What is it with bars and iPhone prototypes? After an Apple employee left a prototype iPhone 4 in a bar last year (…which then ended up in Gizmodo’s possession), we’d have thought Apple and the employees who had access to the prototypes would make sure this never happened again. Apparently, it just happened again. According to this CNET report, an Apple employee lost a next-gen iPhone prototype (again) in a bar (again) in San Francisco.
So here’s how it went down: the iPhone was said to have been taken from a tequila lounge called Cava 22 (one that also serves lime marinated shrimp ceviche… fancy), and may have ended up being sold on Craigslist for $200. The details for the lost device weren’t given out so the iOS version it was running or what it looked like is unknown, but it’s certainly important enough to warrant a search by Apple reps. According to the account, they contacted San Francisco police, said that the device was “priceless,” and that they were desperate to get it back.
Apple then tracked the phone to a two-floor, single-family home in a San Francisco neighborhood, spoke with a man who confirmed that he was at Cava 22 when the device went missing, but denied that he knew anything about the phone. Police searched the house and found nothing, but before leaving the house, the Apple employees offered the man money for the iPhone, “no questions asked.”
In an interview with CNET, bar owner Jose Valle said that neither the police nor Apple contacted him, but he does remember a man calling multiple times about a lost iPhone “a month ago.”
It’s still unconfirmed if the lost phone is the rumored iPhone 5 or the more-recently-rumored “budget” 8GB iPhone 4 that’s due to be launched sometime in late September or early October. Developers have been said to be rocking iPhones running on a new processor (or basically the same A5 chip found on the iPad 2), but encased in the iPhone 4’s shell to keep things on the down-low. Last year’s incident involved a prototype that had the iPhone 4’s parts inside a 3GS shell.
In any case, if you picked up a weird iPhone off Craigslist during the past month for $200, you might want to take a closer look at it. Apple might be willing to offer you a serious amount for the “priceless” phone, no questions asked.
Tags: Apple, iPhone 5, Leaks and Rumors
