iPhone spotted in public?

Could this be the first true and proper iPhone sighting in public? Like, for really reals this time? The pic was snapped by Engadget pal Mark Trammell on the CalTrain -- which we know many an Apple employee uses to commute from SF to Cupertino. But with the hype this device has, we almost wouldn't put it past some San Francisco supergeek to cruise around with a faux iPhone just to raise some eyebrows boost his geek cred.

[Via BGR]

Update: We talked to Mark further -- it was definitely an iPhone, no chance of being a fake. He said its user was flipping through songs and playing back music on the device. Note to iPhone obsessives: ride the CalTrain more often.

[psxp @ Jun 14th 2007 12:09PM]

I bet it IS the real deal!!

[dan @ Jun 14th 2007 1:32PM]

^ Liar

[Frankenstein Black @ Jun 14th 2007 11:01PM]

Dude don't hate, I test devices for a living! Want proof? Ok, Hey Block hit me up and I will tell you something you don't know. Trust me when I say as much as you have heard, there will still be surprises! See you back here in 2 weeks with that "Ooo-tihS look on your face. The thing is Dope so save those pennies Sunn!

[coffee @ Jun 14th 2007 12:10PM]

is this the future of engadget, reporting alleged 'sightings' of the iPhone?

we already know what it looks like, specs, what it can do, etc. It's not like this is a super-secret 'spy' shot like in AutoWeek, of a next-gen car that no one has yet seen.

get back to the good stuff.

[Ryan Block @ Jun 14th 2007 12:22PM]

Guess what, we did this with the Xbox 360, with the Zune, and we do it with every major gadget launch. Get over the fact that it's an iPhone this time!

[everrette powell @ Jun 14th 2007 12:54PM]

as far as i know this is regular and like it in the wild shot of something that isn't yet release the closest i have ever come to the is seeing the retro 13 two weeks before it was on sale.

[coffee @ Jun 14th 2007 1:30PM]

Ryan,

It doesn't matter to me who makes it or what it is. The fact is that it's not a big revelation, nor is this fuzzy Yeti/LochNess photo anything astonishing.

If you get your geek-on over this sort of thing, so be it. I would like some real gadget news, not bad pictures of something we've all seen good pictures of before.

[Craig @ Jun 14th 2007 3:16PM]

Ryan, You're a professional blogger and I certainly am not, so feel free to ignore this advice, but to me, it doesn't seem like a good idea to get involved in the comment tree on your own blog posting. You end up arguing with people, and it just doesn't look good for a professional blog like Engadget. Leave the commenting to your readers.

[Priapus @ Jun 16th 2007 6:29PM]

Craig, while you're right to some extent, I think it would be a shame if the writers stopped commenting. Most of us are very interested when they get involved in the discussion. If Ryan's comments here make a few less people moan about iPhone coverage on this site it will be well worth it.

[randy @ Jun 14th 2007 5:49PM]

Pffft, hh shut up, Craig. This isn't the editorial page of the New England Journal of Medicine. Enjoy yourself.

[Matt @ Jun 14th 2007 12:11PM]

Oh he's cute!

[carlo @ Jun 14th 2007 12:14PM]

Is this the first "coming out" on Engadget?????! Congrats. May as well out myself too.

He's not my type.

[Jonathan @ Jun 14th 2007 12:53PM]

He IS cute.. maybe it's just the iPhone though? :)

[Skylar @ Jun 14th 2007 1:23PM]

I agree, he IS cute!!

[Kimmie @ Jun 14th 2007 1:37PM]

I agree with you guys. A cute guy with an iPhone that hasn't been released yet whilst riding a CalTrain... The possibilities are endless.

[Graham! @ Jun 14th 2007 1:38PM]

i agree.

[greg z @ Jun 14th 2007 1:49PM]

Fo' sho'! Hottie tech guys on Caltrain... Why do you think I ride it everyday? I think, though, that they frown on my non-tech-public-health-employee ways. Just because I'm writing policy memos instead of code doesn't make me any less hot, guys. C'mon!

[badtzmaru @ Jun 14th 2007 1:52PM]

oh please, you cant even see his face! his schlong could be all jacked up. (and no im not talking about the one below...)

[J @ Jun 14th 2007 2:08PM]

nope...he's a confirmed hottie.

look at all the gay geeks unite lol

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c7/Mikematas.jpg

[kevin @ Jun 14th 2007 2:23PM]

how do you know that's him? (but if it is, he IS cute!)

[randy @ Jun 14th 2007 3:01PM]

"Oh I'm cute!"

[Adam @ Jun 14th 2007 3:18PM]

Very very cute. :)

[ZSX @ Jun 14th 2007 3:36PM]

It does look like Mike Matas: http://www.mikematas.com/

He is indeed very cute :-)
But also indeed very straight :-(

[Ben @ Jun 14th 2007 3:50PM]

And in this picture from his blog, it looks like same fashion style and 5 o'clock shadow.

http://www.mikematas.com/images/Mike_Matas_Taking_a_Photo.jpg

Too bad about being straight..

[Matt @ Jun 14th 2007 3:57PM]

Oh my god, my heart skipped a beat when i saw mike matas. what a swoon-fest.

[Roflgoat @ Jun 14th 2007 9:51PM]

Does he have a sister? I hope the whole "cute" thing is genetic. You guys sound pretty..um...excited.

[Ellianth @ Jun 14th 2007 10:30PM]

too bad we can't sent private messages on here. Engadget might have been THE place for gay guys to hookup. What a shame.

