iPhone 4G Found In Bar Bathroom
![iPhone 4G Found In Bar Bathroom [Somebody Finds Mysterious New iPhone In Bar Bathroom, New Design, Front Facing Camera, 80GB Memory]](http://nexus404.com/Blog/thumbnailimages/alt/iPhone-4G-1-watermarkedTFTSThumb220153.jpg)
This is an awesome story for us and a horrible story for whatever poor Apple engineer lost his iPhone 4G prototype out at the pub. Engadget has gotten pictures of a new iPhone that was found in an old iPhone case on the bathroom floor in a San Jose bar.
The device has a bit of a design change from the previous iPhones, as it’s got square edges and some more physical buttons on the sides. Of course, the sarcastic internet is screaming “fakez” but considering A) – it has the iPhone “home” button on the front and B) – it has the iPhone name and Apple’s legal info on the back, it looks legit.
The phone has a front-facing camera and 80GB of flash storage (although the back of the device says “XXGB” – definitely some sort of prototype model). The lucky Engadget tipster who found the device said that it originally booted, the OS was “definitely” new, but now it’s not booting up anymore (some sort of security feature that remotely bricks lost prototype phones? I’m not joking).
Aside from the iPhone button and print on the back, this device looks like another “iPhone 4G” that was seen in February. Further more, a commentator on Engadget’s original posting claimed to be from Taiwan and said that his friends had seen the iPhone 4G and said it would have a black brushed aluminum back (which this one does). Take that one with a grain of salt, though. The physical buttons on the side and square edges are a bit un-Apple like (actually reminds me of my BlackBerry, actually), but this could be an unfinished prototype (further evidenced by the XXGB on the back) or Apple could be going in another direction, since the iPad has more square edges.
I’d give it a 90% chance that this is real. It can’t be a Chinese iPhone clone because of the legal print on the back and the patented iPhone-style home button on the front. And if it is real, how hilarious is it that the next iPhone was revealed to the internet after being lost in a bar’s bathroom?
(Edit: In addition to the leaked photos from February, the phone was also spotted in leaked photos of the iPad, pre-launch, that turned out to be true. Looks like this one is real, how ’bout them )
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Really? 90% chance it’s real? A quick search of ebay will come up with numerous imitation iPhone looking products with “home” buttons in the similar placement. And it is certainly possible to print the apple legal info on there. I am far less impressed with the credibility when I hear the new “owners” of the device want cash up front for time with it.
I also have some doubts about the design aspects that seem out of touch with current Apple design. First off, the device looks significantly thicker than the current model, and while a larger screen or new hardware may force that to an extent, I would be surprised to see Apple abandon their current tapered edge design as it gives the device the feeling of being much thinner than it would be otherwise. While I wouldn’t doubt that a future iPhone will have an aluminum backing as many have complained of the plastic currently used, I would expect it to follow the similar distinctive form factor. Also the storage of 80GB does not fall in line with the flash storage model. The highest storage we’ve seen so far on a single chip is 64GB as in the iPod Touch. While I wouldn’t be shocked to see Apple offer a 64GB model, 80GB would require a 64GB and 16GB chip, which I find highly unlikely.
Based purely on speculation, here’s your new iPhone. 16/32/64GB models, maybe an increase to 3.7″ or a bit larger screen, 1GHZ chip in newest model, front facing VGA camera but no video calling at launch (at least in the US) so just for app use at first. Bump up to an 8MP cam with HD video capability, which will likely be standard on all high end smartphones by the end of the year. I give it a 50/50 shot of being an LTE model next year. I personally think that Apple will get out one more round of hardware before we see that, while waiting for LTE networks to reach a broader customer base. Apple knows for them as a mainstream player in the industry they aren’t going to play to the cutting edge fringe technologies as they don’t initially reach a large enough customer base to make it worth their time. Also Apple’s innovation with the iPhone has been software, not hardware related (other than setting the standard for use of caapacitive screens over resisitive) so I don’t see them being among the first US LTE phones. I actually agree they can afford to wait for the technology to mature before entering a mature product into the market.
Sure, you can find an iPhone clone anywhere, but, I’ll reiterate, the iPhone home button is patented, and printing Apple’s legal text on the back would be another trademark violation. It’s possible some goof had that printed that on his phone himself, but I doubt it came from Shenzhen with that on there.