BenQ confirms iPhone?

The good folks at Morgan Stanley have already done all they could to convince anyone who wants to believe that Apple's working on an iPhone. Now another source has apparently come forward to buttress the claims. According to the Australian site Smarthouse, an executive at BenQ has confirmed plans for the phone, saying that "BenQ will not be making it ... however several of our suppliers have been approached to manufacture parts. Among manufacturers in Taiwan it is common knowledge." While we have no way to confirm the alleged exec's account, it does jibe with Morgan Stanley's claims that various Taiwanese manufacturers have been contacted to work on the project. If it's true that this is "common knowledge" in Taiwan, though, we expect that Stevie J. will be sending his minions to the island any day now. Apple's been pretty good about avoiding leaks from manufacturing partners, and if tongues are wagging in Taiwan, some of these contracts may just end up getting shifted across the Strait. (And, yes, the pic is one of the many iPhone fakes out there; we sort of like this one, since it's based on the original iBook, a design Apple abandoned years ago.)

[Thanks, Mike]

[Snoogans @ Mar 22nd 2006 4:00PM]

How's it feel ipod fanboys? That shit is UGLY!

[Jordan @ Mar 22nd 2006 4:04PM]

Snoogans ... RTFP, that ain't it!

[Brandon @ Mar 22nd 2006 4:06PM]

I would love to see people using those iBook styled iPhones. I'd get a huge kick out of that.

(Yeah, I know they're fake.)

[Si @ Mar 22nd 2006 4:06PM]

For fook's sake, RTFA!

[DJ @ Mar 22nd 2006 4:07PM]

Before the entire world starts posting about how they like or dislike the phone in the picture, get a grip..... IT'S A FAKE!!!!! Even says so in the article.

[David @ Mar 22nd 2006 4:07PM]

It's fake, read the damn post.

Hopefully the actual iPhone would be more along the lines of the Sony Ericcson W950i; or maybe it'll push Sony to release that gem in the States, too :)

[Giblets @ Mar 22nd 2006 4:10PM]

I'll keep my Moto razr v3 thank you. That is too homely looking for me to carry and an embarrassment to the owner.

[Jake @ Mar 22nd 2006 4:13PM]

Holy damn, you people are dense. I'm looking at you, Snoogans and Giblets. Reading 4tw.

[Rizzy Bizzy @ Mar 22nd 2006 4:16PM]

Giblets, the phone is a fake. They just used it as an example.

Let me repeat that.

THE PHONE IS A FAKE. THE ONE IN THE PICTURE IS NOT REAL.

Thank you.

[JoeBob @ Mar 22nd 2006 4:17PM]

Giblets, avert your gaze upward to the previous comments.
Apple isn't going to release a product that isn't visually appealing, Jonathan Ive can do much better than that dummy pic.

[ipodrulz @ Mar 22nd 2006 4:33PM]

Wow... some people are so stupid... if you just come here to look at pictures go to flkr or something....

Anyways doesn't the phone (I know it is fake BTW) remind you of the apple bluetooth mouse??

[blahblah @ Mar 22nd 2006 4:34PM]

In the age on The Internet, the best that we can do is, "My brother's father's aunt's dog's cat's elf says parts are being priced"? The truth is revealed: The Internet is only slightly better at diseeminating really useful info than, say, print media or the telephone. /rolleyes

[mo @ Mar 22nd 2006 4:34PM]

What a surprise, Engadget spewing more rumor crap for Apple. Trying to get a job in Cupertino, engadget boy?

[James @ Mar 22nd 2006 4:47PM]

who gives a crap about this phone. only apple loving fanboys. ZOMG ZOMG itunes on my phone!! no doubt it's gonna be white since apple patented that color.

[Stanislaw @ Mar 22nd 2006 4:48PM]

My god that's ugly - I like Apple products but that is really, really fugly. Who would buy that?

[Jacob Varghese @ Mar 22nd 2006 4:49PM]

I wish Benq was involved in the design.
They make some good looking phones and aren't an active player in the US.

