White iPhone 4: early DIY edition, with a touch of black (update: new pics with dock)

Sorry, we couldn’t wait — having spent 11 hours on the streets waiting for the iPhone 4, it’s only natural to give our precious new toy some extra special care. With the help of iFixit’s teardown guide, we decided to take the plunge with our steaming hot Chinese delivery — a white front cover (with a shiny proximity sensor area above the earpiece), a white back cover (with “XXXXX” marked as the model number, ergo a prototype), and a Retina Display unit. Alas, there weren’t any white buttons in stock at the time, but let’s pretend this black-and-white combo is the new cool. Read on to find out how the surgery went.

P.S. — We’ve had many readers asking where we got the parts, but the link’s already in the post. Knowing some Chinese helps, too.

Update: we caved in and unboxed our iPhone 4 dock for a few more shots. It’s worth noting that our prototype white covers don’t quite match the dock’s whiteness — we’d say the covers look a touch warmer and darker. Knowing how picky Jony Ive is with colors, we’re guessing Apple’s buying time to get the paint job right.

Update 2: we acquired a broken black back plate and managed to fit its lens cover onto our white one. Win.

Gallery: White iPhone 4: early DIY edition, with a touch of black