ComputerWorld - The next-generation iPhone 5 (or 4S) is on the way and is already being tested extensively on the AT&T network, even as Apple [AAPL] watchers continue to speculate on just when we'll see iOS-friendly OS X release, Lion ship.
[ABOVE: This interesting video clip shows the movement of 880 iPhones in Europe in April 2011, courtesy of Crowdflow.]
AT&T carrier testing begins
Citing what it calls, "well placed sources", ChipHazard tells us the next iPhone (is it the iPhone 5, the iPhone 4S, or something else entirely?) was handed out to AT&T beta testers on July 6.
[This story is from Computerworld's Apple Holic blog. Follow on Twitter or subscribe via RSS to make sure you don't miss a beat.]
If true, beta testers are checking the new Apple smartphone for signal reception and connectivity. Apple executives really, really don't need a repeat of last year's 'antenna-gate' fiasco. If the devices make it through beta testing then the iPhone factories will get the go-ahead to begin churning out millions of the things.
Why would Apple farm the product out to AT&T's beta testers? Isn't that a big departure from its usual secrecy? Perhaps, but the device will need to be tested, and, as every Apple watcher knows, Apple's own internal testing procedures didn't work out too well last year when a stolen prototype unit ended up in the hands of tech website, Gizmodo.
Fearful times
It isn't hard to imagine that high-ranking iPhone engineers may also spend their hard-won sleep time fretting about whether their phones are being tapped by media sources seeking a story, or competitors seeking an idea. More
