[simsimi1004]

Police have raided the home of a technology blog editor after he revealed details of Apple's next iPhone.

Detectives are investigating whether Jason Chen, an editor at the leading tech blog Gizmodo, broke a law covering the appropriation of stolen property for personal benefit.

Gizmodo paid $5,000 for a top-secret iPhone 4G prototype after a hapless Apple software engineer left it on a bar stool.

The handset was found by an unknown person who hawked it round various blogs.


http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article7109063.ece


pwned. i think he partially deserved it.

[slammer111]

More publicity for him. Dunno if the charges will stick.

[Vansterdam]

pwned lol buying stolen property is a no-no

and epic fail by the employee

[Kim Jong Un]

meh just another one of apple's publicity stunt

[LiquidTurbo]

Full details here:

http://gizmodo.com/5524843/police-seize-jason-chens-computers

lol@ this guy.

[StylinRed]

I take it none of you read the article??


The phone was bought by Gizmodo (according to the article).
The phone was returned to Apple when they asked for it.
The police raided this editors home anyway and seized all his equipment and personal info.
According to Gizmodo, under US law, their editor should be protected under Journalists rights
Also paying informants for information is legal (journalists, police, etc, do it all the time) the only thing that comes into question from this point is the credibility of the information.


so Apple probably had the law "bent" to stick it to gizmodo for letting out their details

Its not like the editor sold the information to another cellular company

[SkinnyPupp]

Police are probably trying to get to whoever originally stole it. And despite what they may argue, it was stolen. They claimed to have contacted Apple about it, but if that had been the case, Apple would have asked for it back right away. That, and the fact that they knew who the original owner was, and never contacted him before selling it.

So knowing that it is a stolen phone, Gizmodo bought stolen goods, which of course is illegal. The editor may not have bought it, but he was knowingly in possession of it too.

I don't think the shield law protects journalists from being charged with purchasing stolen goods... It's amusing to me that they think that.

My theory is, they fucked themselves over by unnecessarily releasing the identity of the guy who they stole the phone from. That was a real asshole thing to do, and I hope karma fucks them in the ass for it. No lube.

As big as Apple is, I don't think they have the ability to 'bend' the laws :lol. California prosecutors LOVE going after high profile cases. Look at what they did to MJ for instance.

And while they didn't directly sell it to another company, they did reveal it to them. But I think the bottom line is, they stole an extremely valuable item and flaunted it.

[CP.AR]

this fiasco is getting more and more interesting. I would love to see how the journalistic protectionism regulations will go after this. Reading back on their posts regarding the phone, I can actually pick out their carefully worded paragraphs - to tread through the legal waters carefully.

[SkinnyPupp]

The funniest part is, the guy who stole it is risking a LOT for the $5000 he was paid. And Gizmodo ended up with millions and millions of new visitors for it...

[sleazyho]

I woulda sold it for way more than $5000

[FerrariEnzo]

man, how many things is apple gona do to promote their iphones?

First it was the guy in shanghai, now this shit where the "ACCIDENATLLY" leaves it behind at a BAR? WTF????

[wouwou]

man, how many things is apple gona do to promote their iphones?

First it was the guy in shanghai, now this shit where the "ACCIDENATLLY" leaves it behind at a BAR? WTF????

if you know anything about AAPL, you would know that there is no way it's doing this to "promote" the iphone.

[Mancini]

meh just another one of apple's publicity stunt

Do you really believe that police routinely help companies with marketing campaigns by getting search and seizure warrants?


Also paying informants for information is legal (journalists, police, etc, do it all the time) the only thing that comes into question from this point is the credibility of the information.


Sounds like a great way to legally buy stolen property cheaply. Become a journalist and relate the "hot" property to a legitimate news story so the law won't touch you.

No.

[StylinRed]

Sounds like a great way to legally buy stolen property cheaply. Become a journalist and relate the "hot" property to a legitimate news story so the law won't touch you.

No.

no, your being too general and mixing information, etc with stolen equipment; you can't purchase, knowingly, stolen equipment

they can pay for information; they can pay for items (as long as they have no reason to believe its stolen)



Gizmodos side of the story is they didn't believe this was Apples, Iphone
they didn't know anything about it, they had no reason to believe it was stolen, but they knew it was lost
and when they found out it was Apples, they gave it back to them



lookit this article on wired, us law has it that the items can't even be seized even if the police are investigating a crime

The federal Privacy Protection Act prohibits the government from seizing materials from journalists and others who possess material for the purpose of communicating to the public. The government cannot seize material from the journalist even if it’s investigating whether the person who possesses the material committed a crime.

