Well, Gizmodo spoiled a lot of secrets about the next iPhone in the last week. But I think this won’t hurt Apple, or Gizmodo, or anyone. It’s already internet history.
An interesting side of this is that this might be the first time that we actually see new Apple hardware from inside before we see how it looks to the average user. Apple always focuses on user experience, and never flaunts with tech specs without connecting them to real-world benefits. This is especially true about the iPhone; they don’t even mention the CPU’s speed or the size of the RAM anywhere on their side. Apple doesn’t provide specs for the iPad’s A4 – they just state that it’s fast and efficient. This time, Gizmodo has stripped down their next child before we saw her face. It’s tech porn. I prefer Apple’s reality distortion field.
I keep thinking about the guy2 who found it originally. What was he thinking? It’s obvious: He thought he got a free iPhone 3GS. He didn’t hand it over to the barkeeper simply because he wanted to keep it. Update: The defense lawyer of the guy who took the iPhone tells us (name redacted):
[…] He was in the bar with friends when another patron handed him the phone after finding it on a nearby stool. The patron asked him if the phone belonged to him, and then left the bar. He asked others sitting nearby if the phone belonged to them, and when no one claimed it, he and his friends left the bar with the device.
Even without the provider contract, it’s a damn cool gadget. He simply stole it.
He shouldn’t have sold it, especially not for such a ridiculous price. Gizmodo should have told him what was at stake. They should have taken it for a symbolical price, tell nobody, dissemble it, and keep publishing blurry photos and interesting “leaks” for next weeks, until everybody would realize just how awesomely accurate their predictions have been when Steve Jobs reveals it in June. What Gizmodo has done instead is childish. The only thing that mattered here was, apparently, the story.
But let’s see it another way: They also could have sold it to the competition, HTC, Nokia, Google, Samsung, RIM, whatever. Maybe for a much higher price than the $5,000 they allegedly paid the thief. But they’re not fences, at least not primarily – they’re sensational journalists, and technology enthusiasts.
Would you have mailed the phone back to Apple? Would you have showed it to all your geek friends first? Would you have kept it? Weren’t you eager to read the exclusive story? Haven’t you zoomed into the pictures, too?
Anyway, back to technology. Here’s what we now know about the next iPhone’s features:
- different design (I like it very much, looks sturdy)
- propably a front-facing camera (I think it’s a stupid feature. I never video chat. But then again…)
- propably a higher resolution (but certainly not 960 × 480!)
- a better camera with flash1 (perhaps 5 megapixels and improved video resolution)
- improved battery life (the most important feature!)
- completely revamped logic board (an entirely Apple-made A4 sibling?)
- micro-SIM (Is that bad for us?)
I also expect support for 802.11n (fast W-LAN), improved OpenGL support, and a 64GB, but no white version for this model. I don’t think it will be named “4G” (because it won’t support 4G) or “HD” (because it won’t support HD). iPhone HR or iPhone 4 may be good names, but Apple has surprised us before.
In other news, HTC finally releases a worthy Android-based competitor, and nobody cares. Well done, Gizmodo :-/
1 …but still no Flash! Hahaha! XD
2 According to Countdown interview on April 27th, the finder/thief was a woman. According to Wired.com, he’s a swimming teacher.