Case manufacturers getting early 3G iPhone size specs?

Next-gen iPhone rumors are swirling fast and furious, but the latest out of iLounge matches up with what we've heard: the 3G iPhone will be glossy black and slightly thicker than before. iLounge says that Apple has once again provided overseas case manufacturers with details of a new device, and they've mocked up the image above as an illustration, with the old model on the left and top for comparison. There's not much to go on, but we're curious as to what that additional front-mounted sensor is, and we know a few people that would kill for a red iPhone. iLounge says that developers and case manufacturers believe the specs to be correct and have already started work on accessories, but only Steve (and a couple hundred Apple employees) know for sure -- the rest of us will just have to wait.

[Travis @ May 1st 2008 4:57PM]

Niiiice.

[vdogg89 @ May 1st 2008 7:33PM]

i dunno about the curved back. it doesnt look like it will sit flatly on a desk, but more, wobble

[BK @ May 1st 2008 7:56PM]

When has apple EVER rounded the 30 pin dock connector...
It wouldn't work with anything.

[Michael LaFramboise @ May 1st 2008 8:10PM]

BK, its not curved... its still a rectangle, what you're looking at is the slot for the SIM card

[BK @ May 1st 2008 8:24PM]

umm.. it says "bottom holes"

[carguy84 @ May 1st 2008 8:39PM]

I HOPE this one has some sort of external blinking LED that let's me know when I have new mail/missed a call. That is probably the biggest feature missing that Blackberry has. That and an email system that works consistantly.

[phanbouy @ May 1st 2008 4:58PM]

i think you're mixing that up with the JokerPhone

[Jesus Valadez @ May 1st 2008 5:22PM]

I think you mean the Riddlerphone

[phanbouy @ May 1st 2008 5:35PM]

ha! indeed. riddle me wrong.

[Scentedflame @ May 1st 2008 4:59PM]

That should be a great product.

I neither love nor hate Apple...so my opinion should be accepted, right?

[robopony @ May 1st 2008 5:02PM]

I love _and_ hate Apple? Could my opinion be accepted?

[JimReaper @ May 1st 2008 5:02PM]

I don't like that concept glossy black case, it looks cheap in comparison to the current iPhone imo.

[Bradley Cain @ May 1st 2008 5:04PM]

Whatev the old metal case is sooooo 2007 ;)

[Michael @ May 1st 2008 7:08PM]

according to gizmodo the glossy back is just a third-party case:
http://gizmodo.com/384356/glossy-black-iphone-3g-is-just-a-third+party-case

[jacob @ May 1st 2008 5:48PM]

i agree, but the metal may start to interfere with all the radios in there and where they are located. just a thought.

[absurdio @ May 1st 2008 6:17PM]

Yeah. I hear ya. I'm sure there's valid reasons for all of it, but I don't like the sound of glossy black plastic, I don't like the sound of "thicker" (sounds distinctly un-Apple to me...), and, hell, I think the new (right) tapering is less appealing, too. Here's hoping a lot of rumors are wrong.

[Patriks7 @ May 2nd 2008 2:30AM]

if ud be following along, u'd know its not PLASTIC -.-

[Dave @ May 1st 2008 5:03PM]

It has to be thicker to fit the gps chip. That reassures me that gps chip will be implemented!

[Gravy @ May 1st 2008 5:12PM]

It has to be thicker to fit the _______. That reassures me that ________ will be implemented!

Fill in the blanks with whatever you want!

[itlnstln @ May 1st 2008 5:35PM]

@gravy

the answer is "pipe in my backside."

[phanbouy @ May 1st 2008 5:41PM]

It has to be thicker to fit the (orifice). That reassures me that (celibacy) will be implemented!

[Mike @ May 1st 2008 5:45PM]

...thicker to fit the Newton MessagePad. That reassures me that Newton Intelligence will be implemented!

I wish...

[w00t @ May 1st 2008 5:49PM]

It's thicker because the battery has to be twice the size like any other 3G phone!

Trust me, get any 3g phone and switch the 3g off so it stays with 2g networks and the battery lasts twice as long!

Three used to moan at me all the time for doing this...not only did I get better battery life but it stopped the phone from having no signal all the time in weak 3G areas, because they pay extra to rent 2g space from other networks it seems their phones favor a 1 bar 3g signal over a full 2g one!

[az1324 @ May 1st 2008 7:37PM]

___ = fanboi pride?

[Stewart @ May 1st 2008 5:07PM]

I will totally switch carriers for this.

