Tonight on the Talkcast: Fake or real? Engadget's 'iPhone HD' find

Many of you may be wondering "Where's the TUAW post about this phone from the bar that Engadget is talking about? Is it the next iPhone? Huh?" Well, the answer is simple: as much as we love our Engadget pals, and as much as we respect their enthusiasm for all things Apple, we were pretty sure it was fake, so we didn't post it.

Now it turns out that ~~Spanish site AppleSfera has~~ ~~found the mystery phone, and it's a~~ ~~Japanese iPhone knockoff~~ (~~translated post here)~~. Thanks to Aaron Hirst and Bradley Petrik for tracking down the link. The excitement was palpable for a second there, but next time a strange phone gets found in a San Jose bar, let's all take a breath or two, shall we?

Update: Engadget has posted new pictures that add confidence to the prototype's bona fides. Also, the AppleSfera photos have been confirmed to be fakes. We were fortunate enough to have Josh Topolsky on the show, so you can hear the story straight from him.

Meanwhile, we have finally got a week with news other than the iPad onslaught. New MacBook Pro models have hit the shelves, and if you happened to pick up one of the new machines, we'd love to hear from you tonight on the talkcast. We'll also be running down the latest episode of "Emails from Steve," our new favorite soap opera, and talking about the odd case of iPads banned from Israel.

To participate on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only client, the embedded Facebook app, or the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the "TalkShoe Web" button on our profile page at 10 pm Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (take advantage of your free cellphone weekend minutes if you like): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

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TUAW Business

Many of you may be wondering "Where's the TUAW post about this phone from the bar that Engadget is talking about? Is it the next iPhone?...

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Matt Lohr

This would appear to be the ethical equivalent of finding someone's wallet and stealing the cash and charging the credit cards. It should have been discreetly given to the bartender, assuming that the owner would come back for it.

April 19 2010 at 11:04 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Hashbrown_Hunter

*Ahem*

http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/18/iphone-4g-proof/

So here's my theory: Someone at Foxconn sold these same iPhone 4G cases to a KIRF manufacturer and thus we have two iPhone 4G's out there: one real, one fake.

April 18 2010 at 5:01 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

MRCUR

It's not a fake, but it's not the iPhone 4G/HD/etc. I think it's definitely a test device, but certainly not the final design.

April 18 2010 at 2:14 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

apple1loop

Fake: http://9to5mac.com/iPhone-HD-japanese-40895237

April 18 2010 at 2:03 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

apple1loop

Fake: http://9to5mac.com/iPhone-HD-japanese-40895237

April 18 2010 at 2:01 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Steven Fowler

I can't believe anyone would think Apple designed that piece of garbage. I mean some of the posts about iLeaks are almost plausible, if it weren't for small non-Applestyling cues, but the only thing that even remotely connects this thing to an Apple device is the button placement. I supposed next someone will be saying that this: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.34428 is the next generation iPod Nano. I'd say good job not getting caught up in the hype, but anyone who has ever seen an Apple product would know that it couldn't be an iPhone.

And a note for all future iPhone 4 fakers: If Apple does redesign the iPhone this time around, it will most likely take styling cues from the iPad, not a Windows Mobile phone from 2003.

April 18 2010 at 12:56 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

10nisman94

Confirmed fake guys http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=899594

April 18 2010 at 12:10 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

AppleZilla

I'll call it now.

Fake.

April 18 2010 at 12:03 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Jerod

"Is this the iPhone 4G (iPhoneHD)? There's no way to tell for sure."
Direct quote from the engadget post.
TUAW is a joke compared to engadget, and the tone of this post is uncalled for. If you had found this phone in a bar you would be posting it as news as well.

April 18 2010 at 12:01 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

1 reply to Jerod's comment

Michael Rose

They didn't find it, a tipster did.

April 18 2010 at 12:08 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Brian

Many of you may be wondering "Where's the TUAW post about this phone from the bar that Engadget is talking about?

We were waiting till Tuesday for that news....

April 18 2010 at 11:49 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply