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Well put it this way, if Gizmodo usually get passes to apple launch events.. I'm not sure they'll be getting any in the future. If I were Steve Jobs, I'd ban them for life.
 
I don't get it.. so far everyone is focused on what Apple will do, Gizmondo etc.

No one is saying the obvious here...

This is clearly something Apple is involved in. Apple found a way to boost their stock value by having people go nuts about it, generate so much press about something SO 'Secret', when we all KNOW that one of the most secretive companies out there, rarely if EVER has anything slip unless it's their own fault.

This one stinks of a set up. Ask your employee to 'accidentally' LOOSE a demo phone that is months from release in a PUBLIC place with some GUY who HAPPENS to be able to find the RIGHT source to release it and then let the entire internet go nuts.

As you can imagine if this was even remotely true in any respect of the so called 'official story', Apple would have demanded to do the usual thing. Demand to remove the images, threaten to sue the sites, but above all else be VERY quick about removing it before it goes so far as to an actual video of the phone its self.

Think of it... What's the cheapest way to generate publicity when you are one of the most powerful companies in the world when it comes to branding? Let a prelaunch to a super secret product slip out into the public. Let it do it's thing.

The stock has risen, companies around the world who create iPhone accessories now have the dimensions, design and look to already NOW go out and create what they need on that very first day when Apple will introduce the iPhone. The amount of AVAILABLE accessories will sky rocket on the day of the launch. (Licensed and non-licenced) Products will flood the market and they'll make use of the intensely focused group of buyers who'll spend money on that very day of its release.

It's not the first time Apple has done this. Its just the first time they let it sound like it's an honest mistake.

And yes... that formal letter is very Pixar in tone and not very Apple (Freaking out).

So it's a set up to gain more stock value, to then KEEP the stock value by introducing it probably in the next few weeks, start shipping in June, and KEEP the stock value for much longer than they would have. At the end of the year this looks pretty darn good for Apple.

Just my 2 cents.

S'all...
;)
 
If you were the finder what would you do?
If I were the Finder I'd get some damn tabs!

I don't get it.. so far everyone is focused on what Apple will do, Gizmondo etc.

No one is saying the obvious here...

This is clearly something Apple is involved in. Apple found a way to boost their stock value by having people go nuts about it, generate so much press about something SO 'Secret', when we all KNOW that one of the most secretive companies out there, rarely if EVER has anything slip unless it's their own fault.

<snip>
Just my 2 cents.

S'all...

It's a conspiracy!
 
This one stinks of a set up. Ask your employee to 'accidentally' LOOSE a demo phone that is months from release in a PUBLIC place with some GUY who HAPPENS to be able to find the RIGHT source to release it and then let the entire internet go nuts.

I'd say that there's a good chance that a random young male in a bar in Redwood City (or the Bay Area in general) is going to be familiar with sites like Gizmodo.
 
As you can imagine if this was even remotely true in any respect of the so called 'official story', Apple would have demanded to do the usual thing. Demand to remove the images, threaten to sue the sites, but above all else be VERY quick about removing it before it goes so far as to an actual video of the phone its self.

Apple stopped doing that a couple of years ago.

There have been several legitimate leaks in recent years they have never acted on. macbook pro casings, ipad images, iphone 3g etc...

arn
 
Don't know why Gizmodo wouldn't return it to it's rightful owner in the first place. Instead they wanted to be all "look what we have". Apple should sue the **** out of them for it too. This is a good example of it. Gizmodo should be held liable as well. That will teach them to this kind of **** again.

Wow, true apple fan boy.
 
It's a prototype, not the real thing. In all cases, Apple just wants the prototype back before more beans are spilled.
Will people stop insisting it's a prototype until there is actual evidence that it is?

Prototypes are built in Cupertino by Apple, but pictures of the exact same phone as the Gizmodo one, stripped down to the metal chassis, have emerged from China. If the Chinese have it, that means production is starting up. Otherwise Apple wouldn't let them anywhere near the design, given that the Chinese factory workers have a history of leaking like sieves.

It's a 'prototype' in the sense that the screen print on it has placeholder elements on the back, and maybe they'll add +/- markings on the volume buttons, but the metal chassis is way too designed to be a mere prototype. Any cosmetic changes after this point will be minor.
 
Playtime's over! It's interesting that they took this long to want the device back. I mean they can't track its location? I'm sure they could have done that! Oh and the story about the Gizmodo person finding it at a bar... Isn't that a bit... odd?? I mean that's precisely the right person at the right place at the right time, what kind of coincidence is that?? Some freaking huge improbability I would say!

And with all the security with the iPad, would Apple not to the same with the iPhone 4G before releasing it? Wouldn't they nail it to tables and black out windows?

If this prototype was found in March, then there's still a lot of time until release, meaning that Apple will probably change it around a lot until then. And how the hell did they allow this Apple guy to take this prototype home?

I don't know, it would sound stupid to say that Apple did all this on purpose, but it would also sound stupid to say that all this is coincidence and "luck"!
 