[marcushe @ May 1st 2008 5:12PM]

I really hope the new front mounted "sensor" is actually another camera for iPhone video chat! (3G has the bandwith for such video in h.264)

[majortom1981 @ May 1st 2008 5:15PM]

I am pretty sure that att has a video chat service but is not very widespread at the moment. Heck if I add the video camera to my v3xx that was taken out for the us version of the phone I could video call also.

[v3xx @ May 1st 2008 10:27PM]

add a camera to me?

[gad get @ May 2nd 2008 5:10AM]

Yes, add a camera to you. Now don't you feel special?

[Eckofish @ May 1st 2008 5:14PM]

I saw that iLounge article and came up with this:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eckofish/2456836669/

Any thoughts?

[whatishalo? @ May 1st 2008 5:31PM]

I thought they said it will be slightly thicker than before but the mockups show it thinner?

[Eckofish @ May 1st 2008 5:42PM]

There are conflicting reports. The ones from Forbes saying that it will be 2.5 mm thinnner. But no one knows really.

[phanbouy @ May 1st 2008 5:56PM]

your av is highly disturbing

[Harkonian @ May 1st 2008 7:24PM]

I think we can assume since it has more hardware in it and not less hardware that it will be thicker.

How did the thinner rumor even get started? It makes no sense.

[MonTage69 @ May 2nd 2008 3:55AM]

Okay Seriously! I am highly doubtful that technology has improved so vastly over the past year that they are able to IMPROVE the battery life of the iPhone + implement 3G (which has huge power consumption) + add GPS + make it so much smaller! Please! Apple are good, but i'm highly doubtful they are miracle workers!

[matthew Crawford @ May 1st 2008 5:19PM]

I just hope it has a decent camera this go-round, in addition to all the things we're pretty much guaranteed that it'll have at this point :-)

[Zoli @ May 1st 2008 5:31PM]

This is what the author wrote:

4/8: Contrary to what a couple of sites have erroneously reported (apparently without reading the text above), the image is an artist’s rendition, not a template sent by Apple to select partners or something of the sort. The curve/radius is illustrative of the taper, and should not be micro-measured for hidden bumps or battery compartments.

Posted by Jeremy Horwitz in East Amherst, NY, USA on May 1, 2008 at 9:07 AM (PDT)

[snowenloe @ May 1st 2008 5:33PM]

I'm a Verizon customer, but this glossy iPhone would make me switch carriers, IF it had real GPS and stereo bluetooth

[Max Savin @ May 1st 2008 6:09PM]

I'm selling my iPhone and going to go for the new one.

Does anyone here think that the new one is going to be selling out right away?

[Anton @ May 1st 2008 5:39PM]

@ Gravy: " x-ray vision camera." mark my words.

[Wolfticket @ May 1st 2008 5:40PM]

My first impression of the iPhone was that it is thicker and heavier than I expected. The touch is a much nicer form factor. I'd rather have that and a slim 3g phone if I wanted to do the Apple-multitouch-thing.

[Warren @ May 1st 2008 5:42PM]

Could the extra holes on the bottom be for stereo speakers? Small ones on each side of the 30 pin dock for microphone and larger for speakers?

Just an idea...

[w00t @ May 1st 2008 5:53PM]

What would be the point, it's not like listening to only the hi hat out of a tinny phone speaker is worthwhile or anything, stereo or not :)

Besides what's the point of stereo with practically zero separation?

[Warren @ May 1st 2008 5:56PM]

It was a complaint that some people had when the phone first came out... Might make the ringtones louder as well...i dunno. Just shooting off ideas as to why there are so many openings at the bottom of the phone.

[MakGuyver @ May 1st 2008 6:03PM]

Openings are at the top of the phone dood.

[Seth A @ May 2nd 2008 7:33PM]

No they arent, read what it says. Each quadrant shows the old iPhone look and the supposed new iPhone look. Those openings are on the bottom.

[Quikboy @ May 1st 2008 6:05PM]

Rumors, rumors, and more rumors. How about Engadget gives us concrete details instead of questioning what there could be?

That would be much nicer.

[tande @ May 1st 2008 6:16PM]

Huh? Its "rumors" because apple tends not to come straight out and say "this is what we've got planned for the next year and a half".

If they did, yeah it would be great but then there wouldn't be much need for sites like Engadget.

[Quikboy @ May 1st 2008 6:22PM]

@tande : Exactly. If no concrete details, no need to post anything about it. If you can't verify it for sure, why post it? I can remember a few times where rumors on Engadget have pushed people to make rash decisions, often not ending well.

It could be just me, but does anyone else notice lots of rumors posted for iPhone/Mac products, but not so much on other products?

[MakGuyver @ May 1st 2008 6:11PM]

It has been confirmed that in fact the new iPhone will feature a further miniaturized version of Cell, and can split atoms while decoding the human genome.