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Gizmodo gets its hands on the new iPhone prototype

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The more I think about it more fishier it sounds. So there was no similar card found inside, but they still managed to wipe he phone? Isn't that how the tech of mobile me works?

Overall this stinks. It was good reading about the phone until I realised how they obtained the phone. And putting the Guy who "lost" it isn't a good look, he didn't deserve this attention.

Anyways I still think its all a part of a game
 
Mecha_Infantry said:
The more I think about it more fishier it sounds. So there was no similar card found inside, but they still managed to wipe he phone? Isn't that how the tech of mobile me works?
Click to expand...

No SIM?
 
Bboy AJ said:
Did they remove the articles that mentioned the guy who lost it's name? I can't find them anymore.

Also, for all this legal speculation, check Apple v. Gizmodo in the Leak of the Supersecret iPhone from a well known legal blog.
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http://srph.it/9q4EV7 said:
At heart is the question of whether the person who found the phone made "reasonable and just efforts to find the owner and to restore the property to him," as required by the California penal code. In its account of what happened, Gizmodo says the finder "asked around" the bar where he found it. And after realizing it was an Apple prototype, he called several numbers at the company.

Finders Keepers?

What he never did, however, was notify anyone who worked at the bar, according to its owner, Volcker Staudt. That would have been the simplest way to get the phone back to the Apple employee who lost it, who "called constantly trying to retrieve it" in the days afterward, recalls Volcker. "The guy was pretty hectic about it."

Nor did the finder report it to the Redwood City Police Department, says Sgt. Dan Mulholland. To be fair, no one from Apple told the police the phone was lost, either. I contacted a company spokeswoman to ask why not but never heard back.

Assuming the jury in a hypothetical criminal or civil suit consisted of locals like Volcker, the claim that the seller's actions constituted a "reasonable effort" to contact the owner wouldn't hold much water. "The most reasonable effort would have been to bring it back to us, because he knows that person would be going back to us first," says Volcker. "Why not just make it simple and bring it back?"
Click to expand...

I have to say that it does not sound like the person with the phone tried to return it.
 
Mecha_Infantry said:
lol, yeah no SIM I meant, silly Android autocorrect!

Oh and the funniest thing is, it seems EVERYONE has forgotten about the Microsoft Kin now :lol

Fair play Apple
Click to expand...

People forgot about the Kin the moment they revealed what it was. The only headlines that has been grabbing has been for the sexting commercial.
 
Bboy AJ said:
Did they remove the articles that mentioned the guy who lost it's name? I can't find them anymore.

Also, for all this legal speculation, check Apple v. Gizmodo in the Leak of the Supersecret iPhone from a well known legal blog.
Click to expand...
They barely did any analysis themselves and merely quoted someone who isn't even sure about his own answer; indeed, it's difficult to argue being a bona fide purchaser given the circumstances. Nonetheless, this technovia blogger makes a pretty good case why it isn't a a trade secrets violation, but could be a criminal one. He isn't a lawyer, but it's still more convincing than that "well known" law blogger managed.

http://www.technovia.co.uk/2010/04/has-gizmodo-broken-the-law-with-its-iphone-story.html

Moreover, some random commenter, makes a good point

While there might be an issue as to whether Apple forfeited the trade secret by losing it, Gizmodo could be estopped from using that as a defense. They were only interested in it for the value of disclosing the secrets, and voluntarily chose to keep protect them until they could maximize the damage (by documenting everything thoroughly before revealing anything and alerting Apple). While they weren't under any duty to Apple, they implicitly assumed the burden of protecting the trade secrets with a malicious intent to profit from their exposure.
Click to expand...
 
syllogism said:
http://www.technovia.co.uk/2010/04/has-gizmodo-broken-the-law-with-its-iphone-story.html
Click to expand...

That's a great summary, particularly these paragraphs :

technovia said:
In the Gizmodo case, a prosecutor would argue that the site should have known about the law on lost property, and in particular Section 485 of the Penal Code which makes it theft to appropriate lost property. We are, after all, talking about a multi-million dollar organisation that can, at the very least, afford some lawyers.

