Another Apple iPhone 4G pops up - in Vietnam

A second iPhone 4G, the unreleased latest model of the market-leading smartphone, has escaped from Apple's development labs - and this time the gadget appears in an internet video (above).

The first sighting of an iPhone 4G 'in the wild' came last month, when an Apple employee left a disguised prototype in a German-themed bar in Silicon Valley. Tech website Gizmodo paid the lucky finder a reported $10,000 for the phone, which Apple then asked to be returned, with the affair culminating in a police raid on a Gizmodo journalist's home.

The latest iPhone 4G, a more angular affair than earlier models, has turned up in a café in Vietnam, where a man is filmed showing it off. The Vietnamese tech website Taoviet is believed to have got its hands on the prototype from a businessman who paid an anonymous person $4,000. Given that this prototype is thought to be a newer version than the 4G bought by Gizmodo, that represents a bargain basement price.

Although the video's narration is in Vietnamese, a translation posted on Mac Rumors reveals the 4G is slightly smaller than earlier models. Features include a higher resolution screen, front-facing webcam with flash and ceramic rear casing, allowing for better reception. This version has just 16GB of memory.

Although the iPhone is not booted up during the video, techies seem to agree the prototype is authentic. "It's clearly pre-production judging by the XXX placeholders on the backside stamp and likely lacks a bootable OS, just a 'Bonfire' test routine," writes Engadget. "Nevertheless, it looks authentic enough that we expect Apple's henchmen to be busting down the guy's door before he [prises] it open to reveal Apple's chipset of choice."

The latest breach in Apple's famously tight security has led people to start asking questions: is Apple getting careless, or just even more publicity hungry? After all, the video has once again got people talking about the next generation iPhone.

However, Wired magazine has a more prosaic explanation. The bigger Apple gets, the more partners and suppliers it must use, and the more frequent the opportunities for leaks or industrial espionage. Apple might just have to get used to it. ·