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Gizmodo gets its hands on the new iPhone prototype

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LCfiner said:
don't be so sure of that.

Apple doesn't leak shit like this. they whisper secrets in the ears of reporters at big papers like the NY times. they don't give out prototype phones to gadget blogs.
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Sure, but if you wanted people to see the phone itself and stir up a tonne of interest without making a formal announcement ahead of the unveiling in June... Gizmodo (or rather Gawker) wouldn't be a bad place to start.

Happens to HTC all the time and it hasn't done them any harm.
 
Majik said:
Sure, but if you wanted people to see the phone itself and stir up a tonne of interest without making a formal announcement ahead of the unveiling in June... Gizmodo (or rather Gawker) wouldn't be a bad place to start.

Happens to HTC all the time and it hasn't done them any harm.
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again, Apple is a very different beast than other companies when it comes to new products. They don't have the need to leak prototype hardware since just a hint of what might be coming via some tipster is enough to get people interested.

plus, friggin' everyone knew (or should have known) a new iPhone was coming (Jobs was quoted as saying as much in a town hall meeting plus the company has said in the past that the iPhone is a June refresh product).

the new iphone is not a surprise. only the industrial design is a surprise.

I don't think this leak is going to negatively impact sales in the summer -- and I wouldn't feel sympathy for Apple if it did. it does, however, give competitors a sneak peak as to what direction Apple is heading. And Apple hates that more than anything.
 
Was weird waking up this morning to NBC's today show showing pictures of the iphone with Gizmodo plastered all over the images. They made jokes about the Apple employee.
 
LCfiner said:
again, Apple is a very different beast than other companies when it comes to new products. They don't have the need to leak prototype hardware since just a hint of what might be coming via some tipster is enough to get people interested.

plus, friggin' everyone knew (or should have known) a new iPhone was coming (Jobs was quoted as saying as much in a town hall meeting plus the company has said in the past that the iPhone is a June refresh product).

the new iphone is not a surprise. only the industrial design is a surprise.

I don't think this leak is going to negatively impact sales in the summer -- and I wouldn't feel sympathy for Apple if it did. it does, however, give competitors a sneak peak as to what direction Apple is heading. And Apple hates that more than anything.
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If it wasn't leaked Gizmodo would be guilty of conversion and Apple could have the posts removed via a temporary restraining order.
 
Majik said:
If it wasn't leaked Gizmodo would be guilty of conversion and Apple could have the posts removed via a temporary restraining order.
Click to expand...

There's little point, once it's out, the internet has already made a copy of all that information.

People who think this is a controlled leak are crazy, it's way too elaborate.
 
Futureman said:
Whoever sold the iPhone MIGHT be a dumbass.

As in... I wonder if Apple would have given them a reward for turning it in.
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If by reward you mean a bunch of guards escorting him out of the building after a team of lawyers threaten to sue the shit out of him if ever talks about what he saw.

Sure.
 
DrFunk said:
yeah, NO.

This is Apple, why would they give news of their biggest product to a tabloid rag like gizmodo?
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Because it was already all over network news as of last night?

I'm not entirely sold on the idea that it was a controlled leak, but you'd have to be three dozen shades of blind to not see the press and gossip that this is generating.
 
Davidion said:
Because it was already all over network news as of last night?
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It would be all over the network news on the day Apple announced it, like always. They don't need cheap stunts. Even better, it would have been preceded by weeks of insane hype for what Jobs would eventually show off. That's all gone now.

If all of the other logical evidence doesn't do it for you, LCfiner nailed it when he said Apple hates their competitors knowing what they're doing. It makes no sense at all for them to put out their future work months in advance for everyone else to copy. This goes for any company on the planet.
 
Liu Kang Baking A Pie said:
It would be all over the network news on the day Apple announced it, like always. They don't need cheap stunts. Even better, it would have been preceded by weeks of insane hype for what Jobs would eventually show off. That's all gone now.

If all of the other logical evidence doesn't do it for you, LCfiner nailed it when he said Apple hates their competitors knowing what they're doing. It makes no sense at all for them to put out their future work months in advance for everyone else to copy. This goes for any company on the planet.
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Did you miss the part where I was just addressing his questioning of release to Gizmodo and said i wasn't convinced that it was controlled?
 
El Sloth said:
Why are we still talking about controlled leaks? Jesus.
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Why do they need to leak info? Apple doesn't do these cheap kinds of leaks, they don't have to. They're slapping logos on turds and people are preordering them. This seems like a legit leak, especially with the camo packaging it came in. Google employees beta hardware months in advance too. I wouldn't be surprised if employees have been walking around with Evos for a few months now. PEACE.
 
