You'd think -- starting from the moment you saw the glossy sheen of the iPhone 3G S to the waning seconds of this year's WWDC keynote when you realized that there would be no magical second model announced -- that the near-constant drone of matte iPhone rumors leading up to this week's festivities were all fake. But were they really? It's been astutely noted by @cabel (yes, we just threw out a Twitter handle there) that the
matte black backing seen last month has totally matching information -- model number and FCC ID alike -- with the
actual device. We suppose it could just be an unfinished component, but as
Daring Fireball notes, this could mean that Apple toyed with a matte finish early in the 3G S' design but ultimately abandoned it -- or even more intriguingly, it could've been a unique one-off trap designed to identify leakers who'd otherwise tried to hide their identities. It sounds like a pretty far-fetched conspiracy theory at first, yes -- but we're aware of at least one wireless carrier that actively puts out bogus information to achieve the same effect, and you might remember that Microsoft was rumored to have done the same thing with prototype Zunes back in the day. Either way, it's a crying shame, because that glossless finish has left an indelible mark on our hearts that won't soon heal.
[Via
Daring Fireball, matte iPhone picture via
MacRumors]
posted June 10th 2009 11:16PM
Wow.. the matte back would have been better than the shiny fingerprint magnet :(
..I had my heart set on the matte. When the keynote ended, I sat slumped in my chair wondering if there would be more exciting news after the credits or something.. Front facing camera? FM tuner? *sigh*..
Im so F'n pissed about this. If i could buy the matte black cover and switch it out, i would asap :(
as would I, and just about every other person on this earth who wants their neat little toy to not look like you just pulled it out of a sweaty ass crack.
As someone who has a matte finish Speck case, it gets all oily as well.
The only 'silver lining' of the same form factor is that all of my 3G cases and accessories will still work. I never carry the 3G naked and I won't carry the 3GS without my Otter Box, either!