Apple’s next iPhone model is coming soon. On April 18, an Apple beta tester accidentally left his prototype iPhone in a San Francisco bar. The recovered prototype, worth its weight in gold to technology enthusiasts, was sold for $5000 to Gizmodo.com, a major technology blog. The Gizmodo staff then wrote a detailed article on the device.

The redesigned iPhone is thinner, has a brighter, higher resolution screen and features a front-facing camera and a noise canceling microphone. The front-facing camera would allow mobile face-to-face video chatting on the device, using applications like Skype. The new iPhone will run OS4, the latest announced, but not yet released edition of the iPhone’s operating system. The device was remotely disabled by Apple, when they realized it was lost, so Gizmodo didn’t get the opportunity to review the beta version of OS4.
Apple’s press release on OS4, the next iPhone’s software, reports “100+ improvements” that include the ability to multitask with apps, a better mail app and an electronic book store and reader.
On a related note, Apple’s supposed three-year contract with AT&T will expire this summer, allowing Apple to sell its phone to other phone companies, including Verizon. AT&T is notorious for its bad reception and slow internet speeds, whereas Verizon, which uses a fundamentally different technology, has been known for its reliability. The difference in AT&T and Verizon’s wireless protocols has previously prevented even jailbroken, or hacked, iPhones from running on Verizon’s network.
A Verizon-compatible iPhone is currently in the works, and will be released once the contract with AT&T expires. Any iPhone owner will tell you that its biggest downfall is its bad service, so it’s exciting that the amazing device will soon be freed from its horrible reception.