“Mystery Man” Sends Purported “4G” iPhone 5 Photo to the iPhone 5 News Blog

A "mystery man" sent this photo to the iPhone 5 News Blog, claiming it to be an early 4G iPhone 5 prototype.

As a rule, the iPhone 5 News Blog casts a cynical eye at all purportedly leaked photos of iPhone 5 components, prototypes, and cases, for the simple reason that, in lieu of an intoxicated Apple engineer leaving a prototype in a bar, Cupertino’s Worldwide Loyalty Team does a pretty crackerjack job of keeping the new iPhone under wraps until Mr. Jobs decides to walk it out onto stage for all of us to see.
That being said, a “mystery man” sent me this beautiful photo of what he claims to be an early 4G iPhone 5 prototype. The e-mail reads as follows:
“4G iPhone 5, early prototype.”
I thoroughly searched through Google’s image search to find a match for this photo, but to no avail. Whether or not it is an authentic photo or professional rendering of one’s iPhone 5 fantasy remains to be seen.
What I do find interesting, however, is its relative similarity in form factor to a late-breaking article from SlashGear today that presents a “fake” iPhone 5 that was allegedly retro-engineered from the real specs. The rear of the SlashGear prototype bears some similarities of the mystery man’s photo, but the front side screen is remarkably different, featuring a wide, near-edge-to-edge screen and re-worked home button. And the form factor indeed takes its cue from the more curvy 3Gs than the boxier iPhone 4, as we have heard reported recently.
But what may be the most provocative feature revealed in this purported sighting of the iPhone 5 is something that isn’t even visible in the photo: 4G.
It is certainly easy to claim “4G,” but a picture is worth a thousand words, and the picture itself cannot prove or disprove 4G on the iPhone 5 any more than it can prove to be an authentic photo.
Still, it stands as one of the more impressive purported sightings we’ve had of the iPhone 5 thus far.

Some Cool iPhone 5 (?) Case Pix, And It’s Tick-Tock On Getting Top Dollar Price For Your iPhone 4

Posted: 31 Jul 2011 11:41 PM PDT

I usually pay more mind to purported case photos for unreleased Apple products than alleged spy shots claimed to be of the item itself or at least a prototype.The latter are more often than not somebody’s Photoshop doodles, but product cases are serious business, and sometimes more reliable indicators of what to expect.
Chris Chang of M.I.C. Gadget, one of my favorite Chinese Apple-watcher sites, says iPhone 5 Cases are now “everywhere in China,” and has posted some photos of what look like very nice smartphone cases.
Inexpensive too! Chang cites 2 yuan or roughly $ .30 apiece — provided you buy a minimum of 500 units.

Compared to the new pre-released iPhone 5 cases, iPhone 4 cases like this one are much more refined

Click here to see photos of the new iPhone 5 cases on our iPhone 5 News Ticker.
Moving along, a press release from HelloTotem.com, a San Diego-based online provider in the mobile phone buyback industry, says that as Apple gears up to release the iPhone 5, iPhone 4 owners still have an opportunity to exchange their used device for top dollar. Once the iPhone 5 is available, Totem forecasts iPhone 4 values will drop significantly, and that while speculation abounds as to when the device might launch and what it might look like, savvy owners of the previous generation of iPhones are planning their iPhone 4 exit strategies strategies in preparation for an iPhone 5 upgrade.
Totem cite a recent Wall Street Journal report that Apple is rumored to be placing orders for 25 million iPhone 5 units, significantly more than any other previous generation. The iPhone 4, released in June 2010, received a record-shattering 600,000 pre-orders in the first 24 hours of its announcement and sold more than 1.7 million units in the first three days of availability.
Consequently, based on the success of Spring 2011 releases of the long-delayed white iPhone 4 and the newly available Verizon network iPhone, they suggest that the iPhone 5 will need very little help from the inevitable media frenzy, noting that in the last few months, Apple has shipped more than 20.3 iPhone 4 million units, mostly to emerging and developing countries like Mexico, Brazil and China.
The release goes on to recap the thoroughly-discussed iPhone 5 form factor, feature set and release date rumors, which I need not elaborate here, but you might be interested in considering that HelloTotem.com, is currently offering customers up to $400 for top-condition iPhone 4s with 32GB of memory. However, once the new iPhone is released, the value will almost certainly go down, noting that in May 2010, just a few weeks before the iPhone 4 was scheduled for release, eBayers flooded the online bidding site with 1,700 iPhone 3GS models that were equipped with16GB of memory, causing the value of the formerly high-end smartphone to be significantly reduced.
The takeaway is that the clock is ticking if you want to sell your iPhone 4 for top dollar, and “Though the iPhone 4 may not be worth $400 after the launch of the iPhone 5, a functional 16GB or 32GB iPhone 4 will always be worth more than the $199 upgrade price, allowing for a free upgrade,” says Totem CEO Nicholas Fiorentino.