Apple's Secret iPhone 4G Leak Saga

This is the story of the birthday present from the beyond. In one smooth motion, an Apple engineer, out celebrating his birthday, accidentally gave away one of his employer's biggest secrets. He created a media frenzy and lost his dream job all in one night over a tasty German Lager. Wow! Well the big secret that was leaked was the iPhone 4g and with all the buzz and media coverage, what did we learn from this? That is what this article is about, the secrets of the iPhone 4G. (Yes, there is another story here and that will be the subject of a future article so keep watching!)

The No Name iPhone 4G
The Apple iPhone 4G does not have an official name just yet. However, when it does, this may wind up as the iPhone that everyone has waited for all this time because some changes that you should know about might affect your decision to purchase a new smartphone. You should know, if you do not already, that Apple's security is easily as fierce as the National Security Agency's security and Apple's is a little less forgiving of any errors. In spite of that, this story is based on what is now confirmed, there IS an iPhone 4G and it is a significant step up from the existing model, the iPhone 3GS.

Leaked Information
Most of the available information comes from Gizmodo, the company that ended up with the misplaced unit after allegedly purchasing it from the person who found it in the now famous bar. Based on their analysis of the unit, there is a list of things that are different. One of the first things that we learned about were some of the possible display specifications. The screen is slightly smaller than the existing iPhone screen but the resolution is, in a word, AMAZING! There are no details on the exact resolution the new iPhone is capable of displaying, however the image quality is far higher than the existing iPhone 3GS.

Other Alleged Features
On the subject of new features, there is the already known about front-facing camera that is intended for use with video chat. In addition to this, the existing camera has a flash (finally!) and a much larger lens. This is certainly a 4G phone due to the use of a micro-SIM, which is a distinction that will make this the first smartphone to use a micro-SIM in the US. The phone also has a secondary microphone and it seems that its usage will be for noise cancellation, supposedly related to the proposed video chat. There are separate volume control buttons, no clear purpose on these yet. Considering the iPhone 4G is not out yet, e will just have to wait and see about the purpose.

There are many cosmetic changes as well and the power, mute and volume buttons are all metallic. There are a number of things that have been changed from the last model as well, such as the new flat and not curved back plate. This actually makes for a sleeker look and feel. An aluminum border covers the edge of the phone's body and the iPhone 4G is a full 3 grams heaver than the 3G model, although it appears much thinner.

Focus On Images?
There seems to be a theme here, that being for improved graphics. With the better screen resolution, the seemingly improved camera on the back, the new front facing camera along with the addition of a Flash (the camera kind, not the Adobe kind, heaven forbid!), which no iPhone has ever seen before. Much of the new features seem to be focused on the smartphones image capabilities. The addition of a second microphone for noise cancellation and the new volume controls the iPhone 4G would seem to be destined for video calling. This would make sense, as the bandwidth capacity of the 4G network would support a full, face-to-face video call.

Wow! Watch out Jetsons because here we (finally) come! The larger battery would track as well as this process would surely use much more juice. The other interesting thing is the chassis. There seems to be some changes that are more than just cosmetic, they seem to be intended to improve signal performance (also the kind of thing that one would expect from a smartphone that was intended to facilitate video calling), this comes from the fact that the back of the unit will be either plastic or ceramic of some kind to allow the antenna to perform better for Wi-Fi.

Apple Unhappy
Beyond that, the cosmetic changes are rather significant as well. This unit "feels" better in the hand, according to Gizmodo, it is flatter and heaver so there is a feeling of solidity. The case is squared off due to the lack of internal space with the larger battery. This is not only a prettier iPhone, this is an evolutionary step. The problem now is that Apple is very unhappy about its release (leak) and has even gotten the California Police Department to harass the editor of Gizmodo. They seized everything technology related from the editor's garage on a warrant issued for the "alleged theft" of the iPhone 4G device, according to CNet and other news stories. What will happen? Can Apple really prosecute Gizmodo for showing pictures of the device? We will just have to wait and see. Until then, we will just have to settle on the rumored features of the iPhone 4G.

References & Resources:

CNet: Police seize Gizmodo editor's computers
Gizmodo: Police Seize Jason Chen's Computer for iPhone 4G Leak
Gizmodo: The Next iPhone Uncovered: This is Apple's Next iPhone
Gizmodo: How Apple lost the Next iPhone-Leak