Do the right thing

I say give it back, we all now know what the iPhone 4G 'Pontentially' looks like, after all isnt it better to keep them happy? besides the anticipation and excitement from waiting for a new apple product is half the fun... isnt it?
 
Re: Dear Finder!

:apple:
 

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Playtime's over! It's interesting that they took this long to want the device back. I mean they can't track its location? I'm sure they could have done that! Oh and the story about the Gizmodo person finding it at a bar... Isn't that a bit... odd?? I mean that's precisely the right person at the right place at the right time, what kind of coincidence is that?? Some freaking huge improbability I would say!

And with all the security with the iPad, would Apple not to the same with the iPhone 4G before releasing it? Wouldn't they nail it to tables and black out windows?

If this prototype was found in March, then there's still a lot of time until release, meaning that Apple will probably change it around a lot until then. And how the hell did they allow this Apple guy to take this prototype home?

I don't know, it would sound stupid to say that Apple did all this on purpose, but it would also sound stupid to say that all this is coincidence and "luck"!


A "Gizmodo person" did not find it,some random did and he sold it to Gizmodo. And the iPad was bigger than the iPhone, as it was a brand new product that we knew nothing about. We know that the next iPhone will be like the 3GS, just maybe a different design and a few new features, not as big as a whole new product.l
 
Don't know why Gizmodo wouldn't return it to it's rightful owner in the first place. Instead they wanted to be all "look what we have".
It's a gadget site. "Look what we have" is the business idea they're built on. Why on earth would they not seize an opportunity like this one?

Apple should sue the **** out of them for it too.
On. What. Grounds? Violating an NDA? They never signed one. Apple's army of lawyers can't do squat here. They lost their legal leverage the second that Gray Powell lost the phone.
 
We controlled leak or .....



What. One thing for sure is that anything can happen in the next 8 weeks. Apple has generated further interest from which they'll glean the overall reaction to the supossed new device. This was all intentional from
the outset it would seem. It's a win for Apple and Gizmodo. However I guess with all elaborate planned leaks there will be teething problems.

I'm just glad it's more than likely not to be the final design as per assumptions from my previous posts.

Hasn't this been fun though. Gary Powell or whatever his name is gets a standing ovation. This dude had a beer or a coffee a d was in such great cpant that he forgot he had a prototype iPhone. Funny enough there were a couple of guys who happily
took the phone a d passed it on to a bunch of guys/gals at a tech. Rss site rather than take it to the police.

Oh the world we live in where doing the right thing seems to be so hard. Oh should I just keep it for a while, take some pics and fire it
off to see if I can profit from the misfortune of another human being.

Hope the dude doesn't get fired but is actually rewarded for his forpaux as it's generated a sh....... load of interest 8 weeks pre production.

I love
mac
rumors. :apple:
 
Playtime's over! It's interesting that they took this long to want the device back. I mean they can't track its location? I'm sure they could have done that! Oh and the story about the Gizmodo person finding it at a bar... Isn't that a bit... odd?? I mean that's precisely the right person at the right place at the right time, what kind of coincidence is that?? Some freaking huge improbability I would say!
It's not improbable at all. At this time, a few weeks before the launch, there are hundreds of new iPhones being tested in the wild. They can't launch a product that hasn't been thoroughly tested in the real world. They operate in the world capital of class-action lawsuits, FFS, you think they want to run the risk of getting 50 million malfunctioning iPhones on their hands?

The improbable part is that only a single one of these phones ended up in the "wrong" hands.
 
It's not improbable at all. At this time, a few weeks before the launch, there are hundreds of new iPhones being tested in the wild. They can't launch a product that hasn't been thoroughly tested in the real world. They operate in the world capital of class-action lawsuits, FFS, you think they want to run the risk of getting 50 million malfunctioning iPhones on their hands?

The improbable part is that only a single one of these phones ended up in the "wrong" hands.

There are dozens of drunken geeks working for Apple.
 
To all those saying this was a "controlled" leak. How did Apple know that this would get into the hands that someone that would pass this on to people like Engadget and Gizmodo?

For alls they know some complete technophobe who had no idea what this thing signifies might have found it and it could have come to nothing.
 
I still think this is a controlled leak.

With this "next gen" iPhone being very different from the previous iterations design-wise, I find it a brilliant move by Apple to release the design (and limited technical insight (come on, nothing that was found was really new - every single bit of hardware improvement had already been widely expected)) way before the official announcement.
That way the interested public can get used to the design, even start liking it, and Steve will be able to start his presentation with a good laugh.

I must say I was skeptical when I first saw this thing (which was a common reaction of about everyone around me).
And there's one thing you don't want at a product presentation: People live-blogging / twittering "Wow, that thing's ugly!"

Steve will be able to focus on what this thing can really do, not on how it looks.

My 2€cents
 
Whether you agree with the morality of buying a mystery phone from a random stranger (who probably nicked it) for such a price, you have to agree that $5000 is small change compared to the incredible coverage Giz just got.

On a separate note, I think I’m the only person in the world who always checks Giz before he checks Engadget.
 
If Gizmodo doesn't get sued or banned from all Apple's future press events... then I'm sticking with my controlled leak theory! :rolleyes:
 
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