1/05/2011
This is a pretty bizarre video, but we watched the whole thing and we're prepared to comment: this is a pretty bizarre video. The folks at GlobalDirectParts somehow got ahold of iPhone replacement parts (a common story in Apple device leaks), and they've posted an in-depth video that illustrates the differences between this new set and regular iPhone 4 parts. Interestingly, nothing has been majorly tweaked, but there's a huge quantity of minor tweaks, primary in the internal wiring. Most notable are antenna adjustments, that are either an antenna fix, or, more likely, adjustments to allow the antennas to work with the different frequencies that Verizon's CDMA network operates on. Other tweaks are bigger head scratchers, including a SIM slot (which wouldn't be necessary on Verizon, but wouldn't hurt anything either), and the removal of the rear camera hole (perhaps an extra SKU for enterprise use?). GlobalDirectParts isn't the only one to receive the tweaked parts, SmartPhone Medic made a similar score, so at least we know this isn't a one-off prank. We'll keep scratching our heads while you check out the video, located after the break.
-Engadget
UPDATE: There's not much more to say here -- that crazy video we saw earlier today of what appeared to be tweaked iPhone 4 parts has been pulled from YouTube "due to a copyright claim by Apple, Inc." Obviously we still have the screenshot above, which tells the whole story, really -- these parts point to a variant of the iPhone that's the same, but different. Exactly why it's different is still up for debate -- the CDMA iPhone for Verizon is obviously everyone's first guess, but until Steve speaks we won't know for sure.
P.S.- We suppose it's also possible that Apple wasn't actually responsible for the removal -- someone could have punked YouTube's copyright cops, and there is that odd double-period typo after "Inc." But that seems like someone's playing a particularly insane game, no?
Posted in: electronics
