'Test model' iPad among items stolen in house robbery, still at large
A report on Tuesday details a recent home invasion in Cupertino, Calif., in which thieves stole thousands of dollars' worth of goods and cash, including what is being described as a "test model iPad from Apple."
Authorities have not announced whether the iPad in question is a current model or a prototype for an upcoming product, but confirmed the device is still missing, reports the San Jose Mercury News.
Katherine Stump, 20, and Alexander Nejat, 25, were arrested for allegedly assaulting, robbing and kidnapping a 20-year-old local man. On April 5, the victim contacted Stump in reply to an online advertisement, the nature of which was not disclosed. The victim met Stump and Nejat near his home before all three returned to the dwelling, where the suspects robbed him at knifepoint.
After looting the victim's house of electronics, prescription drugs and cash worth $7,500, Stump and Nejat pushed him into their car and drove a short distance before letting him out, officials said.
The victim's identity has been withheld for security reasons and it is not yet clear if he is an Apple employee.
Apple is well known for keep a tight lid on upcoming products before their official public debut, a necessary practice for players in the highly competitive tech industry. Device leaks not only put intellectual property at risk, but could negatively affect normal annual market cycles.
In 2010, an infamous "leak" outed the iPhone 4 months before it was due for announcement. In that case, a software engineer field testing a prototype of the device accidentally left it behind at a bar in Redwood. The iPhone, disguised as an iPhone 3GS, was found and ultimately sold to Gizmodo, which posted a comprehensive teardown of the device before returning it to Apple.
Apple's most recent iPad models, the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3, came out in October. The company is expected to refresh the lineup later this year, potentially introducing a jumbo size "iPad Pro" rumored to sport a 12.9-inch display and additional speakers.
Authorities have not announced whether the iPad in question is a current model or a prototype for an upcoming product, but confirmed the device is still missing, reports the San Jose Mercury News.
Katherine Stump, 20, and Alexander Nejat, 25, were arrested for allegedly assaulting, robbing and kidnapping a 20-year-old local man. On April 5, the victim contacted Stump in reply to an online advertisement, the nature of which was not disclosed. The victim met Stump and Nejat near his home before all three returned to the dwelling, where the suspects robbed him at knifepoint.
After looting the victim's house of electronics, prescription drugs and cash worth $7,500, Stump and Nejat pushed him into their car and drove a short distance before letting him out, officials said.
The victim's identity has been withheld for security reasons and it is not yet clear if he is an Apple employee.
Apple is well known for keep a tight lid on upcoming products before their official public debut, a necessary practice for players in the highly competitive tech industry. Device leaks not only put intellectual property at risk, but could negatively affect normal annual market cycles.
In 2010, an infamous "leak" outed the iPhone 4 months before it was due for announcement. In that case, a software engineer field testing a prototype of the device accidentally left it behind at a bar in Redwood. The iPhone, disguised as an iPhone 3GS, was found and ultimately sold to Gizmodo, which posted a comprehensive teardown of the device before returning it to Apple.
Apple's most recent iPad models, the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3, came out in October. The company is expected to refresh the lineup later this year, potentially introducing a jumbo size "iPad Pro" rumored to sport a 12.9-inch display and additional speakers.
Comments
But seriously, why would any employee be allowed advanced access to any Apple products? Seems like Tim might want to really "double down" on security procedures here.
Talk about a hot potatoe, nobody in the legitimate media will touch that iPad. Considering its uniqueness and traceability it is probably already in a landfill someplace.
Landfill? Hardly. It's already on a flight to South Korea for analysis.
Are you insinuating that Samsung would pay millions for an unreleased iPad? ???? why they would never. They are avery honest company. ????
The victim's identity has been withheld for security reasons and it is not yet clear if he is an Apple employee.
The guy's apparently 20. Unless we assume a special case, he isn't a college graduate, so probably not an Apple employee who's developing product. It's not intern season either, and even if he was, I doubt they'd give interns a beta iPad.
Probably an ordinary iPad being used for software development? Or enrolled in the beta program?
It's probably just a prototype of an older model someone had. There's a market for proto machines.
I'm willing to bet these robbers had (and still have) no idea what they got. To them it's a regular old iPad.
Landfill? Hardly. It's already on a flight to South Korea for analysis.
Laughed right out loud at this.
Nicely done.
Maybe it's 26% thinner than the current one.
It is suspected that the suspects arrested may have given false names in order to protect their true identities. Police have issued photos and requested assistance in identifying them:
"Katherine Stump":
[IMG]http://forums.appleinsider.com/content/type/61/id/58570/width/200/height/400[/IMG]
"Alexander Nejat":
[IMG]http://forums.appleinsider.com/content/type/61/id/58571/width/200/height/400[/IMG]
Any citizens who may be able to assist police with their inquiries are urged to contact them immediately.
Redwood? That's Redwood City.
Or have you all been listening to "Heart of Gold" by Neil Young too much lately?
I wonder if they used "Find My iPad" to catch the thieves? You KNOW they Apple has this enabled on all their prototypes these days in a way that cannot be turned off.
I just read about a new lock invention that may have stopped this home invasion
http://www.patentauction.com/patent.php?nb=10654
Err, Find My iPad?