More Details on Apple iPhone 4G Found in Vietnam

By Ian Bell May 13, 2010

This time it’s not a crazy story about a guy who left a phone in a Silicon Valley bar. The latest clamor over a possible next-generation iPhone 4G prototype has erupted in an unlikely place — Vietnam.

Mobile phone accessory salesman Tran Manh Hiep rushed to a cafe in southern Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday when word on the street spread that someone was there flashing the newest iPhone.

Hiep said he inspected the device, filmed it and posted the video on the Tinhte.com forum web site, for which he is an administrator.

“It’s a real iPhone because when I plugged it into a Mac, it recognized it as an Apple product,” Hiep said Thursday, declining to give any details about the phone’s owner.

The video could still be accessed on his Vietnamese web site, creating much chatter. The iPhone looks similar to one found in a Silicon Valley bar recently. That one was sold to Gizmodo.com, a gadget blog, in April for $5,000.

“It looks almost exactly the same as the one that appeared on Gizmodo’s web site,” Hiep said by telephone. “But it looks newer and has no screws.”

Some Vietnamese messages posted on Hiep’s forum questioned the authenticity of the phone, suggesting that it may be a fake Chinese model. Many counterfeit phones make their way into Vietnam, but Hiep said he’s convinced this is the real deal.

He said he does not know how the man got the iPhone, but that the owner is also a Vietnamese mobile phone dealer.

Apple Inc. is notoriously secretive about unfinished products. It confirmed it owned the Gizmodo phone, but did not say it was the next iPhone. Analysts expect a new model in June.

After Gizmodo returned the phone, law enforcement searched the blogger’s home and seized computers. A dispute over the legality of a search warrant is ongoing in California.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Publisher

I work with the best people in the world and get paid to play with gadgets. What's not to like?

Mobile

There’s a big problem with the iPhone’s Photos app

The Apple iPhone 15 Plus's gallery app.

While my primary device these days continues to be my iPhone 15 Pro, I’ve dabbled with plenty of Android phones since I’ve been here at Digital Trends. One of my favorite brands of phone has been the Google Pixel because of its strong suite of photo-editing tools and good camera hardware.

Google first added the Magic Eraser capability with the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, which is a tool I love using. Then, with the Pixel 8 series, Google added the Magic Editor, which uses generative AI to make edits that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. There are also tools like Photo Unblur, which is great for old photographs and enhancing images that were captured with low-quality sensors.

Mobile

10 iPhone productivity apps you need to download right now

iPhone 14 Pro showing the Moon always-on screen, held in a man's hand.

If you're anything like us, your Apple iPhone is a beast with multiple uses. It can go from an email-firing machine to a dedicated Netflix device in seconds and then into playing video games just as fast. But just because it can do all of those things doesn't mean it couldn't stand a little fine-tuning when it comes to optimizing it for productivity.

"Productivity" can mean a lot of things, whether it's sending emails, making tweaks to documents and spreadsheets, or just planning for your day ahead. Whatever being productive means to you, there are apps that will make it easier. Here are 10 iPhone productivity apps you need to download today.
Todoist
The best to-do app

Mobile

Best iPhone 15 deals: How to get Apple’s latest iPhone for free

The display on a green iPhone 15.

The iPhone 15 is Apple’s current flagship phone, and it’s also one of its most popular phones. It’s come storming out of the gate since its release and has skyrocketed to make our ranks of the best phones. Its popularity can make it difficult to find iPhone 15 deals, but there are some out there. We’ve rounded up the best iPhone 15 deals going on right now, and while most of them entail trading in a device for savings, trade-in value is very high and could land you a free iPhone 15 if you’re trading in the right device. We’ve got all of those details below, so read onward and start saving on a new Apple iPhone 15.
Today's best iPhone 15 deals

: Get up to $830 in savings when you trade in a similar device. Also included is 3 free months of Apple TV+, Apple Fitness+, Apple Music, and 4 free months of Apple Arcade.
: Save up to $830 with device trade-in and inclusion of Verizon Unlimited Plus or Unlimited Ultimate plans.
: Save up to $830 via 24 monthly bill credits when you add a line on a qualifying plan and trade in an eligible device.
: Save up to $700 when you trade in an eligible device and commit to an AT&T Unlimited plan of more than $76 per month.