First iPhone 3G caught in the wild, unboxed and handled

If you're a prospective iPhone 3G buyer, get ready to make a mess of your keyboard, desk, and any nearby objects that may be hit by spittle flying out of your mouth. Some lucky, lucky Portuguese man or woman has already had the pleasure of cracking open the box and booting up their new device. Feast your eyes on the above pic and one more after the break, and keep reminding yourself that you've only got three more days to wait.

Update: We've added a picture of the mysterious SIM removal tool -- the shroud of secrecy is lifted after the break.

[Thanks, siniux]

[niels @ Jul 8th 2008 11:25AM]

nice one:D

[jimbo @ Jul 8th 2008 11:27AM]

Engadget was right.... I just made a mess of my keyboard and desk.





But it wasn't from spit.

[neofolklore @ Jul 8th 2008 11:31AM]

Ectoplasm? from inside you?

[CUBSWILLWIN @ Jul 8th 2008 11:37AM]

Not spit, eh? Lemonade?... :P On a note relating to the article, does this mean he got an iphone 3G without signing a contract, so he can use whatever carrier he chooses to use?

[bohsocks @ Jul 8th 2008 11:45AM]

António Maria da Silva must be turning over in his grave!

Yeah... look it up.

[bohsocks @ Jul 8th 2008 11:49AM]

António Maria da Silva must be turning over in his grave.....

Yeah... look it up

[Jeff @ Jul 8th 2008 11:54AM]

Someone should call that New Zealand guy and tell him to pack up and go home.. cuz he ain't gonna be the 1st one !!!

[bohsocks @ Jul 8th 2008 12:31PM]

Wow.... double post? WTF.

Hey Portu-guy or gal, get off your ass and jailbreak it already then post a howto :)

[andyg8180 @ Jul 8th 2008 1:15PM]

haha the iphone was shot with an N95 8GB lol... wow... too bad the sim card isnt removable... Ahhh well, iphone ftw!

[Reid @ Jul 8th 2008 2:20PM]

zomg hottest sim removal tool evar.

Soon winmo, android and bb devices will be ripping this off, and Chinese vendors will be selling counterfeits on the street.

[Imran @ Jul 8th 2008 2:58PM]

Yes Steffan, curse included :)

[ryan @ Jul 8th 2008 3:37PM]

this comment section is full of fail.

[Tom @ Jul 8th 2008 4:34PM]

Enjoy no video calling/MMS support/flash player.

My cheap phone can do all these, but i am sure the type of "people" who buy an iPhone will get these features in incremental updates (new phones).

Enjoy wasting your money retards!

[UhOh @ Jul 9th 2008 1:25PM]

Someone is fraudulently 3G iphones on ebay using this image! I knew I recognized the fried chicken fingers!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Apple-iPhone-3G-AT-T_W0QQitemZ280244564292QQihZ018QQcategoryZ3312QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Saad Rabia @ Jul 8th 2008 11:25AM]

Holly dead peacock! It's the almighty iPhone 3G!

[phoomp @ Jul 8th 2008 12:11PM]

OMGOMGOMG!!!1!11! It looks and functions almost exactly like the current iPhone!!1!1!!1

[Saad Rabia @ Jul 8th 2008 12:19PM]

And I thought Engadget readers would get the sarcasm I did!

I really, honestly, and sincerely hate everything about the iPhone 3G, except for the software.

[happy_penguin @ Jul 8th 2008 12:48PM]

Have you ever actually used an iPhone?

[CUBSWILLWIN @ Jul 8th 2008 1:26PM]

That SIM removal tool looks like a paperclip bent into a special shape...

[CUBSWILLWIN @ Jul 8th 2008 1:26PM]

That SIM removal tool looks like a paperclip bent into a special shape...

[SirPasta117 @ Jul 8th 2008 1:37PM]

its the iClip!

[Saad Rabia @ Jul 8th 2008 2:41PM]

Oh yes I did happy_penguin. Trust me, I tried it so many times, and the more I love the software the more I hate the hardware. I just don't like to see people downgrade their life style for the sake of just a fluid UI in an empty device, even the 3G iPhone on paper is just the same old thing with 3G (not even a 7.2 Mbps, just a 3.4 Mbps) and A-GPS, nothing more for the hardware!

No video recording was one of the worst experiences I had when trying the iPhone; I usually go right to the camera when i hold a new phone, in 2008.

Many other things are bad, but, it's just my opinion. :)

[derX @ Jul 8th 2008 5:10PM]

I honestly don't get how someone can hate a phone. I mean, I understand not liking a phone, but to hate a device like this so passionately, that's just crazy to me.

