Apple engineer frantically searched for lost prototype iPhone
The person who found a prototype iPhone at a California bar did not notify the owners of the establishment or contact the Redwood City Police Department after obtaining the device, according to a new report.
While a previous report from Gizmodo said the person who found the device attempted to return it directly to Apple, the finder never contacted the owner of the Gourmet Haus Staudt bar, nor the local authorities, according to Jeff Bercovici of Daily Finance. Both Volcker Staudt, owner of the bar, and Sgt. Dan Mulholland of the Redwood City Police Department said they were not informed of the device.
Staudt told Bercovici that the Apple engineer who allegedly left the prototype iPhone at his bar "called constantly trying to retrieve it."
"The guy was pretty hectic about it," Volcker reportedly told Daily Finance. He questioned why the person who found the phone didn't bring it back to the bar, suggesting that was the simplest option to return the device to its rightful owner.
Bercovici also noted that Apple did not report the device as lost or stolen to the local police department. Apple did not respond to a request for comment.
The editorial was later updated to express the opinion that Gawker Media, which paid $5,000 to obtain the device, "subsidized a crime." Paul J. Wallin, of the California law firm Wallin & Klaritch, said the burden was with Gawker Media, parent company of Gizmodo, to determine whether the device was legally obtained.
Gawker founder and owner Nick Denton responded by stating that his company was not sure the device was created by Apple until they opened it up and found the company's name on some of its internal parts. Earlier this week, Denton bragged via his Twitter account that his company is willing to pay for exclusives. "We'll do anything for a story," he wrote. "Our only obligation is to our readers."
Gizmodo allegedly returned the device to Apple after the Cupertino, Calif., company formally requested it this week. The website published the letter received from Bruce Sewell, senior vice president and general counsel, and responded by saying the device was "burning a hole" in their pockets.
While a previous report from Gizmodo said the person who found the device attempted to return it directly to Apple, the finder never contacted the owner of the Gourmet Haus Staudt bar, nor the local authorities, according to Jeff Bercovici of Daily Finance. Both Volcker Staudt, owner of the bar, and Sgt. Dan Mulholland of the Redwood City Police Department said they were not informed of the device.
Staudt told Bercovici that the Apple engineer who allegedly left the prototype iPhone at his bar "called constantly trying to retrieve it."
"The guy was pretty hectic about it," Volcker reportedly told Daily Finance. He questioned why the person who found the phone didn't bring it back to the bar, suggesting that was the simplest option to return the device to its rightful owner.
Bercovici also noted that Apple did not report the device as lost or stolen to the local police department. Apple did not respond to a request for comment.
The editorial was later updated to express the opinion that Gawker Media, which paid $5,000 to obtain the device, "subsidized a crime." Paul J. Wallin, of the California law firm Wallin & Klaritch, said the burden was with Gawker Media, parent company of Gizmodo, to determine whether the device was legally obtained.
Gawker founder and owner Nick Denton responded by stating that his company was not sure the device was created by Apple until they opened it up and found the company's name on some of its internal parts. Earlier this week, Denton bragged via his Twitter account that his company is willing to pay for exclusives. "We'll do anything for a story," he wrote. "Our only obligation is to our readers."
Gizmodo allegedly returned the device to Apple after the Cupertino, Calif., company formally requested it this week. The website published the letter received from Bruce Sewell, senior vice president and general counsel, and responded by saying the device was "burning a hole" in their pockets.
Comments
riiiight....
I feel sad for that apple engineer ... humans do forget ...
Has it been reported yet as to whether or not he was supposed to have it off campus?
Maybe the fact that he's still alive says that he was allowed to carry it with him.
Has it been reported yet as to whether or not he was supposed to have it off campus?
Maybe the fact that he's still alive says that he was allowed to carry it with him.
He wasn't immediately fired so I would hazard a guess he was authorized.
Gawker founder and owner Nick Denton responded by stating that his company was not sure the device was created by Apple until they opened it up and found the company's name on some of its internal parts.
What a piece of crap. What do you have on the backside? "iPhone". Maybe, it's a Microsoft prototype? We are not stupid Denton.
I prefer getting the new stuff as a surprise, it's much more fun that way. Having some jackoff at giz put together a crappy webpage is NOT better than Steve-o doing his one more thing...
I think we lost some 'fun' this summer. drat.
...and how many more times will we have the honor of Steve on stage with a cool device. This kind of thing is limited.. his years are closing.
I think there is a good chance the phone was left behind because it 'was fallen out of the pocket (or man purse or whatever)' by the finder.
It is common sense to turn things in at an establishment where one finds it. Even accounting for the generally low level of common sense around these days, the story still stinks fishy.
I like rumors as much as the next Apple fanboy/girl. But resorting to criminal behavior to obtain what are obviously protected trade secrets, is another story. I do not want to read about it.
I will make it a priority to not visit Gizmoto, and hope many others will join in on a boycott of Gawker media sites. They really seem to be criminal scum.
In the meantime, I will take solace in the fact that there is not such thing as bad publicity, and apply it to Apple not Gizmoto, and hope that the 2 month loss of time to the competitors is outweighed by the publicity this story is getting, which is obviously huge...
What a piece of crap. What do you have on the backside? "iPhone". Maybe, it's a Microsoft prototype? We are not stupid Denton.
Did you know? There are a lot of iPhone fakes out there. Many have Apple logos and the iPhone designation printed on them.
That's your fact for the day.
The more this story gets thought about the more I'm laughing. Somebody pulled off a good stunt and it WAS NOT APPLE.
I feel sad for that apple engineer ... humans do forget ...
At least he didn't drop it into the toilet......not that I've ever done that mind you.
It is funny to me that many people seem to have taken Gizmodo and the person who profited from the stolen prototype at their word (I'm sure the phone was handed to him by a drunk...). As if someone who stole it would say "yeah I saw it sitting there and I swiped it and got the hell out of Dodge."
I feel bad for the engineer, I think releasing his name and everything publicly was a little low...and by a little low I mean a lot low...but still, that's kind of what you get when you bring the phone out drinking with you.
The guy was never fired. That's the gaping black hole in Gizmodo's whole story.
Why wouldn't the 'ALLEGED APPLE ENGINEER" call his own phone number and ask the finder to return it for a $1000 reward if he was that desperate??.
?presumably as the iPhone had been remote-wiped, and so required reconnecting to iTunes and reauthorizing before it would function...
If he had Mobile Me, couldn't he just have used the "Find my iPhone" feature?
No. Find My iPhone is broken in OS4 builds, which this one is thought to have had. MobileMe Remote Wipe is also broken, so they believe the Exchange Remote wipe was used.