Protective cases selling before the device is even confirmed

Jun 1, 2010 08:50 GMT  ·  By

While the Vietnamese have been lucky enough to get their hands on a fully assembled iPhone 4 prototype unit, Portugal can only brag about a video of iPhone 4 parts allegedly purchased from China. Not as exciting, but the precise craftsmanship signals that production is well underway.

According to a post over at MacRumors, iPhone Portugal claims that the parts appearing in the video below were purchased in China by one of its readers. It notes that the hardware was neither stolen nor found. The Portuguese site is not willing to reveal the price it paid for the parts, and notes that there’s an offset chance they’re not even genuine.

However, to add credibility (and for good reason too) iPhone Portugal says, “The parts are perfect, have no defects, not faulty at all, there is not even one single difference between the 2 copies we have.” Indeed, the hardware looks identical to that of the two leaked iPhone 4 units.

The MacRumors post also includes references to a manufacturer of protective iPhone cases, which, undoubtedly trying to capitalize on the iPhone 4 hype, has rushed to advertise its shiny, new iPhone skins confirming their June 1 availability (today).

If history is any indication, such a move isn’t always very smart. The manufacturer in question, iDeal Case, has likely started producing these iPhone 4 cases based on the shape and size of the parts obtained by iPhone Portugal, and by others like it. Although there’s little chance Apple is changing its mind about the iPhone 4’s design, it’s not out of the question either.

The Cupertino California-based Mac maker is known to do last-minute adjustments, last year’s iPod touch being a good example. The player was on track to shipping with a built-in camera last year, just like the iPhone. Something went wrong along the manufacturing lines and Apple decided to scrap the camera just before introducing the device. Hopefully, the same thing doesn’t happen to the iPhone 4, not for iDeal Case’s sake, but for the Apple fans' sake.

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Alleged iPhone 4 hardware
iPhone 4 protective cases already being advertised and sold
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