Apple has contacted tech blog Gizmodo in an effort to have a prototype of the next gen iPhone returned after the blog purchased it for $5,000.
The prototype phone was encased inside of a container that made it look like an iPhone 3GS, most likely to ward off curious folks who might spot it whilst it was being used in public.
The phone was freed from its faux 3GS case and heavily scrutinized. The new model is similar to the iPhone 3GS, but it is smaller, thinner, flatter and has more distinct edges. The back of the new model is built with a piece of ceramic glass that could help increase reception.
The new device has a front-facing video chat camera, camera flash, a micro-SIM card rather than a regular SIM, higher quality display, and metallic power, mute, and volume buttons. Even though the new screen is smaller than the iPhone 3GS, it appears to support a higher resolution. The battery is larger and the phone weighs a couple of grams heavier than the iPhone 3GS.
Apple employee Gray Powell accidentally left the phone at the Gourmet Haus Staudt German beer garden and store in the San Francisco Bay Area one night in March. The person who turned it over to Gizmodo learned of Powell's identity when he viewed the Facebook account information stored on the phone.
It's no surprise Apple is working on a new iPhone model, but the fact that an Apple employee was clumsy enough to leave it at a beer garden and not go back looking for it is shocking.
AT&T is reportedly preparing for a new iPhone launch in late June, as Apple prepares for a product announcement this spring. If true, the actual release could be late spring or early summer, according to sources, with Apple still promoting the new iPhone OS 4 that finally includes multitasking.
Apple is well known for denying reports of upcoming products, even though rumors are often correct. A combination of this secrecy and losing a prototype iPhone in a bar may carry severe punishments for Powell, especially since Gizmodo outed him.
"It is very stunning," said Tim Bajarin, Creative Strategies President, in an interview with the New York Times. “Apple has such tight control on new products, and they are kept under wraps diligently and religiously until the day of their release. If it is true, it is really a first."
