
Keyboard Buddy Case for iPhone 4
Taiwanese site Apple.pro reports (via AppleInsider) that Apple has been testing three separate prototypes for the fifth-generation iPhone, including one with a slide-out keyboard.
There are three iPhone5 prototype
one is a sliding cover which
Is the introduction of the keyboard after the side cover
Other prototypes are said to be similar to the iPhone 4 except with an upgraded battery and apparently an 8-megapixel camera, up from the 5-megapixel sensor found on the iPhone 4's rear-facing camera. The report likens those prototypes to the transition from iPhone 3G to iPhone 3GS, with the same basic design augmented primarily by improvements in the device's internals.one is a sliding cover which
Is the introduction of the keyboard after the side cover
As for claims of a slide-out keyboard, the rumor seems incongruous with Apple's devotion to multi-touch functionality with on-screen virtual keyboards. Normally, we would simply cast such suggestions aside, butApple.pro has a strong track record of providing leaked information from Apple's product pipeline. Most recently, the site posted photos of a small Apple-branded touchscreen that appeared a few months later in the company's latest iPod nano.
The site also notes several times that these are prototypes, suggesting that the model sporting a slide-out keyboard could simply a design put together by Apple for the purposes of testing out various form factors, and may never be intended for a public release.
Today's report from Apple.pro also reiterates ongoing claims that the next-generation iPad will be thinner and will carry at least one built-in camera.