Leaked: Third-gen iPhone bezel

China Ontrade, a Hong Kong parts seller, posted an image late Wednesday of what it claims to be the first replacement bezel for the third-generation iPhone. Claiming that the design comes "directly from [the] factory," the bezel could be identical to the bezel that Apple plans to ship with its next-generation iPhone handset which is widely expected to debut at WWDC on 8 June 2009.

The leak, if accurate, would confirm a previous rumor that that next iPhone will dispense with the traditional silver band around the perimeter of the phone, replacing it with an all-black design. It would also counter some previous claims that the new iPhone would consist mainly of internal upgrades with little or no change to the external design.

Electronista writes:

The design is substantially different than today's and would have a black metallic frame instead of chrome. It also stops near the very top of the shell rather than running a complete circle like existing iPhone models, and appears to move the phone speaker significantly higher.

Tip: Electronista via iLounge