Instead, investigators need to obtain a subpoena, which would allow the reporter or media outlet to challenge the request and segregate information that is not relevant to the investigation.

“Congress was contemplating a situation where someone might claim that the journalist was committing a crime [in order to seize materials from them],” Granick says.

California state law also provides protections to prevent journalists from being forced to disclose sources or unpublished information related to their work.

“California law is crystal clear that bloggers are journalists, too,” she says.

Apple is on the steering committee for the REACT task force that raided Chen’s house. Formed in 1997, REACT is a partnership of 17 local, state and federal agencies tasked with investigating computer- and internet-related crimes.




so Apple probably had the law "bent" to stick it to gizmodo for letting out their details

^^

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

meh just another one of apple's publicity stunt

indeed

[$_$]

Why are people saying this phone was stolen ? Idk, everywhere I've read it said the programmer lost the phone at the bar.

Look at it this way, with all the protocols that apple has, why would they let THAT programmer take around a phone that is so important to him? On top of that, most of us take good care of our phone to not lose it, so if you were someone that carried around a phone of THAT value, would you not double triple check it constantly to know that it's on you?

What's the point of raiding gizmodo's house? They already sent a formal letter requesting the phone back. They got it back. The guy who found it apparantly tried calling customer service back to return it. Easy to pull up the records to see if it happened.

Having said all that, I still think everything is a big publicity stunt. With the iPad released so close to when the 4g is suppose to come out, it is bound to cannabilize some of their sales. Have you realized that all of these news come out in waves? The "rumour" of this new 4g has been around for MONTHS. At first it was just in the internetz, where only the nerdz will see. Now it made it's way into the news, making the general public aware that the "new iphone is on it's way out!" Gotta hand it to apple, no matter how this turned out, they will end up selling more phones. No publicity is bad publicity.

[penner2k]

This is gonna be a tricky case. Its obvious that the lawyers that work for Gizmodo knew what was going on and were prepared for this to happen. If I were them I would have stopped searching when they saw the email. Right now they are putting themselves at huge risk of getting sued by continuing with the search.

[simsimi1004]

Why are people saying this phone was stolen ? Idk, everywhere I've read it said the programmer lost the phone at the bar.

Look at it this way, with all the protocols that apple has, why would they let THAT programmer take around a phone that is so important to him? On top of that, most of us take good care of our phone to not lose it, so if you were someone that carried around a phone of THAT value, would you not double triple check it constantly to know that it's on you?

well in apples defence it was in a cover that made it look like 3g. no one would try to probe someone elses phone when their using it lol especially something that is so common.

its considered stolen because the law said something about it being misplaced and upto a certain time, there is a legal obligation to return it.

[Manic!]

Apple Nazi's strike again.

An Apple engineer was fired for showing Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak an Ipad at midnight on the day of release. What's more bizarre is he had to wait in line to get one.

http://www.macworld.co.uk/ipod-itunes/news/index.cfm?olo=rss&NewsID=3221603

Also you have the trouble at foxconn and Apple forcing website ThinkSecret to shut down.

[taylor192]

Police are probably trying to get to whoever originally stole it. And despite what they may argue, it was stolen. They claimed to have contacted Apple about it, but if that had been the case, Apple would have asked for it back right away. That, and the fact that they knew who the original owner was, and never contacted him before selling it.

You're assuming a lot. My turn.

Gizmodo made it very clear the original finder and themselves both contacted Apple. I will assume they have this documented since they probably ran this by their lawyer first. Any media company that would not contact their lawyer before posting this type of information would be very dumb, and I give Gizmodo more credit than that.

The added plus is that if the search and seizure is found to violate the journalist clause, then all evidence is now inadmissible in any other related case against the editor.

Thus this all comes down to who's team has better lawyers - meanwhile swearing Apple's reputation and opening more eyes to just how far Apple will go to control its products - and ultimately the end consumer.

IMHO this is not a smart case for Apple to pursue if they are behind it.

[orange7]

what happened to the good old rule of finder keeper?

[Great68]

Why are people saying this phone was stolen ?

You have to make a legitimate attempt to return the "found" property to the owner.