I would love to see an apple version of this ben q phone:

http://www.benq.com/product/detail_P50.cfm

[Jacob Varghese @ Mar 22nd 2006 4:52PM]

Why do people comment before reading the whole post???

[hans @ Mar 22nd 2006 4:52PM]

it boggles my mind how many of the brainless engadget readers don't take the time to read the friggin article but take the time to make an uninformed post about the picture.

[Jimmy @ Mar 22nd 2006 5:05PM]

I want the green one! The green one is kewl!

[allap @ Mar 22nd 2006 5:14PM]

EWW It's HORRENDOUS!! HaHa, just messin'

[Steve @ Mar 22nd 2006 5:15PM]

Ewwww! I can't believe apple is making those!!!111

Just kidding, I read the article.

[Megan Drygas @ Mar 22nd 2006 5:20PM]

Ok first I get they are fakes.... but never the less I actually really like them. I would be all over the orange one!

Phones here in the US are so plain. While these are simple they really work for me. But sadly they are fake...

[mcfist @ Mar 22nd 2006 5:29PM]

OMGZ TAHTS UGLY IM NOT BUIYNG IT LOL

[Brian @ Mar 22nd 2006 5:33PM]

But what is real, anyway? Maybe we're all in the Matrix.

[Azhar @ Mar 22nd 2006 5:38PM]

No phone can never be as amazing as the Nokia 8800. It may not be an apple phone and it may not be very specced up but it is the most beutiful gadget on the universe. I love Apple but I dont think thier iphone will beat the 8800 in terms of breathtakingness..... No matter what it will look like. (unless it has a fullscreen touch screen video ipod built in). One more thing. I love the name G5. No more G5. Macs will be referred to as intel imacs and this is boring. "oooh my imac has a core duo" Compared to "hey kids, I gotta G5". This is a sad day in apple product naming. Longlive G4 and G5......

[mike @ Mar 22nd 2006 5:43PM]

How's it feel ipod fanboys? That shit is UGLY!

--

HAHAHAHA what?! you're criticizing a mock up..


or did you think apple released pics of an unnannounced product.. LMFAO

dork

[Michael Hainsworth @ Mar 22nd 2006 5:50PM]

Guess what happens when you go to http://www.iphone.org?

..and I did a WHOIS lookup. While you can spoof such things as registrant addresses, the nameservers are Apple's.

[cycomachead @ Mar 22nd 2006 5:56PM]

I happen to like that look
thank you

I love the fact that apple designs stand out

[mark smith @ Mar 22nd 2006 6:07PM]

I'm imagining a .5" to .75" flip that looks like the powerbooks. brushed aluminum with an illuminated apple in the middle with a caller ID screen in it.

[sammy mazola jr� @ Mar 22nd 2006 6:43PM]

Those pix may be fakes but you're missing the point: Apple really blew it on the design of them -- fuuuuuugly!

[Snoogans @ Mar 22nd 2006 8:45PM]

duh. who the hell would comment on a post without reading it, that's just ignorant. It's great to steam you poonaners up.

[TZK @ Mar 22nd 2006 9:40PM]

Isnt it interesting though - this mock design of the iPhone looks a lot like a Moto PEBL.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... :)

[Saswat Pattanayak @ Mar 22nd 2006 11:59PM]

Hey Michael, good job. That link actually leads to Apple! Authentic, huh?

[ian @ Mar 23rd 2006 12:57AM]

Make it also a bluetooth enabled mouse for the Mac, and you will have the ultimate package. Forget cams and carp like that. Use ur phone as a mouse. That'd be shweet. Mobile Music Mouse.

[dumas @ Mar 23rd 2006 1:11AM]

Nice try snoogans. Dumbass

[Gogh @ Mar 23rd 2006 2:38AM]

How do you feel fanboys? You�re ugly!