If successfully argued, that would make Gizmodo guilty of knowingly being in receipt of stolen property – at which point, some of them could end up going to jail for a year. Perhaps more painfully, Apple would be entitled to claim up to three times any losses it had suffered because of the theft and receipt – and I suspect it would argue that the losses it had suffered amounted to many millions of dollars. The bill would be far more painful to Gizmodo that any likely criminal sanctions.
Click to expand...

I can't see any defence for this at all, Gizmodo were very aware that this was lost property.
 
aesop said:
Who would buy a 3GS when they knew an upgraded iphone would be out in 3 months?
Click to expand...

Nobody with a brain, even before this. New iPhones are always announced in June.
 
CrankyJay said:
How exactly though has/could Apple lose/lost millions of dollars?
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They sold 8.8 million iPhones in the last quarter, and the new model won't be available for another 3 or 4 months. They could claim lost revenue even though the vast majority will have an idea that a newer phone is coming.
 
neojubei said:
so true. but in the end Apple will still get a lot of sales from the new iphone.
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A lot of sales, sure. But a lot of sales above the sales level it would get anyway? Hmm...

A new iPhone always set the charts on fire and pretty much sells out all the production. In my country there are months long waiting lists to get one.
 
CrankyJay said:
How exactly though has/could Apple lose/lost millions of dollars?
Click to expand...


I don't think Apple would claim lost revenue.

From what I've been reading, the whole trade secrets thing requires that the owner of the trade secrets take reasonable care to keep their inventions private. Taking a phone out to a bar in the wild - even in a camoflauge case - may not hold up.

All the talk I've been hearing now has been about the potential criminal case against the person who found/ took the phone and then sold it to Gizmodo. it seems easy to prove that the finder did not take reasonable action to contact Apple or the bar where he found the phone or the police to bring it back, so once he sold it, that would constitute theft.

And then Gizmodo could be in trouble for paying for stolen goods.

who knows if this will actually go to court, though.
 
Opus Angelorum said:
I can't see it not going to court, this is Apple after all. Does anyone seriously think Gizmodo will walk away from this without recourse?
Click to expand...

I think they need to do something, otherwise a bad example is being set.
 
aesop said:
Who would buy a 3GS when they knew an upgraded iphone would be out in 3 months?
Click to expand...
I think anyone who was in the market for an iPhone has either conducted their own research and is familiar with apple's history of updating their products or totally unaware of whats going on (and doesn't read tech blogs etc..)
 
aesop said:
Who would buy a 3GS when they knew an upgraded iphone would be out in 3 months?
Click to expand...
Apple just announced they sold nearly 9 million iPhones from January to March, which was higher than its holiday period (I think). So people are definitely buying these things without regard to Apple's fixed release schedule.
 
Opus Angelorum said:
I can't see it not going to court, this is Apple after all. Does anyone seriously think Gizmodo will walk away from this without recourse?
Click to expand...

Buzz Out Loud and MacBreak Weekly have both condemned Gizmodo for their part in receiving stolen property and what they did in publishing that fellow's pictures,etc. Gizmodo has certainly made me take them off my bookmarks and use only the Ars and gdgt sites.

Gizmodo will never, ever get an invite to any Apple event in the future.

And Ars makes a good point,
Given these and other factors, the device in question may in fact be an Apple prototype. However, we remain skeptical about how this particular device ever left Apple's campus to begin with. Our understanding is that Apple employees must check out unreleased hardware for testing and return it before leaving campus. The notion that such a device haphazardly ended up on the floor of a bar near Cupertino just doesn't seem likely. However, Daring Fireball's sources indicate that Apple believes that its prototype was stolen, which may account for how the device eventually found its way into Gizmodo's hands.
Click to expand...

So Gizmodo may be in criminal and civil court in the future. Checkbook journalism, IMHO, is a short sighted route to success.
 
neptunes said:
I think anyone who was in the market for an iPhone has either conducted their own research and is familiar with apple's history of updating their products or totally unaware of whats going on (and doesn't read tech blogs etc..)
Click to expand...
Possibly. But the fact that this story has left the wilds of the tech blogs and entered the mainstream media means that the clueless are now informed.

