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Apple Prototype Lost In San Francisco Bar

Rosalie Murphy |
August 31, 2011 | 7:09 p.m. PDT

Staff Writer

A prototype of the iPhone 5 is rumored to be floating around in San Francisco (credit nicholaschan/flickr)
A prototype of the iPhone 5 is rumored to be floating around in San Francisco (credit nicholaschan/flickr)
No, this isn't last summer's wayward staffer: A prototype of Apple's unreleased iPhone 5 has been missing since an Apple employee left it in a San Francisco restaurant a month ago, CNET revealed Wednesday.

Apple traced the suspected phone from Mexican restaurant and bar Cava 22 to a family home in the city. Unlike last summer's abandoned device, which surfaced fully deconstructed on Gizmodo's front page, this year's model is still at large - it may even be available on Craigslist.

From CNET.com:

The errant iPhone, which went missing in San Francisco's Mission district in late July, sparked a scramble by Apple security to recover the device over the next few days, according to a source familiar with the investigation.

Last year, an iPhone 4 prototype was bought by a gadget blog that paid $5,000 in cash. This year's lost phone seems to have taken a more mundane path: it was taken from a Mexican restaurant and bar and may have been sold on Craigslist for $200. Still unclear are details about the device, what version of the iOS operating system it was running, and what it looks like.

Additionally, The Wall Street Journal revealed last week that Sprint will become the third major carrier to sell the device. Likely to boost Sprint's sales, this acquisition may help AT&T battle the Department of Justice's antitrust allegations as the company seeks to acquire T-Mobile, currently the nation's fourth-largest carrier.

 

Reach Rosalie by email here or follow her on Twitter.

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