[Sirius @ Mar 23rd 2006 2:51AM]

You know.. regardless of whether anyone's read the article or not.. u can -see- that it's a fake.. how many years has it been since Apple Computer, Inc has had a logo consisting of an apple that didn't have a bite out of it..?!? (the leaf's slanting the wrong way too)

point is.. anyone who genuinely thought that the mock up was real.. not only did they not read the article.. they didn't even look at the picture properly..

it'll be a sad day for engadget readers when all posts containing mock up photos/pictures on engadget has to start with "The FAKE picture we have here shows..." .. or maybe they'll have to superimpose "This picture is a fake" right over the picture.. who knows.. maybe these people are delusional enough that -nothing- will sway them from thinking all mock ups are real prototypes..
/rant

[mark @ Mar 23rd 2006 4:54AM]

It's not a bite out of an apple that is Apple's logo.
It's the dent in the apple that fell on Isaac Newtons head. Read Apple's history, the original logo was a B&W engraving of the aforementioned scene.
It's also why Apple's ill-fated (yet in the final design years ahead) PDA was called Newton.

[iMac600 @ Mar 23rd 2006 7:01AM]

When and if they come around, i'll be considering one. I don't have a phone yet
but tend to take notice to Apple tech.

[Gordy @ Mar 23rd 2006 10:26AM]

Apple's phone will probably have one button. You know, simplicity.

[Jeff Lewis @ Mar 23rd 2006 12:45PM]

If Apple is really thinking about making a cell phone, they're totally nuts.

A cell phone isn't like an iPod. The distribution model is entirely different. For one thing, you can't just sell a cellphone - it has to run on someone's network.

For GSM phones, it's not as big a problem since you can put your SIM card into any compliant cellphone and it'll work. But for current CDMA (which is still the major player in the US and does not have the equivalent of a SIM card), it has to be offered by a provider.

If you DO buy a cellphone that's not locked to a provider, you're paying full price, and we often forget just how big a discount we get on cellphones... and let's be honest here - Apple's track record on 'price competitiveness' is pretty grim.

If Apple makes a cellphone (or more accurately, if Apple designs one and has someone make it for them), they'll find themselves in a very strange and competitive landscape with which they're totally out of touch. One where constant change and redesign is the norm and selling feature-rich products for very little is expected.

I suppose Apple can eke out the same market niche it has in the PC world: trendy bit of bling that some people will go crazy over, copied (badly) by everyone who wants to be cool but isn't, and otherwise talked about but not bought by most people.

And before you say 'iPod', that's a case where Apple essentially created a market. The cell phone is a case where there already is a well established and functioning market. They're not the same thing.

[Da King @ Mar 23rd 2006 5:36PM]

I know that picture is facke but i would definitly buy that phone. It is the shit!!!!!!!

[Daley @ Mar 24th 2006 7:03AM]

I personally cannot wait to see if this comes to fruition.

Love Apple, or hate Apple - Jonathon Ive has to be one of the best designers in the world!!

[Luigi Buffer @ Mar 24th 2006 1:01PM]

The only problem I foresee is that Apple will not be using the standard GSM / CDMA format but their own unique technology.

[Beemik @ Apr 12th 2006 3:20PM]

Why an iPhone?? It's like this; Apple has a 2-5% stake in the computer market. The iPod has helped with that quite a bit because the iPod took 72% of the media player market last year boosting the Apple name. With the introduction of Intel based Macs there hopeing not to be to 'geek' and now speak in a language that average consumers understand. To back that language everone understand you can now dual boot win xp and it's ok with Apple. So for all the people(there might be none depending on who you speak to) who wanted an Apple computer but were affraid there's no need to be scared anymore. So with the idea in the consumers mind that Apple is a friendly company with recent products that work well enough to take a 72% stake in one sector then why not take a risk at putting an iPhone out. There were over 800 million cell phones sold world wide last year. If Apple takes even 2-5% of the cell phone market like they have with the computer market that would be 16-40 million handsets a year. Apple would be just plain stupid not to make an iPhone. Especialy with all the black ink about there company right now.

[Chris @ Dec 8th 2006 12:19PM]

I'm glad it's not going to look anything like the photo above. I like some of the Apple iphone pictures found in the gallery at: http://www.everythingiphone.com/iphone-photo-gallery/

[tmerritt @ Jan 9th 2007 9:39PM]

The official iPhone was just announced today, This is going to rock your world.

http://www.apple.com/iphone/