Earlier today, a story started going around the blogosphere about Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg trying out an iPhone for the first time. At the time, the assumption was that this was an iPhone 3GS, since the iPhone 4 isn’t out yet. But sources told VentureBeat that it was the iPhone 4 that Zuckerberg was using. Sadly, that’s not the case. How do I know? Well, one reason is that Zuckerberg said so himself.
As the original screenshot on Valleywag shows, Zuckerberg posted a message on his Facebook Wall about trying out the iPhone. He doesn’t specifically say which one it is at first, a comment below his posts asks “Right before iPhone 4?“, to which he responds, “My thumbs were hurting from my BlackBerry so I switched. I’ll probably get iPhone 4 if I don’t switch to Android.” Why would he talk about getting an iPhone 4 if he already had one? Because he didn’t.
Instead, Zuckerberg had an iPhone 3GS. The only reason why this matters in the slightest bit is because he ripped the device, suggesting his iPhone had horrible battery life and couldn’t make a call. Considering the iPhone 4 will still be locked to AT&T, the not being able to make a call part is certainly feasible. But the battery life on the iPhone 4 is supposed tobe up to 40% better than the iPhone 3GS in certain situations. Yes, that’s at least partially a marketing ploy, but Apple has recently had a lot of battery improvement success with both the iPad and newer MacBooks. And from what I hear, the battery life claims are legitimate.
And while Apple was kind to Facebook during the iPad launch event earlier this year as VentureBeat suggests, you’ll note that they were notably absent from the iPhone 4 unveiling despite some rumors to the contrary. In fact, the word “Facebook” wasn’t uttered once during the entire event.
So everyone can calm down, Zuckerberg is making claims that the rest of us have known for years: AT&T sucks and the iPhone (3GS) needs a stronger battery. The iPhone 4 may be able to alleviate his second complaint, but the first may push him over to Android.
