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Latest iPhone prototype leaked by a duo of phone dealers

by Dave Caolo May 13th 2010 at 1:30PM

The Associated Press is reporting today that two Vietnamese phone dealers may be responsible for the most recent 4G iPhone leak. When mobile phone accessory salesman Tran Manh Hiep heard that someone was showing off a prototype iPhone in a Ho Chi Minh City cafe, he rushed there with his video camera to see it. The AP notes that another dealer, whose identity is unknown, had the phone. How he came into it is still a mystery.

Many suspected that the phone was a knock-off, as that region is rife with fakes from China. Hiep insists that it's genuine, as "[my Mac] recognized it as an Apple product" when connected. Other than the lack of visible screws we saw on the unit Gizmodo bought, it's virtually the same. There's no word on whether an investigation will be launched.

Today, another image has surfaced from Vietnam supposedly showing the phone running iPhone OS 4.

It's amazing to me that two devices have now gotten past Apple's legendary security, and even more so that one ended up far across the globe. I'll say one thing: it sure takes the fun out of the official announcements.

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The Associated Press is reporting today that two Vietnamese phone dealers may be responsible for the most recent 4G iPhone leak. When...
 

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Super

"Today, another image has surfaced from Vietnam supposedly showing the phone running iPhone OS 4."?
If you look close you can see that it's running version 8A2062a - which is a weird number as the current beta3 is build number 8A260b. It seems that the Vietnamese phone's OS has 7 characters instead of just 6...

May 13 2010 at 6:10 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
jaap

From that same directory of pictures; what's the deal with this hole drilled into the back of an iPhone?

http://upload.ave.vn/sonpham1102/img/cafeApple-3GS-8G4.JPG

May 13 2010 at 5:29 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Michael Kaplan

I was about to comment about a silly line in the article, but Dreamwriter beat me to it.

Frankly, I'm surprised there aren't more leaks out of China/Asia... They've probably already started manufacturing the new phones, so it's not the biggest surprise in the world that a few will "fall off the back of the truck" into the hands of interested parties...

I'm still looking forward to Steve's announcement. After all, I know how Romeo & Juliet ends, but I still enjoy watching the play...

May 13 2010 at 5:03 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Dreamwriter

Why is it surprising that a prototype would show up not too far from where they are being manufactured? It's not "far across the globe", it's a few hundred miles.

May 13 2010 at 3:25 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
fox1cm

I won't be excited about any iPhone until it runs on any service but AT&T.

May 13 2010 at 2:55 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
hugmup

These might be genuine Apple red herrings, designed to throw us off the scent while building excitement.

May 13 2010 at 2:39 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
hugmup

A duo of phone dealers? What about a quintet of phone dealers?

And to think I didn't even know these guys sung in harmony.

May 13 2010 at 2:35 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Mike Eliss

With some many alleged next generation iPhones around, it would appear that Apple is either testing the device heavily in the field, or that production is already ramping up.

One thing is for sure: Apple hasn't sold any yet. All of these phones are likely stolen property.

May 13 2010 at 2:34 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Manuel L.

Boy, if I could get one of these in my hands today!

May 13 2010 at 2:23 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
rjhbooklinux

Dave, thanks for the post. I'm not sure if anyone has spotted this yet, but that image is not the only image in that directory...

http://upload.ave.vn/sonpham1102/img/iphone4g/

You may want to update the post to reflect that a total of 14 images have been leaked due to an insecure server. ;)

May 13 2010 at 2:22 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to rjhbooklinux's comment
rjhbooklinux

Err...I missed that initial post yesterday. Don't know if all 14 images were in that post, but nevertheless, that link will get you a quick view of them all. :D

May 13 2010 at 2:27 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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