Is this the next iPhone? (How credible is Gizmodo's story, and what else do we know?)
http://gizmodo.com/5520164/this-is-apples-next-iphone
What do you think of this?
- How credible is this story?
- Do you think this is the next iPhone?
- What else is known about the new iPhone?
I must admit after Jason's iPad stunt, I take stories of people having their hands on a device with even more of a pinch of salt than before.
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M$10 Answers
"It has come to our attention that Gizmodo is currently in possession of a device that belongs to Apple,"
I had the same reservations but Gizmodo did a thorough analysis that is summarized on the page iPhone 4G vs iPhone 3GS
* micro-SIM card (only use to date has been in iPad)
* miniaturized components labeled Apple (can't be an iPhone 3GS)
* connects to iTunes when plugged into a computer
* iPhone 4.0 features were seen (at least claimed)
* highly finished manufacturing prototype with miniaturized chips unlikely to be a created hoax.
The letter (if true as others have posted) that the phone is an Apple device and most likely an iphone 4G prototype based on the technical features mentioned.
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M$I first heard it on NPR, which i take to be a rather credible station, and from the interview and later reading an article online, i think it's legitimate. I haven't been to Gizmodo's site to read their version of the story, and don't plan on it. But I believe they stumbled upon something cool.
I think it is a prototype. Will they run with this new look, i think so.
The only things they claimed knowing about the phone is that it looks different, and that it's a 4G phone.
I"ve heard speculation elsewhere about being able to shoot video and talk at the same time, like a video phone. But i didn't catch who made that claim. I don't think it was Gizmodo. They said the phone was locked and that they couldn't get into it, on NPR.
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M$
Good links, thanks.
I guess it was the new i phone i heard about.
I got this from the BBC
"After getting its hands on it, one website published pictures of the device, describing lots of changes from the 3GS. Features like a front facing video chat camera, a flash and a new flat, generally more square design. "
http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/technology/newsid_10080000/newsid_10083400/10083480.stm
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M$
However, he did state that they have, in the past, began square(ish) and moved into more ergonomic shapes.
The real question is, is this next iPhone? Apparently not.
This is a prototype, so the shape of it does not reflect what could be the next product. There is little chance that a new iPhone would look that average.
Is this the next iPhone? - yes and no. First, I don't think the iPhone itself is a hoax. But we may be seeing very pre-pre release hardware. I wouldn't assume that the case we see will be the final case, but I bet the electronics are close to final. Why do I say this? Gizmodo isn't claiming that someone else had the phone, they are claiming that they had the phone. If it's a hoax, Gizmodo will have serious egg on it's face.
How credible is this story? Come on, read the story, it stinks to high heaven. You know when someone is concocting a lie, and instead of keeping it nice and simple they go into all kinds of elaborate details, waaay over-explaining it? That's what the story sounds like to me.
What else is know about the new iPhone? Not much as far as I know. There are rumours that it will be a 4G model but I think that is unlikely.
How about this question- did Gizmodo break the law, and/or Journalistic ethics in a) obtaining this phone, and b) outing the poor Apple employee lost the phone?
UPDATE: It looks like Gizmodo just got a letter from Apple asking for the iPhone back.
Interesting quote from Gizmodo's response: "we didn't know this was stolen when we bought it". Does that mean that at a later point they found out it was stolen? Shouldn't they have called the police when they found out (rather than taking pictures and posting it on their blog)?
http://gizmodo.com/5520479/a-letter-apple-wants-its-secret-iphone-back
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M$
Hm, that is a definite hole in my logic - although I'm not claiming they lied, just pointing out that the story doesn't sound right. There is a lot that we aren't being told, and I think that will all come out in the courts.
They do look stupid though.
I'm not too clear on what you're saying since it sound like you are saying two things that don't fit...
> I don't think the iPhone itself is a hoax. ... Gizmodo will have serious egg on it's face.
i.e. As I understand it: "Why would they lie and look stupid?"
> Come on, read the story, it stinks to high heaven.
i.e. As I understand it: "They lied, and look stupid."
I'm probably misunderstanding something here.
Maybe the answer to all our questions is simply this:
They *are* stupid.
Hah! That's a statement I could repeat In a court of law. No matter what they did, it was really stupid!
