It’s amazing how one little mistake can seemingly shake up the entire world. Gray Powell, a software engineer at Apple, was out at a bar, testing what looked on the surface like any other iPhone 3GS. Even up close it was tough to tell that the shape of the 3GS was actually a case disguising a much more stylish, sleeker version of the iPhone – the iPhone 4G (this is not the official name, not yet anyway). Unfortunately, Powell left the iPhone behind when he left the bar, and because people are the way they are, someone took it home, realized he was holding the next generation of the world’s favorite smartphone, and likely sold the right to return the device to Apple to Gizmodo, which was kind enough to post pictures and leak what specs it could prior to the device’s eventual voyage home.

Enough of the story, though, and on with the phone. The new iPhone looks great. I was always a little underwhelmed by the shape and design of the previous iPhone models, including the 3GS. Something about them seems too forward thinking – they’re almost so futuristic they look retro. This new phone hits my industrial nerve and hits it hard. It’s slightly thinner than the current iPhone and lays flat instead of the current curved back. There’s a new camera on the back with a bigger lens and a flash, and the volume button is now two small, round buttons on the side. The front of the phone sports a front-facing video camera for video chat and the top has what looks to be a secondary microphone for noise cancellation. All said and done, this is what I wish the iPhone looked like now, and I’m going to struggle not to buy one when it launches.

There is sadly very little information about the OS. Shortly after the phone was reported missing, Apple remotely disabled the device via the MobileMe function, and because device firmware is model-specific, there was no way to restore the bricked handset. Gizmodo did peel the phone apart to reveal Apple stamped internals, which suggests we’re pretty close to launch, and a slightly larger capacity battery. The screen also appears to be slightly smaller but perhaps runs at a higher resolution than the current 3GS.

You can find full exclusive photo galleries at Gizmodo.