Edit: Yes, I know that I'm making assumptions. jumptoconclusionsmat.jpg and all that.
 
numble said:
Apple just announced they sold nearly 9 million iPhones from January to March, which was higher than its holiday period (I think). So people are definitely buying these things without regard to Apple's fixed release schedule.
Click to expand...
People aren't aware of Apple's release schedule. It's not a publicly promoted schedule.

And I mean people in general, not the 5% of buyers that discuss those matters on the internet...

With this leak, more people will be aware. It's all over the news.
 
Pandoracell said:
I think they need to do something, otherwise a bad example is being set.
Click to expand...
indeed. Apple shouldn't allow engineering/prototype samples to filter down to idiots who are celebrating their birthdays with libations at a public bar.
 
scorcho said:
indeed. Apple shouldn't allow engineering/prototype samples to filter down to idiots who are celebrating their birthdays with libations at a public bar.
Click to expand...


In all seriousness, yeah, I bet they're going to vet the people who take these phones out of the building a lot more carefully now.
 
http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/why-apple-could-sue-gawker-over-lost-iphone-story/19447570/

At heart is the question of whether the person who found the phone made "reasonable and just efforts to find the owner and to restore the property to him," as required by the California penal code. In its account of what happened, Gizmodo says the finder "asked around" the bar where he found it. And after realizing it was an Apple prototype, he called several numbers at the company.

Finders Keepers?

What he never did, however, was notify anyone who worked at the bar, according to its owner, Volcker Staudt. That would have been the simplest way to get the phone back to the Apple employee who lost it, who "called constantly trying to retrieve it" in the days afterward, recalls Volcker. "The guy was pretty hectic about it."
Click to expand...
 
If I find a phone in a bar, I give it to someone behind the bar to hold onto in case the person comes back in asking if anyone found a phone. That's pretty basic common sense stuff. If this guy didn't do that he's either dumb or had other motivations.
 
aesop said:
Who would buy a 3GS when they knew an upgraded iphone would be out in 3 months?
Click to expand...

I can't speak for all carriers, but Softbank usually starts doing heavy iPhone promotions later in it's lifespan. For someone wanting an iPhone for a very low price, and not caring about having the newest available it's a good deal.
 
Gary Whitta said:
If I find a phone in a bar, I give it to someone behind the bar to hold onto in case the person comes back in asking if anyone found a phone. That's pretty basic common sense stuff. If this guy didn't do that he's either dumb or had other motivations.
Click to expand...
That's what initially led me to believe that something fishy is going on behind the scenes. Especially considering Gray never went back and asked for it. Maybe he was scared shitless. Ah fuck it, who knows.
 
AgentWhiskersX said:
That's what initially led me to believe that something fishy is going on behind the scenes. Especially considering Gray never went back and asked for it. Maybe he was scared shitless. Ah fuck it, who knows.
Click to expand...
He did go back to the bar--check my post several posts up.
 
AgentWhiskersX said:
That's what initially led me to believe that something fishy is going on behind the scenes. Especially considering Gray never went back and asked for it. Maybe he was scared shitless. Ah fuck it, who knows.
Click to expand...
Uh..

What he never did [the stranger who found it], however, was notify anyone who worked at the bar, according to its owner, Volcker Staudt. That would have been the simplest way to get the phone back to the Apple employee who lost it, who "called constantly trying to retrieve it" in the days afterward, recalls Volcker. "The guy was pretty hectic about it."
 
Most people find an iPhone and keep it. As someone who had his 3G phone lost/stolen, I can attest to this. My ex and I also found a 2G at Subway years ago, and kept it. So it's just the universe balancing itself out. Phones are damn important. It's not something you leae lying around, much like cash, credit cards and ids. OTOH, I return lost ids. They have no value to me, so no point in swiping one of those. PEACE.
 
So we're still believing this "lost at a bar" story?

This is Apple, the company who wouldn't let anyone see an iPad unless it was bound to a table and in a room with no windows. Has Gizmodo been contacted by Apple with complaints or legal threats yet?

