Seems like Apple is making a habit of losing prototype devices before they’re launched. According to a report in CNET, the electronics giant has lost another unreleased iPhone model in a bar, mirroring the loss of the iPhone 4 prototype last year that caused a lot of headaches for Apple and media network Gawker when one of their blogs bought the errant device for about $5000. The latest iPhone prototype was lost in a Mexican restaurant and bar back in July, and according to the report, may have been sold on Craigslist for a measly $200 bucks. Judging from the price it went for, there may be a chance that the person who took the device might not even know that it’s an unreleased prototype – the device lost last year was encased in a body of an iPhone 3GS, so it stands to reason that this latest prototype might be similarly encased in a body of an iPhone 4.
Apple is notoriously protective when it comes to their prototypes, and after last year’s fiasco, they’ve upgraded their security when it comes to testing and lending unreleased products to their partners and the different carriers. Apple did manage to electronically track the prototype to a two-floor, single-family home in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood according to CNET, but so far has failed to locate the device. Here’s an idea Apple, maybe you guys shouldn’t allow your employees to go out drinking with unreleased devices?
Source: CNET