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Apple Loses Another 4th-Gen iPhone
An anonymous reader noted that Apple appears to have lost another of its 4th generation iPhones. This doesn't seem like the most efficient distribution mechanism, Steve. Wonder if the SWAT team will get called in.
I think at this point, it would have to be...years of successfully controlling leaks, and then a prototype for the same product line gets leaked TWICE within weeks of each other? Yeah...I could believe the first one to be an honest mistake, but there is no way this one wasn't planned. /tinfoil hat
Living With a Nerd
It's hard to do considering these phone are pseudo camouflaged, from my understanding at first glance it looks like an ordinary iPhone.
It would be like "Finding" a wallet in someone's pocket with something specific inside (like a 2-dollar bill or a Discover credit card). Sure if you check enough wallets I'm sure you'll find them but it would be noticed fairly quickly.
I imagine the big options are:
- Intentional leaks by Apple. The most likely in me eyes since it's now twice.
- *Very* careless employees, perhaps bragging that they have the new 4g (perhaps while intoxicated). Then leaving them behind, or not noticing that the phone disappeared 2 minutes after they bragged about it.
- An inside job, or some otherwise corporate espionage thing. I don't see what they would gain here other than seeing what Apple's internals look like a few weeks early, which wouldn't help them rush a product to market ahead of Apple.
- Some other sort of coordinated effort with geeks trying to find out which Apple employee might have the phone. Find out where the phones are developed, determine which employees work in fields with access to the iPhones, chat up those 1-2 dozen employees until you find one with the phone.
The last one happened right in time for the release of the HTC Incredible -- I wonder if this "leak" has anything to do with yesterday's story about Android sales overtaking the iPhone...
It is by my will alone my thoughts acquire motion; it is by the juice of the coffee bean that the thoughts acquire speed
"Doesn't have multitasking" - I won't listen to Pandora while I read email.
Sorry but most smartphones did not do this either. A very VERY small number of people want this. and many that did have it on a WM5 phone hated it as the phone would crawl because of having apps in the background running consuming processing power. My older Nokia smartphones also suffered from multitasking apps. nothing like getting the battery sucked dry and the phone taking 12 seconds to answer a call because of some damn app in the background using up the system resources.
"No replaceable battery" - I won't use it on the plane to watch that movie, that way I can make sure to call a cab when I land.
I have never met a person that carries around spare phone batteries. Plus anyone that even had a Palm Treo had the same problem. not easy to replace battery on smartphones has been a theme. Ever try to replace the battery in a Blackjack? the battery door self-welded shut every time you put it back on.
"It can be tethered now" - I have AT&T and they don't allow tethering, but the AT&T 3G network is so crappy I won't even bother.
It always was able to tether if you got away from a sociopath carrier. Unlock it to go to t-mobile and you can add a tethering app or more recently use the built in function.
I have been a smartphone user for over a decade. I have used them all. and I currently have an iPhone because the apps that work with my workflow are on it, I don't have to reboot it weekly, and being a phone is first priority to it. I have never had a call I could not answer because the damned phone was busy... Unlike Windows Mobile phones. or have a phone freak on certain callers... like my Nokia E62 did.
there are some "neat-o" things I would like to do. Like have the phone report my GPS location every 15 seconds to my server at home. It would be cool to have the house see that I am on my way home and turn the heater on the hot-tub on when I am within a 15 minute distance, or make other decisions when it senses I am on a return path. but I can live without that, or simply grab the phone, fire up the crestron app and press the button myself.
I also still have not found a single Apple-hater that does not change their mind when I actually show them what I do with my phone that they CANT do with theirs. (lack of "app for that"(tm)(r) on their platform mostly)
Recently the biggest was sitting at a bar, talking to a client, filling out and sending them an invoice and then processing a credit card payment over the phone right there after they got the invoice. A colleague freaked and instead of doing his typical, frothing at the mouth apple-hate, started asking serious questions about it more.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.