Davidion said:
Did you miss the part where I was just addressing his questioning of release to Gizmodo and said i wasn't convinced that it was controlled?
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I was addressing "you'd have to be three dozen shades of blind to not see the press and gossip that this is generating." What you've written implies that the Gizmodo thing still has a sliver of plausibility because Apple wouldn't have gotten their usual torrent of hype and press that they get through their usual methods.

I want the silly controlled leak babble to stop so we can go back to calling Gizmodo dicks.
 
Liu Kang Baking A Pie said:
It would be all over the network news on the day Apple announced it, like always. They don't need cheap stunts. Even better, it would have been preceded by weeks of insane hype for what Jobs would eventually show off. That's all gone now.

If all of the other logical evidence doesn't do it for you, LCfiner nailed it when he said Apple hates their competitors knowing what they're doing. It makes no sense at all for them to put out their future work months in advance for everyone else to copy. This goes for any company on the planet.
Click to expand...

Even still, a front-facing camera isn't exactly something to go into defcon 4 over.
 
Liu Kang Baking A Pie said:
I was addressing "you'd have to be three dozen shades of blind to not see the press and gossip that this is generating." What you've written implies that the Gizmodo thing still has a sliver of plausibility because Apple wouldn't have gotten their usual torrent of hype and press that they get through their usual methods.

I want the silly controlled leak babble to stop so we can go back to calling Gizmodo dicks.
Click to expand...


:lol


they are dicks, aren't they?


Has there been any other tech leak, from any company, that compares to this?

I don't think the PSP Go is on the same level. Or the xbox live avatar dashboard update. Anything concerning Windows? or Google products?

this has to be right up there.
 
Liu Kang Baking A Pie said:
I was addressing "you'd have to be three dozen shades of blind to not see the press and gossip that this is generating." What you've written implies that the Gizmodo thing still has a sliver of plausibility because Apple wouldn't have gotten their usual torrent of hype and press that they get through their usual methods.

I want the silly controlled leak babble to stop so we can go back to calling Gizmodo dicks.
Click to expand...

Really? And those Apple press events aren't filled with the same mix of skepticism from naysayers and typical back-and-forths? There are no other products on the market out there that's gaining improved mindshare in the market that Apple should be concerned about? There's no reason to be skeptical whatsoever about a company with borderline legendary security and privacy measures just accidentally letting a prototype of their next big product out the door with employees not only to run tests, but to get sloshed and potentially lose it?

I mean it's great that everyone here's suddenly an Apple insider and all, but I don't really care to pretend that I've the same perspective of the market as Apple does. You're just going to have to excuse me if I'm not acting like I could logically deduce their every move based on a couple of publicly available factoids.
 
jts said:
Everyone bought it though.
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......

C'mon!

But seriously, people need to offer an explanation for why Apple would do this. What does it do for them? Why would creating hype now, as opposed to when they announce it, benefit them? They are not exactly starved for headlines here people.
 
LCfiner said:
:lol


they are dicks, aren't they?


Has there been any other tech leak, from any company, that compares to this?

I don't think the PSP Go is on the same level. Or the xbox live avatar dashboard update. Anything concerning Windows? or Google products?

this has to be right up there.
Click to expand...
That PS3 slim one was something.

But it wasn't comparable to this.
 
I love how in the first two pages people were talking about how shitty gizmodo was and within 24 hours they completely reinforce it.
 
Some of you watch way, way too many movies. Controlled leaks... :lol

Put the tinfoil hats away so we can discuss other, more legit aspects of this story.
 
Interfectum said:
Because the release is just two months away?
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The XXXXXs all over it where the serial and GB count should be tells me this isn't close to finished. The hardware inside is finished, but the design isn't.

I imagine it will be very similar though. Probably the same thing without the seams in the silver parts.
 
The thing that bothers me is they used Mobile Me to wipe the prototype but not physically locate it?

That doesn't make any sense to me.
 
there was an interview a few months ago about the guy who was masterminding the promotions for apple from 2004 to very recently, and he was mentioning verbatim that they would release 'leaks' themselves to selected sites. Any 'leak' that didnt end up in an immediate massive legal strike was an uncontrolled one.

Why are you guys still discussing if its a legit leak or what?
 
Liu Kang Baking A Pie said:
The XXXXXs all over it where the serial and GB count should be tells me this isn't close to finished. The hardware inside is finished, but the design isn't.

