iPhone 4G prototype found in bar?

The iPhone futures market went into overdrive over the weekend when Engadget posted some photos that purport to show the new iPhone 4G.

The story is that someone found the device on the floor of a bar in San José, snapped a few photos and sent them to the site — but what’s the proof that it’s an iPhone? Here’s where it gets interesting.

As you can clearly see from the images, the device only bears a passing resemblance to the current iPhone — the front panel is very similar, but the case is squared-off and has a flat back (complete with usual Apple branding). There’s a dock connector and speaker/mic grilles, but the buttons have a different design. 

So far, there’s nothing here to suggest that this device is anything to do with Apple and the best guess is that it’s simply a knock-off from the Far East that’s getting someone confused.

The story did take a more curious twist when someone realised that a device that closely resembled the found “iPhone” could be seen in the frame of a blurry photo of an iPad prototype that was leaked last year. Since that leaked iPad shot turned out to be legitimate, the thinking is that the iPhone 4G photos are legitimate too, but the evidence is far from conclusive.

It’s difficult to know what to make of this, but one thing is certain — the device shown in the photos is not the iPhone 4G. The fit and finish falls well below anything Apple would normally produce and while it might be a hand-built pre-production model, it just doesn’t sit well with Apple’s current design ethos.

It is conceivable that the device is a prototype unit that’s been deliberately disguised but again, why identify it as an iPhone on the back panel? So, we simply don’t buy that this is the iPhone 4G. Turn it on and show it running iPhone OS 4 and we might be more convinced, but the fact that the unit stopped working shortly after its discovery is simply too much of a coincidence for us.

We doubt we’ve heard the last of this story, but the truth will be revealed come 22 June, remember.

[via Engadget]