apple-looking cellphone that doesn't publicly exist. What do you do with it?

      To an ordinary fence, it is worth fuck all. Because it is a prototype, it is "hot" and probably being watched more closely than usual. Because it is a new model, none of the grey market hacking/unlocking/re-IMEIing/etc. tricks used to run iPhones in various dubiously licit secondary markets are going to work.

      To a gadget site, it is worth serious pageviews, plus a fair bit of fanboy wank.

      It seems pretty obvious which one of these potential customers you would get in touch with.
      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by ottothecow ( 600101 )
        And when you sell it to gizmodo, they can protect you as a confidential source. If some court tries to force them to reveal, everyone will be up in arms.

        If you sell it to a fence...

    • by Sockatume ( 732728 ) on Monday April 19, 2010 @12:14PM (#31898472)

      Gruber is reporting that Apple considers the device stolen, and it's been well-known that someone's been shopping it around tech sites asking $10,000 for some hands-on time.

  • 3 grams heavier

    That's it, I'm not buying it. My manpurse is already getting heavy.

  • by kuzb ( 724081 ) on Monday April 19, 2010 @10:56AM (#31897074)

    It has become like one giant apple advertisement.

    They used to have lots of different articles on a lot of different topics. Now they'll write 50 articles on a single device. Anyone who saw gizmodo on the ipad's launch day can attest to this. It's one giant fanboy fapping contest.

  • The problem with this phone, even it if it is the new iPhone, is that it's like every other phone. It's almost identical to my Instinct. Why would Apple make a phone to look like this? I realize Gizmodo offered up a decent explanation for how it aligns with Apple's product line but to me it looks like anyone BUT Apple designed. If it's real, I hope it's a prototype that get's a redesign. I don't own an iPhone but I like them and would like to see them with continued differentiation from other phones.
  • Last time Apple had an iPhone leak it ended with a suspicious suicide of a Foxconn engineer in China. Just say'n.

  • As noted repeatedly in TFA, the phone actually has - gasp! - recognizable SEAMS!

    Oh how the mighty have fallen.... I am so disappointed, and will choose to stay with my Moto ROKR!
  • by Wingsy ( 761354 ) on Monday April 19, 2010 @11:15AM (#31897390)
    If Apple (or someone employed by Apple) actually lost their prototype iPhone, why didn't they use the FindMyPhone feature to locate it and go get it back?
    • by DECS ( 891519 ) on Monday April 19, 2010 @01:30PM (#31899730) Homepage Journal

      Because Apple apparently wanted to wipe it to prevent the software from being usable/visible. Once you wipe it, the configuration for FindMyPhone is wiped too (the device has to be linked to an account in order to be found).

      It's better to lose hardware that can only be looked at than lose the hardware and the software, which would reveal a lot more about features. Gizmodo couldn't even say what the screen resolution was, because all it does it ask to be re-imaged with software Gizmodo doesn't have access to install.

      Apple never leaks prototypes into the wild for promotional purposes. If anything, the phone was stolen. Apple likes buzz, but is not going to benefit from two months of "don't buy an iPhone until this new one comes out."

      Adobe slips mobile Flash Player 10.1 to second half of 2010 [appleinsider.com]

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by nine-times ( 778537 )

        It's better to lose hardware that can only be looked at than lose the hardware and the software

        Especially if the hardware wasn't final, and the phone was "in the wild" because they were testing new software features. FindMyPhone only works if the phone is on and connected, same as the remote wipe.

        We all know that Apple has controlled leaks when they want to have an unofficial press release, but I agree that (assuming this really is a prototype for the next iPhone) this probably wasn't leaked on purpose. They've never been known to drop hardware like this, and they could have just as easly "leaked"

  • Flash! (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 19, 2010 @11:33AM (#31897672)

    So the next iPhone will have a flash.

    Adobe must be pleased.

  • by Zarf ( 5735 ) on Monday April 19, 2010 @02:39PM (#31900954) Journal

    "it feels even nicer in your pants"

    *LOL* ... that's in the article.

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