I imagine it will be very similar though. Probably the same thing without the seams in the silver parts.
Click to expand...

Oh I'm sure it's not a consumer grade release product, but I'm betting it's pretty close.
 
Interfectum said:
Because the release is just two months away?
Click to expand...
I doubt anyone but Ive, Jobs and perhaps a few other Senior VPs know what the actual final design is.

I mean, c'mon, exposed screws? This isn't a Zune.
 
shuri said:
there was an interview a few months ago about the guy who was masterminding the promotions for apple from 2004 to very recently, and he was mentioning verbatim that they would release 'leaks' themselves to selected sites. Any 'leak' that didnt end up in an immediate massive legal strike was an uncontrolled one.

Why are you guys still discussing if its a legit leak or what?
Click to expand...

Link to it then, I'm interested.
 
fireside said:
I doubt anyone but Ive, Jobs and perhaps a few other Senior VPs know what the actual final design is.

I mean, c'mon, exposed screws? This isn't a Zune.
Click to expand...


funny how this keeps getting mentioned. the iPhone 3G and 3GS both have exposed screws on the bottom, by the dock connector.
 
punkypine said:
best looking iphone by far

hope it hits verizon, but if its impressive enough, i might just switch to ATT
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Man, I hope it hits Verizon too. I'm currently on AT&T and I'm not fond with their service.
 
Jexhius said:
Link to it then, I'm interested.
Click to expand...


here ya go.

http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/how_apple_does_controlled_leaks/

Often Apple has a need to let information out, unofficially. The company has been doing that for years, and it helps preserve Apple's consistent, official reputation for never talking about unreleased products. I know, because when I was a Senior Marketing Manager at Apple, I was instructed to do some controlled leaks.

The way it works is that a senior exec will come in and say, "We need to release this specific information. John, do you have a trusted friend at a major outlet? If so, call him/her and have a conversation. Idly mention this information and suggest that if it were published, that would be nice. No e-mails!"

The communication is always done in person or on the phone. Never via e-mail. That's so that if there's ever any dispute about what transpired, there's no paper trail to contradict either party's version of the story. Both sides can maintain plausible deniability and simply claim a misunderstanding. That protects Apple and the publication.
Click to expand...
 
Jexhius said:
Link to it then, I'm interested.
Click to expand...
http://www.appleinsider.com/article...ager_describes_companys_controlled_leaks.html

Not exactly the same article, but it was the same guy

edit: I remember during my beta testing days, we had to give up ANY electronic device that could possible capture or reproduce anything before even getting into the 'testing labs'. Cell phones, usb disks, even mp3 players of any kind, so that nothing, NOTHING could ever leak out. (pictures, code, even audio of games of hardware, or even how it looked nice). All our stuff was put into an individual locker by our manager.After a day of work, everything was counted down -- developpement carts, systems, cartridges, consoles or dev kits, before anyone even left the room. Nobody could leak ANYTHING, and this was a mid sized outfit; but this is normal procedure.

The fact that a working hardware prototype (!!!) of Apple Hardware was somehow managed to be carried outside, especially with Apple's paranoid monitoring and security teams.. is LOL. This was just a controlled leak, as described in the link
 
shuri said:
The fact that a working hardware prototype (!!!) of Apple Hardware was somehow managed to be carried outside, especially with Apple's paranoid monitoring and security teams.. is LOL. This was just a controlled leak, as described in the link
Click to expand...

Phones are tested and trialed in the wild. Wouldn't get any real data (radio strength though whatever material etc) if they were confined in a lab somewhere.
 
shuri said:
http://www.appleinsider.com/article...ager_describes_companys_controlled_leaks.html

Not exactly the same article, but it was the same guy

edit: I remember during my beta testing days, we had to give up ANY electronic device that could possible capture or reproduce anything before even getting into the 'testing labs'. Cell phones, usb disks, even mp3 players of any kind, so that nothing, NOTHING could ever leak out. (pictures, code, even audio of games of hardware, or even how it looked nice). All our stuff was put into an individual locker by our manager.After a day of work, everything was counted down -- developpement carts, systems, cartridges, consoles or dev kits, before anyone even left the room. Nobody could leak ANYTHING, and this was a mid sized outfit; but this is normal procedure.

The fact that a working hardware prototype (!!!) of Apple Hardware was somehow managed to be carried outside, especially with Apple's paranoid monitoring and security teams.. is LOL. This was just a controlled leak, as described in the link
Click to expand...
Wow. Read your link again. Remember that a C&D based on signed NDAS are a lot easier to enforce compared to common law situations where contracts are not in place.
 
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