From Gizmodo.Com
Last week we brought you grainy pictures that purported to show the next generation of iPhone – the 4G.
Now a well-respected technology website has claimed they have got their hands on a working prototype.
Gizmodo.com said the phone had been ‘found in a bar in Redwood City’, camouflaged to look like an iPhone 3GS.
Writer Jason Chen said: ‘We got it. We disassembled it. It’s the real thing.’
While the outer packaging of the phone was rather rough and ready, Gizmodo have insisted that the hardware is anything but.
They said that unlike the 3GS currently on the market, the new smart phone has a front-facing video chat camera. It also has an improved back-camera with a larger lens and flash.
The screen has an improved display with a higher resolution so that individual pixels are not discernible.
At the top they found what looked like a secondary microphone for noise cancellation as well as split buttons for volume. All the buttons were metallic.
he phone measures 4.5″x2.31″x0.37″ and weighs 140 grams. The 3GS weighs 135 grams.
The battery 5.25 WHr at 3.7V, compared to the 3GS battery, which is 4.51 WHr at 3.7V.
On the back of the phone, it said it was XX GB, but Gizmodo were unable to see how large the memory was as they believe Apple had killed the phone’s 4.0 operating system after it went missing.
It fits in rather neatly with a number of rumours that were circulating about the device. Apple are notoriously secretive about new products so this could be quite the technology coup.
Gizmodo are certainly convinced. Mr Chen said: ‘We get false tips all the time. But after playing with it for about a week – the overall quality feels exactly like a finished final Apple phone.’
Some bloggers have questioned whether the strange set of circumstances was too convenient and yet another example of Apple deliberately generating good publicity.
The iPhone 4G is expected to hit stores worldwide in June, according to the latest blog speculation and will be on the Verizon network in the US.
This was given some credence by the CEO of Canadian carrier SaskTel, who said in an interview: ‘The good news is that (Apple) is coming out with a new version of the iPhone in the June timeframe and they’re going to put us on that. So we’re quite excited about that.’
Another tantalising piece of evidence that the iPhone 4G is nearing release is the new 4.0 operating system, announced last week, which would incorporate features such as multi-tasking into the current iPhone 3GS model.
Last week Apple announced the UK launch of the long-awaited iPad would be delayed by a month as demand had outstripped supply in the US.
The software engineer was reportedly drinking in a bar in California last month when the phone, disguised as a 3G version, was either lost, misplaced or stolen.
It was then handed on to the Gizmodo website which published the claims and accompanying photos and video. Shortly afterwards, an emailed letter – that appears to be from Apple, was sent to the editor of the site.
So far there’s been no comment from Apple and no independent confirmation of the story. Predictably though, the rumours have been spreading quickly among iPhone fans desperate for any news about the next version.