"Is
you is or is you ain't my baby?" Over the weekend, Engadget
posted pictures of what
it claimed to be the next generation iPhone 4G. The pictures
sparked quite a debate over their authenticity and many flatly
rejected the design saying that it was too ugly to be an iPhone.
Detractors
noted the blocky shape and seams along the edge of the devices as
reasons why this design couldn't have possibly come from the likes of
Jonathan Ive. Mac
Rumors
seemed
to confirm that the pictures were indeed fakes with a posting
yesterday which claimed that this wasn't the iPhone 4G, but instead a
Japanese knock-off.
Engadget
fought back citing
more evidence that this was indeed the iPhone 4G. And to further
confirm the pictures, Daring
Fireball's
John Gruber -- Steve
Jobs' biggest fan -- has posted his own comments verifying the
authenticity of the pictures. Gruber cites a 2006
patent for a "radio transparent" ceramic smartphone
enclosure which would seem to match up with the photos posted over
the weekend.
"I
think it’s a testbed frame — thicker, with visible
(un-Apple-like) seams, meant to fit in 3GS cases so as to disguise
units out in the wild," said
Gruber. "It’s hard to tell from the photos. But I think it
is the real deal in terms of the internals and display being next-gen
iPhone hardware, and the new glass back."
According
to tipsters that provided the original pics and commentary from
Gruber, here are just some of the features thought to be on the
iPhone 4G:
- Apple
A4 processor
- 640x960
display
- High
resolution rear camera with flash
- Front-facing
camera for video conferencing
- MicroSIM
support
We'll
know for sure if this is the next generation iPhone at Apple's
event scheduled for late June.
In
other news, Apple has announced that the iPad 3G will ship
for U.S. customers by May 7. The iPad 3G is priced at $629, $729,
and $829 respectively for 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB models.
Updated 4/19/2010 @ 10:55 am
Gizmodo has gotten its grubby hands on the "lost" iPhone 4G that was first pictured by Engadget. They have completely torn the phone down and given design analysis which you can read here.
