iPhone 5 Prototype Lost At A Bar, Yes Again

Here it goes again. And I'm not talking about OK Go. Apple reportedly lost yet another iPhone prototype, this time it's likely to be the upcoming iPhone 5 by an employee at a bar called Cava 22 in San Francisco. Sounds familiar? That's because this has happened in a very familiar fashion with the iPhone 4 last year, which Gizmodo bought from someone who purchased it from the guy who found it at the bar for $5,000. I find it hard to believe that such kind of stupidity could happen twice. CNET reports that Apple has tried tracking their iPhone prototype but it is yet to be found. It's also reported that the iPhone 5 prototype has already been sold on Craigslist for only $200 by the person who found it at the Cava 22 bar. It isn't clear yet if the iPhone 5 prototype was disguised in an iPhone 4-like casing like Apple has done with the iPhone 4 prototype is has lost in the bar last year which was disguised inside an iPhone 3G-like casing. 

At this time, the alleged iPhone 5 prototype is still roaming free in the wild and might even appear on the interwebs once the whole world finds out about this story. Yet again.

First Purported iPhone 5 Slider Case By Ego

And we're off to the races! Reputable case companies are already producing and investing R&D time in creating cases for the unreleased iPhone 5 based on early rumors and leaks. Ego has put up the above image of what looks to be their Slide Case designed for the iPhone 5. It's very hard to tell if the case itself it just a render or an actual prototype ready to incase the most anticipated smartphone since the iPhone 4. The contours and wide form factor do match the purported iPhone 5 specs. Whatever it may be, stunning is a word that should be used. Ego hasn't released any information as of yet.

iPhone 5 Silicone Cases Revealed

These silicone cases purported to be made for the upcoming iPhone 5 are now in full mass products across China. It's believed that when case manufacturers get strong enough leaked details of Apple's soon to be released products, they start to pump out cases to be one of the first to score big once the iPhone 5 is released. We've seen and even tried very similar silicone cases that were popping everywhere for the iPad 2 right before it was released, and those silicone cases turned out to be spot on. 

These silicone cases suggest the iPhone 5 will have a larger form factor and similar tapered back design similar to the iPad 2. It will be interesting to see Apple bringing back the first generation aluminum design to the iPhone 5 to match up with the slimmed down, tapered theme shown with the iPad 2 and iPod Touch 4G. The chances of these iPhone 5 silicone cases being the real deal is very high at this point. Past rumors pointed towards a slimmer iPhone 5 with a larger screen. We'll just have to wait and see if more identical cases reveal themselves to strengthen these rumors.

Next iPhone Design Pictured in Silicon Cases?

 

With September getting closer and closer by the day, we were expecting to see more rumors about the iPhone 5 design. With 9To5Mac getting pictures of a different, larger looking iPhone case this early on isn’t that unusual as it would be right around the right time for manufactures to start making cases. The case points out that the next iPhone might have edge-to-edge screen, a wider home button, and a slightly curved back like the current generation iPad 2. Hopefully we will find out what the true iPhone 5 looks like in a couple of months.

iPhone 5 May Have Dual LED Flash

Apple is rumored to incorporate a dual LED flash in the upcoming iPhone 5, a significant upgrade that will improve the lighting performance in photos taken and will help produce much more evenly lit and exposed photos. Past rumors suggested that Apple will be separating the LED flash from the camera module to help reduce "washout" in photos in the upcoming iPhone 5.  

Digitimes - Recent market rumors have indicated that Apple's iPhone 5 is likely to come with a dual-LED flash with Taiwan-based LED packaging firms Everlight Electronics, Edison Opto and Lite-On Technology being pinpointed as potential suppliers. All related companies have denied they are involved in the production of dual-LED flashes.

iPhone 5 Leaked Part Points To Redesigned Camera & Flash

As the iPhone 5 nears its official launch, parts of the alleged new iPhone 5 are starting to show up in China. This isn't anything new but we've seen parts of Apple products being leaked out on the internet months before the actual Apple product was revealed and while some were not real, many have been true leaks. This time we've got a leak of a white back glass showing a separated rear-facing camera and an LED flash placed to the far right of the camera. This would really make sense on Apple's part to improve on the flash capabilities and exposure. This ties in with parts leaked of a separated rear-facing camera and flash modules that have been leaked not so long ago pointing towards this leak being very possible. The iPhone 4's rear-facing cameras has an LED flash attached to it beneath the glass cover.