In what appears to be a very convoluted plot of a detective mystery novel (or as Tech Radar would put it, a “bad cop show”), the trail of the missing iPhone from the bar in Silicon Valley that ended in the dramatic raid of a tech blogger’s home has got to be one of the most interesting mobile phone stories to have ever happened in the past couple of years.
Of course, the best way to follow what would be a confusing tale would be to start from the top. Here is the full recap of the story as we know it:
An Apple engineer goes to a bar in Silicon Valley, carrying the latest prototype of the next generation Apple iPhone (supposedly named HD or 4G, in this case, we will just refer to it as the more popularly used iPhone HD). The engineer enjoys German beer a little too much and ends up leaving the prototype device behind.
The iPhone HD is then found by 21 year old Brian Hogan, who quickly figures out that the device is not just an ordinary iPhone but a prototype device. He would later inform Katherine Martinson, his roommate, about his find. According to Martinson, Brian is able to identify the owner (the engineer) of the iPhone HD on Facebook. But instead of returning the device to its owner, Hogan sells it to Gizmodo for the reported price of 5000 US dollars. Hogan also adds that he was offered a bonus when Apple makes an official announcement about the iPhone HD.
The phone, now in Gizmodo’s possession, is showcased in an exclusive scoop which reveals to the world (and Apple) that they have the next generation prototype. Apple responds with a request that the device be returned –Gizmodo makes a public reply, declaring that they will cooperate with Apple.
Things took a surprising turn after it has been reported that the home of Jason Chen was raided by REACT operatives. Chen is a tech blogger for Gizmodo and being the person who was in direct possession of the iPhone.
Tags: Apple, Apple-iPhone-4G, Apple-iPhone-HD, AppleiPhone, Jason-Chen