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[MThanded]

An Apple employee has lost a prototype iPhone at a bar, again. The iPhone was lost in late July at Cava 22, a Mexican restaurant and bar in San Francisco's Mission District, according to CNET:
A day or two after the phone was lost at San Francisco's Cava 22, which describes itself as a "tequila lounge" that also serves lime-marinated shrimp ceviche, Apple representatives contacted San Francisco police, saying the device was priceless and the company was desperate to secure its safe return, the source said. Still unclear are details about the device, what version of the iOS operating system it was running, and what it looks like.

Apple tracked the iPhone to a home in San Francisco's Bernal Heights neighborhood. San Francisco police and Apple investigators reportedly spoke to a man in his twenties about the device, but he denied knowing about the lost phone. After a search, they found nothing. There is no word if Apple ever got the phone back. A spokesperson for the San Francisco Police Department told CNET that Apple did not file a police report about the missing phone.

Readers will remember that last year Apple lost an early prototype of the iPhone 4 at another San Francisco bar. That device was picked up by another customer and sold to tech site Gizmodo. That sequence of events triggered a criminal investigation which ended just this month.

A late-July iPhone in field testing would presumably have been the upcoming iPhone 5 or perhaps the low-cost iPhone 4.

http://www.macrumors.com/2011/08/31/apple-loses-another-iphone-prototype-at-a-bar/

I bolded the important part

 

[SimleuqiR]

Controlled Loss?

 

[Dreams-Visions]

LOL

HERE WE GOOOOO

 

[Deleted member 22576]

Whoa! Well its almost been 2 months so I doubt we'll get any info from it.

 

[Pein]

Its hilarious to me that this sort of stuff happens.

 

[samus i am]

Apple employees really like to party.

 

[RBH]

Amazing. :lol

 

[the_log_ride]

Way to go, nimrod

 

[BocoDragon]

Get your checkbook ready Gizmodo!

 

[Koodo]

Flop story until pictures of the lost device come out.

 

[Ferrio]

So... why are employees allowed to take them off company grounds... and to a bar no less.

 

[Flying_Phoenix]

If true then this is clearly all Apple marketing.

 

[wenis]

I can't wait to see how this ends.

 

[Grizzlyjin]

I never understood how guys lose phones so easily. I could understand some women, depending on their outfits. But as a smartphone carrying man, even while drunk I'm never in the position to lose it. I make a call, text, or whatever, and the phone goes back in my pocket. Lather, rinse, repeat. It's never just sitting out in public where I can leave it behind.

 

[GoldenEye 007]

So... why are employees allowed to take them off company grounds... and to a bar no less.

They have to test the antenna in real-world environments somehow, no?

 

[sixteen-bit]

Probably intentional.

 

[Morn]

Expect a snarky article trashing the new iPhone on Gizmondo soon.

 

[inky]

So... why are employees allowed to take them off company grounds... and to a bar no less.

To... lose them?

 

[Pastry]

So... why are employees allowed to take them off company grounds... and to a bar no less.

So the devices can be tested in real world situations... like tequila bars.

 

[slider]

Ceviche? Mmm.

 

[Jamesfrom818]

So... why are employees allowed to take them off company grounds... and to a bar no less.

Real world testing most likely. Its one thing to test antenna design in a lab and to test it in a downtown metropolitan area.

 

[Epix]

If true then this is clearly all Apple marketing.

I agree.

 

[Davidion]

Lime-marinated shrimp Cerviches ARE good, though on the other hand I'm always more fond of thinly-sliced scallops.

 

[Dug]

So an Apple employee walks into a bar....

 

[DieH@rd]

Gizmodo, start preparing money for this device.

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

I agree with the "it's marketing" crowd.

I still don't really buy the first instance.

There's NO CHANCE this would happen a second time.

 

[Samus4145]

They searched the house? Are they allowed to do that for a "lost" item or was it reported stolen?

