POPULAR TECHNOLOGY blog Gizmodo this week published details of what it claims will be the next iPhone which Apple is expected to release this summer, writes JOHN COLLINS

Based on its report, the next model will have an enhanced camera with flash, a secondary camera on the front for video chat, an enhanced display and uses the new smaller micro-sim cards which are also used on the iPad.

The battery is 16 per cent larger which will enable longer battery level, an issue with the current iPhone compared to competing smartphones. Gizmodo took the new iPhone apart to reveal that other internal components had been reduced in size to make room for the larger battery.

Unlike previous generations of iPhone, the new device is entirely flat on the back and the design is much more squared-off than its predecessors. The rear of the phone appears to be made of glass or a ceramic material.

It subsequently emerged that Apple applied for a patent in 2006 for an enclosure made of ceramic materials. The patent application refers to it looking and feeling like glass but it would be much stronger and scratch resistant.

Overall the device seen by Gizmodo was three grams heavier than the iPhone 3GS currently on the market.

Gizmodo managed to acquire the phone after it was apparently lost in a bar in Redwood City, California. It was disguised as an iPhone 3GS in a generic protective case.

The phone had been remotely disabled, presumably by Apple, by the time Gizmodo took possession of it. As a result it was able to get very few details of the software configuration but Gizmodo’s source said it was running the recently announced iPhone 4.0 operating system, which is available for developers to test.

The publication of details of the new device caused a controversy online this week. Gizmodo revealed it had paid $5,000 (€3,750) for the iPhone but some commentators said it was guilty of paying for stolen goods.

Although the person who found it asked around the bar to find the owner and subsequently rang Apple to try and return the iPhone, this may not satisfy Californian’s strict laws regarding finding lost property.

Apple’s legal team has written to Gizmodo and the blog, published by New York-based Gawker media has said it will return it.

It has also subsequently been revealed that the phone was lost by Gray Powell, a young Apple engineer working on the iPhone’s telecoms software.

Many commentators have been surprised that the incident occurred given Apple’s famous secrecy around new products and willingness to take legal actions against publications who publish details about them. When found the new iPhone was not even protected with a Pin number.

Apple is expected to release the new model in June or July. With the release so close, Apple engineers are allowed to take the phones off the company’s campus so they can be tested in a realistic environment.