Just a note to all people thinking about answering this question (or have already answered!)...
There are three parts to the question:
- How credible is this story?
- Do you think this is the next iPhone?
- What else is known about the new iPhone?
In particularly if you do a great job of collating what is known about the new iPhone (whether Gizmodo's one is it, or not), you will have an excellent shot at getting Best Answer for the question.
I am interested in learning what I can about the future of the iPhone as much as whether the Gizmodo story is to be taken seriously or not.
They have shown a letter where apple want the iPhone back, and if that was fake, then isn't is illegal under forging signatures?
I highly doubt that this is fake since the whole reputation of gizmodo and the gawker network would be destroyed.
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M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
And, there has been another important development. Lufthansa, the largest German Airline, has stepped in and invited the Apple engineer to Munich.
AFP reports:
"BERLIN — Lufthansa said on Friday that it has invited the Apple software engineer who left an iPhone prototype in a German-style beer garden in California a free trip to "pick up where you last left off."
In a letter to Gray Powell published on the Internet, the German airline said it had "noted with great interest your passion for German beer and culture."
"We thought you could use a break soon -- and therefore would like to offer you complimentary business class transportation to Munich, where you can literally pick up where you last left off," the letter added"
This generous offer has in turn brought to everyone's attention that Lufthansa has now opened its own beer garden in its business class lounge in the Munich airport, in conjunction with the brewer Franziskaner (the Pope's favorite, by the way, and an excellent choice).
This answer speaks mainly to the part of your question, "what else do we know?" as I'm not interested in the device itself.
http://www.gourmethausstaudt.com/
http://www.koestritzer.de/index.php?id=1&intro=1&L=1
www.franziskaner.com
http://www.lufthansa.com/online/portal/lh/us/homepage
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gEqnoWDXNARzeVJBDsGhtkBH...
http://intransit.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/23/lufthansa-lounge-in-munich-op...
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M$You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
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M$
Great links.
-- Quote
Of course, were such a charge to be brought, everything would hinge on whether the actions taken by the finder amounted to being “reasonable and just”. Much will depend on exactly what he did. Personally, I think that “reasonable and just” would involve more than a couple of phone calls and raising an automated support ticket – I’d be driving over to One Infinite Loop and walking into reception demanding to see someone (and hoping I got a free new phone when they came out for my trouble).
-- /Quote
http://www.technovia.co.uk/2010/04/has-gizmodo-broken-the-law-with-its-iphone-story.html
Yes, if this thing is real, whoever found it is an idiot for selling it to Gizmodo and facing possible criminal charges, when they could have returned it to Apple and earned Apple's major gratitude.
Do we really want anyone that finds our forgotten phone or laptop to sell it to the media? And then the media to make hay writing stories about what they learned from the illegally obtained device?
Personally I think if Gizmodo got exterminated by a lawsuit from Apple, well they earned that.
-- /Quote
So basically, if you come into possession of something, you're meant to tell the owner and give it back. You can ask for some payment for your trouble (but only the trouble). If you then sell it - ooh, things get complicated. That would be, in effect, theft: depriving the rightful owner of their property. And it's very, very clear who the rightful owner is here, isn't it?
-- /Quote
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/apr/19/gizmodo-paid-iphone-4g
Returning it to its owner...it's the right thing to do, isn't it?
Apple is having 2nd quarter conference call at 2pm PDT today (April 20). I'll be asleep by then ... presumably someone will ask given all the major media outlets involved in this story.
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/earningsq210/
More related stories - suggest you monitor John Gruber blog http://daringfireball.net/ for latest updates. He points to the following:
http://www.technovia.co.uk/2010/04/has-gizmodo-broken-the-law-with-its-iphone-story.html
http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/how-checkbook-journalism-gave-gizmodo-its-iphone-scoop/19445990/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/apr/19/gizmodo-paid-iphone-4g
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/20/technology/companies/20apple.html?hp
Several articles mention unidentified Apple sources verifying that it is their phone. The posts seem to be shifting more towards the legal implications of what has happened.
Agreed. It's more how a prankster would spoof an email, than how a mega-corp with high-powered attorneys on its payroll acts when it want its property back.
"Let me know where to pick up the unit". ????
They'd have Apple lawyers camped on their doorstep if Apple wanted a trade secret back.