When I buy a phone, I take into consideration the phone's software as well as hardware and I think the iPhone has a good compromise of both. I'm currently sportin' a Nokia n80 and would not mind at all to get an iPhone 3G (am I the only person who hates saying that? Yeah, it's still and iPhone 2 to me). On my friend's iPhone, the internet experience is amazing and that's enough to win me...although the keyboard experience for me was enough to lose me, too (I've been told I have big fingers). And for me the lack of MMS and video recording is a non-issue. I honestly cannot remember the last time I sent an MMS or snapped a video (although the videocam on the n80 is quite impressive at the highest setting).

Again, I guess this comes down to a case of to each his own.

Or if we're being ultra PC.....

To each his or her own.

[Christopher P. TOdd @ Jul 8th 2008 7:44PM]

It has an honest to god GPS chip. It uses a-gps to speed things up.

[Vaishak Suresh @ Jul 9th 2008 1:14AM]

@derX Try an N82, don't compare N80 with iPhone.

[aard @ Jul 9th 2008 7:43AM]

Clippy's not dead! He just jumped ship to apple and ended as the sim-removal tool!

[fdtech @ Jul 8th 2008 11:25AM]

And apparantly the person ate fried chicken before handling the unit itself....

[alfatreze @ Jul 8th 2008 11:40AM]

In Portugal it would probably be Grilled Chicken, since we don't really have that many fast food habits, and the Chicken Grill Restaurants have existed for longer than I have been in existence.

Anyway, go Portugal go. :D Nab those eyephones.

[thatrotierkid @ Jul 8th 2008 11:41AM]

now i'll just print out the picture, scan it into the finger print database so i can figure out where he lives

[alfatreze @ Jul 8th 2008 12:00PM]

We'll you have it simpler, you just need to be able to read Portuguese.

So as it goes, it's naturally in Portugal, and according to his name, in the city of Coimbra (Has on of the oldest Universities in Europe, 1290 A.C. ,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_universities_in_continuous_operation) so that narrows it down to only 100.000 people. Just walk around the town, which is quite empty in the summer BTW, and search for someone showing off his newly acquired finger magnet.

[phanbouy @ Jul 8th 2008 1:09PM]

in soviet russia chicken grill you

[lance @ Jul 8th 2008 11:25AM]

aaaaahhh....fingerprint heaven!

[Josh @ Jul 8th 2008 11:40AM]

hmm, maybe white is the better option after all

[LiQuiD_FuSioN @ Jul 8th 2008 11:48AM]

That's what happens when you have *fingers*. Unless you're using your toes or feet or whatever, then you call them "toe prints".

Further, is "toe prints" one word or two words? If anyone would know it'd be Finger Print Guy or LANCE.

[Dignan17 @ Jul 8th 2008 12:23PM]

No kidding. That's the first thing my eyes were drawn to when I saw the picture. That might be even worse than the original. White would probably show it less.

And really, why the need for a glossy back? I currently have a phone with a nice matte black finish, I love the look of it, and it doesn't pick up any fingerprints...

[Dave @ Jul 8th 2008 11:26AM]

meh.

[andy @ Jul 8th 2008 11:25AM]

nice

[Josh @ Jul 8th 2008 11:43AM]

damn comment system, that was supposed to go to the one above

[Ace b @ Jul 8th 2008 3:11PM]

"hmm, maybe white is the better option after all"

You have no idea how racist that sounds,do you?

[Michael Scrip @ Jul 8th 2008 3:26PM]

Exactly. I hate shiny black anything. It shows scratches and fingerprints like crazy. Shiny black plastic is great for things you never touch. But for a phone...

Bring back matte plastic!

[no1youknowz @ Jul 8th 2008 11:26AM]

First LOL!

[Saad Rabia @ Jul 8th 2008 11:28AM]

First Fail.

[initialxy @ Jul 8th 2008 11:34AM]

this is the furthest "First" from first i have ever seen on engadget.

[CUBSWILLWIN @ Jul 8th 2008 11:39AM]

I've actually seen a "FIRST" comment on the last page of an article, but that was before the site makeover.

[luzzio @ Jul 8th 2008 11:55AM]

Technically, he DID post the first LOL...

[MadMike @ Jul 8th 2008 1:28PM]

The comment system is being worked on. I have noticed it has changed slightly on the back end. However, they now have a problem with comments showing. Work in progress I guess.

[Clayj @ Jul 8th 2008 11:26AM]

Gah, can't wait until Friday morning!

[Serg @ Jul 8th 2008 11:26AM]

first, yum

[gsd @ Jul 8th 2008 11:50AM]

Fail, yum

[phanbouy @ Jul 8th 2008 1:26PM]

wow... a concise, yet powerful, fail