 

[Mama Robotnik]

Apple investigators reportedly spoke to a man in his twenties about the device, but he denied knowing about the lost phone. After a search, they found nothing

"Apple investigators" performing searches in people's homes. Anyone else feel somewhat incredibly uncomfortable reading this?

 

[CharminUltra]

"...lime-marinated shrimp ceviche..."

You have my attention.

 

[Seraphinianus]

i don't know what the fuck a cerviche is, but now i want one.

also: megaton: new iPhone coming

 

[Zoramon089]

I never understood how guys lose phones so easily. I could understand some women, depending on their outfits. But as a smartphone carrying man, even while drunk I'm never in the position to lose it. I make a call, text, or whatever, and the phone goes back in my pocket. Lather, rinse, repeat. It's never just sitting out in public where I can leave it behind.

This, i don't think I've ever misplaced my phone. Guys pockets are pretty deep and smartphones are small.

 

[sullytao]

I get the feeling this is a marketing ploy. It certainly got them alot of free press last year.

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

Viral marketing taking advantage of original blunder.

 

[Marty Chinn]

i don't know what the fuck a cerviche is, but now i want one.

also: megaton: new iPhone coming

It's fish drenched in citrus which cooks the fish over time.

 

[brucewaynegretzky]

Is no one else bothered that the police are involved in searches to find Apple's lost property? Are they paying for the police time they are wasting?

 

[tehbible]

iPhone 5 has been outed already

iPhone 5 icon shows up in Photo Stream?

and this one

http://9to5mac.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/img_0062.jpeg

 

[Mama Robotnik]

There has to be an actual joke written because of this.

"So an Apple employee walks into a bar..."

 

[Neuromancer]

Legally if you find something someone forgot, isn't it pretty much yours at that point?

"Apple investigators" performing searches in people's homes. Anyone else feel somewhat incredibly uncomfortable reading this?

Not if he gave them consent.

 

[NYR]

Was likely the iPhone 4S, which is likely the same design as the iPhone 4, so no one was the wiser about it being a new model.

 

[Jamesfrom818]

Legally if you find something someone forgot, isn't it pretty much yours at that point?

I think you're supposed to turn it in to the police. If no one claims it after a set period of time, the finder keeps it.

 

[Koodo]

"Apple investigators" performing searches in people's homes. Anyone else feel somewhat incredibly uncomfortable reading this?

No, because you left out "San Francisco police."

Makes sense that someone from Apple would be there to point out their phone.

 

[luckyarcher]

Pretty sure the iphone 5 looks exactly like an iphone 4 which is why it changed hands for just $200.

 

[brucewaynegretzky]

Legally if you find something someone forgot, isn't it pretty much yours at that point?


Not if he gave them consent.

I was bad at property, but my general recollection is you have all the ownership rights in lost property that you find until the owner comes to claim it.

 

[Winterblink]

I bolded the important part

lol, awesome

 

[Mama Robotnik]

No, because you left out "San Francisco police."

Makes sense that someone from Apple would be there to point out their phone.

Article says that no missing item has been reported to the police by Apple.

 

[Neuromancer]

I think you're supposed to turn it in to the police. If no one claims it after a set period of time, the finder keeps it.

I was bad at property, but my general recollection is you have all the ownership rights in lost property that you find until the owner comes to claim it.

Oh OK. You guys are probably right.

 

[Drkirby]

Legally if you find something someone forgot, isn't it pretty much yours at that point?

No, if still legally belongs to the owner, though they would be required to prove ownership to get it back, Which would not be hard for a hardware prototype. I mean, the thing likely has a large label on the back that say "PROPERTY OF APPLE CORPORATION, NOT FOR RESALE"

 

[thezerofire]

so he "lost" it?

 

[Phoenician_Viking]

l these Iphone lost at bars are PR stunt. There is no way this happens twice to a large company which has a lot of security.

 

[Dug]

There has to be an actual joke written because of this.

"So an Apple employee walks into a bar..."

So an Apple employee walks into a bar....