[ramcosca @ Jun 15th 2007 1:14AM]

So what if he's straight and you're not? Haven't you guys ever heard of conversion? lol

And I might not be gay, but I gotta admit he is cute.
What? I'm open-minded!

[Mark Schenkel @ Jun 17th 2007 2:39PM]

haha...when i saw the picture i was thinking about commenting on how hot the guy is, but thought the comment wouldn't be well received...boy was i wrong!

[carlo @ Jun 14th 2007 12:13PM]

Calm down!!!!!! Geez.

There are a few QA employees who have them.

Go wipe yourself off and fix up your resume. Apple is hiring.

[ggas @ Jun 14th 2007 12:17PM]

I think it is the real thing. Someone I work with was at a party and an Apple iPhone software engineer was there. He had one and wouldn't let anyone hold it. He was showing them how it worked with the whole "pinch multitouch" thing though. He said he was surprised at how small it was.

[gibber9583 @ Jun 14th 2007 12:21PM]

And my cousins uncle's sister's boyfriends friend of a friend's brother has one and showed me it.

[drtekger @ Jun 14th 2007 9:14PM]

I for one welcome your cousins uncle's sister's boyfriends friend of a friend's brother who has teh messias-phone

[Eugene Lee @ Jun 14th 2007 12:17PM]

transformers, iPhones in disguise!

oh the hype...

[kp4a @ Jun 14th 2007 12:18PM]

Whatever happened to that tiny black wireless headset fro the iphone?

[Bob e @ Jun 14th 2007 12:20PM]

I thought the iPhone was bluetooth - you mean I need to have old style wires for my buds? Oh no!

[KR @ Jun 14th 2007 12:48PM]

Just like many phones with Bluetooth, you don't HAVE to use a wireless earpiece. Particularly for listening to music, which is typically in stereo, I'd prefer to use wired headphones, rather than a single wireless speaker.

I'm sure the Bluetooth earpiece will be a pricey optional accessory. But just because it can do Bluetooth, doesn't mean you're limited to it. It also has a standard headphone jack.

[Gabe @ Jun 14th 2007 12:59PM]

you obviously don't know much about gadgets, several companies make bluetooth stereo headphones. The real question, even though they have specified that it will have bluetooth 2.0+EDR is whether or not the standard for stereo is built in.

here's an old set for phones, but there are other ones just for bluetooth audio. they have them for current gen ipods with the pin connector dongle.

http://www.sonyericsson.com/spg.jsp?cc=global&lc=en&ver=4001&template=pp4_1_1&zone=pp&lm=pp4_1&pid=10394

[KR @ Jun 14th 2007 1:08PM]

You obviously make too many assumptions. I know plenty about gadgets, particularly headphones. I'm well-aware that there are bluetooth stereo headphones out there. My comment was addressing that the user thought he "had" to use wired 'phones.

Also, I wanted to cover generalities. Most people use wired headphones or earbuds with portable music devices, and pretty much the only thing they use bluetooth functionality for is the single-ear communication pieces.

Naturally, there are exceptions to the rule. But, my guess is that for listening to music, the majority of iPhone owners will use wired headphones. They'll pretty much only use the Bluetooth functionality for a single-ear communication device. Again, notice I said majority, not ALL.

[Bobo e @ Jun 14th 2007 1:21PM]

So... let me get this right... If I use the old style buds with wires and I get a call I need to take the bud out of my ear and lift the phone with a wire sticking out of it up to my ear to talk?

Or does the sound of the phone call come through buds and I just talk to the phone without putting it up to my ear. Or do i remove a but and speak directly into the bud..

[KR @ Jun 14th 2007 1:40PM]

At the keynote in January, Jobs showed a photo of, and talked about, a new wired headphone. It looks very much like the standard iPod headphones, but has a small mic unit in the cord near your chest. When a call comes in, you squeeze the module to activate the mic. Phone call comes through the earbuds, your voice goes through the mic.

He didn't make it 100% clear whether or not this new earbud/mic combo comes with the iPhone, or if it is an optional accessory. My fingers are crossed for included. We'll see.

[Dan @ Jun 14th 2007 12:21PM]

Or you could try what Rui Carmo over at Tao of Mac suggests:
http://the.taoofmac.com/space/blog/2007/06/13/1511

[farfisa @ Jun 14th 2007 12:21PM]

Looks like a Zune to me. Though I can't be too sure--sightings are equally rare....

[Andrew Rodarte @ Jun 14th 2007 12:28PM]

It looks fake because there is little to no glare coming from the screen

[paloooz @ Jun 14th 2007 12:38PM]

You just need to look at the picture, only this time you need to make sure that your eyes are open so that you can see the bright blue glare from out the window and the defined reflection of his thumb.

[Davinder @ Jun 14th 2007 12:31PM]

Looks like a Dell Axim to me. If he is using it as an ipod device...shouldnt it be turned SIDEWAYS!?!

[Jon @ Jun 14th 2007 11:02PM]

I remember having the ability to text whilst the iPhone is vertical. It seems to me that he probably has some music playing in the background whilst texting. I'm not to sure about it though, as I also remember about only being able to do one thing at a time, but they might've gotten pass some of the hinderances.

[Dallas Grant @ Jun 16th 2007 4:01AM]

You can multitask with the iphone http://www.apple.com/iphone/technology/osx.html

[m3nphls @ Jun 14th 2007 12:32PM]

iPhone is crap, who would be so stupid to pay $600 for a 8gb phone and be stuck for 2 years?? lol

[xeper @ Jun 14th 2007 12:32PM]

It's a Dell Axim x5x series. I have two of them for software testing. An x50 and an x51v.