We’ve all been following Engadget’s coverage of the mysterious new iPhone, due sometime this summer 2010. This is an iPhone that so far has had an amazing journey.

It started by being lost in a bar in San Jose, cleverly disguised within an iPhone 3GS case. Once online, many could not decide whether it was real or fake and just when we were all convinced that this new device was real, MacRumors reports that the device is a Japanese knock-off.

So this is not a real iPhone? Right? RIGHT?

Soon after, Gizmodo got their hands on this device and decided to take it apart and what they found inside, aside from the typical Apple aesthetic, was legitimate and branded Apple parts. Folks, this is the next iPhone:

It is worth noting that this device could very well be a prototype (XXGB on the back) and could very well be a fake, but it is the most convincing, amazing, unbelievable, revolutionary, and magical fake I’ve ever seen. So, what’s new?

New Features

• The first newly visible feature is the front-facing video camera
• The rear camera includes a flash
• Micro-SIM (iPad 3G) instead of regular SIM
• The SIM tray has been moved to the side of the device
• The display has been improved and is a higher resolution than that of the iPhone 3GS
• Sleep/wake, silent switch, and volume buttons are metallic
• Two buttons for volume control (camera controls?)
• Two microphones; one at the bottom and one next to the headphone jack

Differences

• A new aluminum border surrounding the device
• Smaller display as compared with the iPhone 3GS
• Larger battery
• 3-grams heavier
• Design is squared
• The back is flat and made from a glass type or shiny plastic material
• All internal components have been reduced in size, likely done to make room for the higher capacity battery

Why It’s Real

Gizmodo notes some valid claims for why this device is the next iPhone:

• The device has been reported to be lost, which came from John Gruber’s contacting people familiar with the matter.

• The screen is very high-resolution, making it near impossible to identify individual pixels. As many know, on iPhone knock-offs, the screens are usually extremely poor.

• No other phone or device in North America is using micro-SIM as their SIM card right now. The fact that Apple is starting this with the iPad 3G further reinforces that this iPhone is their device.

• Before being reported lost, the operating system was iPhone OS 4.0. Unfortunately, once reported lost, Apple apparently wiped the device remotely, preventing further access to the device. Attempts to restore have failed since there is no firmware yet available for the new device.
• When connected to a computer, the device behaves like an iPhone, iTunes recognizes it as an iPhone and Xcode on a Mac further recognizes it as an iPhone.

• The case used to disguise the device as an iPhone 3GS had all the proper new holes cut-out.

• Some of the internal components, aside from being perfectly implemented in terms of spacing, were labeled “Apple” and that would be highly unlikely in a knock-off device.

Hardware Specifications

• Dimensions: 4.50 by 2.31 by 0.37 inches
• Weight: 140 grams (3GS: 137 grams)
• Battery: 5.25 WHr at 3.7V (3GS: 4.51 WHr at 3.7V)

What a roller coaster of yes/no real/fake these latest pics of a supposed fourth generation iPhone has caused. Engadget posted some pics they had received, claiming to be a new iPhone. They looked pretty good. Then some one else found a TwitPic of what looked like the same device, adding some validity to the pics.

Then this morning, MacRumors reported the the pics were in fact, fakes, and they were actually pics of a Japanese knock off of the iPhone.

Now, Engadget is back, claiming they had a picture of this device all along, and just didn’t realize it! In this pic, apparently from an Apple test lab, we see the iPad, and an iPhone, in some type of test casing, but if you look in the upper right hand corner, you can see what looks like the device they had pictures of yesterday! I don’t know what to believe anymore!!

iPhone in Canada: With June/July 2010 coming up fast, the iPhone rumor mill is churning!

Images showcasing what may be the next generation iPhone case have been revealed online. MacRumors has received a set of images that claim to be the rear shell of the next iPhone, due summer 2010.

The casing is highly iPad-inspired, with a similar design and color resembling Apple’s recently launched iPad. The text on the back of the casing reveals the photo is of a 64GB model and further includes the standard “Designed by Apple in California Assembled in China” line.

The side shots of the images showcase familiar case cutouts, including space for the volume rocker and the silent switch. The back shows the cutout for the camera and the bottom of the casing shows the speaker, microphone, and dock connector.

MacRumors notes that the metadata that was included with the images indicated that they were passed through Photoshop CS4, carrying dates ranging from March 23 to April 14, 2010.