This is the first iPhone that really matters to "get right." Before, there were no big threats or alternatives, so Apple could do whatever they want, like simply making it faster. Android is getting bigger, from Droid to Incredible to Evo 4G, so I don't put it passed Apple to have leaked the image, not necessarily to overshadow the Incredible, although it hasn't hurt, but to see the reaction, with time to make a decision. Do people like the new look? Can they get away with a slightly smaller screen? What's the reaction like to the front facing camera?

It seems so fake.
 
jonnybryce said:
So we're still believing this "lost at a bar" story?
Click to expand...
You're believing Apple would let themselves look this clumsy and irresponsible on purpose?

Regarding the idea that Apple cares what the public thinks, they don't. They don't focus test on anything. They trust their own decisions.
 
jonnybryce said:
So we're still believing this "lost at a bar" story?

This is Apple, the company who wouldn't let anyone see an iPad unless it was bound to a table and in a room with no windows. Has Gizmodo been contacted by Apple with complaints or legal threats yet?

This is the first iPhone that really matters to "get right." Before, there were no big threats or alternatives, so Apple could do whatever they want, like simply making it faster. Android is getting bigger, from Droid to Incredible to Evo 4G, so I don't put it passed Apple to have leaked the image, not necessarily to overshadow the Incredible, although it hasn't hurt, but to see the reaction, with time to make a decision. Do people like the new look? Can they get away with a slightly smaller screen? What's the reaction like to the front facing camera?

It seems so fake.
Click to expand...


wow. really?

You greatly overestimate Apple's perception of the threat Android poses to the iPhone right now. they wouldn't do something this drastic to try to steal any thunder from the new HTC phones.

Have you seen the numbers yesterday showing how iPhone sales grew around 130% from last quarter to this one? Totally shocked me. Apple doesn't need to leak shit like this to get people excited for their products.

this was a fuck up. Apple is not beyond making a mistake. (Their mistake being, IMO, giving out test phones to employees who can't be responsible with them) They won't be making this one again.
 
Pimpwerx said:
Most people find an iPhone and keep it. As someone who had his 3G phone lost/stolen, I can attest to this. My ex and I also found a 2G at Subway years ago, and kept it. So it's just the universe balancing itself out. Phones are damn important. It's not something you leae lying around, much like cash, credit cards and ids. OTOH, I return lost ids. They have no value to me, so no point in swiping one of those. PEACE.
Click to expand...
You make it sound like it's a policy of yours to swipe everything someone leaves or forgets. People leave stuff where I work all the time, it's not that hard to give it to someone working the front counter.
 
giga said:
Really good convo with Ihnatko and Gruber: http://5by5.tv/conversation/12

Gruber dishes a lot of details on the inside stuff he knows.
Click to expand...


after listening to this, I reiterate:

iviro2.jpg
 
Pimpwerx said:
Most people find an iPhone and keep it. As someone who had his 3G phone lost/stolen, I can attest to this. My ex and I also found a 2G at Subway years ago, and kept it. So it's just the universe balancing itself out. Phones are damn important. It's not something you leae lying around, much like cash, credit cards and ids. OTOH, I return lost ids. They have no value to me, so no point in swiping one of those. PEACE.
Click to expand...

You're a thief plain and simple.

If I find a phone I call the numbers in the phone and try to locate the owner.
 
numble said:
Any good summaries for people without an hour to spare?
Click to expand...
The best part so far (I'm about 20 minutes in) is that the "finders" sell and physically give the phone to Gizmodo on the 14th or so for $5,000. They then realize that they were severely underpaid given what it actually was, so they call up Engadget on the 17th and tell them they want to sell the phone to them. But they don't have the phone anymore. So what they were planning to do apparently was go to Gizmodo, give them their $5,000 back in exchange for the phone so that they could give it to Engadget. :lol
 
Pimpwerx said:
Most people find an iPhone and keep it. As someone who had his 3G phone lost/stolen, I can attest to this. My ex and I also found a 2G at Subway years ago, and kept it. So it's just the universe balancing itself out. Phones are damn important. It's not something you leae lying around, much like cash, credit cards and ids. OTOH, I return lost ids. They have no value to me, so no point in swiping one of those. PEACE.
Click to expand...
Wow.
 
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