It's no different than if you loose your wallet at the bar. Someone can't just take it and say "I found it, it's MY wallet now". That would be stealing.

I think there was a case a few years back where some dude found a few thousand dollars in a bag by a bus stop in Vancouver or something. He turned the money into the police, and if no one claimed it within xx days he would get to keep it. The owner ended up claiming the money, but gave the dude a nice reward for finding it.

[Expresso]

You have to make a legitimate attempt to return the "found" property to the owner.

It's no different than if you loose your wallet at the bar. Someone can't just take it and say "I found it, it's MY wallet now". That would be stealing.

.

I'm not sure if you actually read the actual details but, the original guy who found it at the bar contacted Apple but no one took him seriously. Customer Service gave him a Ticket # for the incident and told him they would call him. No follow up calls were made.

[Mancini]

You have to make a legitimate attempt to return the "found" property to the owner.

It's no different than if you loose your wallet at the bar. Someone can't just take it and say "I found it, it's MY wallet now". That would be stealing.

I think there was a case a few years back where some dude found a few thousand dollars in a bag by a bus stop in Vancouver or something. He turned the money into the police, and if no one claimed it within xx days he would get to keep it. The owner ended up claiming the money, but gave the dude a nice reward for finding it.

Exactly.

What is known at this point is that the "finder" did not make any attempt to turn in the lost property to the authorities. Then, he sold it purely for profit.

I'm not sure if you actually read the actual details but, the original guy who found it at the bar contacted Apple but no one took him seriously. Customer Service gave him a Ticket # for the incident and told him they would call him. No follow up calls were made.

That's insufficient action. What if it didn't belong to Apple in the first place? It still needed to be turned in to the authorities to be claimed (or not).

[Sky_2000]

Exactly.

What is known at this point is that the "finder" did not make any attempt to turn in the lost property to the authorities. Then, he sold it purely for profit.



That's insufficient action. What if it didn't belong to Apple in the first place? It still needed to be turned in to the authorities to be claimed (or not).

I highly doubt a local police officers would know what a iphone prototype phone would look like. The phone would have just ended up in a bin with a bunch of other lost or stolen phones at the police station. Gizmodo didn't even know it was actually a prototype till they took it apart.

In the end only Apple and Gizmodo gain from this situation. Everyone else is just a pawns in their game of world domination.

[Manic!]

Exactly.

What is known at this point is that the "finder" did not make any attempt to turn in the lost property to the authorities. Then, he sold it purely for profit.



That's insufficient action. What if it didn't belong to Apple in the first place? It still needed to be turned in to the authorities to be claimed (or not).

Do you think police are going to care about a lost phone. Should I call the police every time someone leave a phone at our gas station? What about gas caps, sunglasses, or socks?

Did Apple try calling the phone?

[taylor192]

That's insufficient action. What if it didn't belong to Apple in the first place? It still needed to be turned in to the authorities to be claimed (or not).
Can you reference the law that says it must be turned into the authorities?

I lost my bball shoes at a gym once, they were in the lost and found box, not the police station.

Edit: I found the law, and holy crap I cannot see this being enforced: http://www.animallaw.info/statutes/stuscacivil_2080_2082.htm

By law, my gym would have to turn my bball sneakers over to the cops since they are valued > $100. I'll remember this next time I forget them, cause they are getting sued for just leaving them in the lost and found!

[Great68]

Exactly.

What is known at this point is that the "finder" did not make any attempt to turn in the lost property to the authorities. Then, he sold it purely for profit.



That's insufficient action. What if it didn't belong to Apple in the first place? It still needed to be turned in to the authorities to be claimed (or not).

At the very least, it should have been left at the bar. Perhaps the Apple engineer was going to come back the next day looking for it???

[SkinnyPupp]

I'm not sure if you actually read the actual details but, the original guy who found it at the bar contacted Apple but no one took him seriously. Customer Service gave him a Ticket # for the incident and told him they would call him. No follow up calls were made.
If you found an iPhone at a bus stop, would you call Apple customer support? Hell no! you'd look on it, and see if you could find the owner's identity! And they did that by the way - they knew who the owner was. But instead of contacting him, they called Apple support for some stupid reason ( :troll: )

And 68 is right. AT THE VERY LEAST they shouldn't have taken it home or even looked at it, but turn it in at the bar's lost and found, so the owner could claim it when he realized he lost it.

[Anjew]

how are you gonna contact him if you have his phone.....

[impactX]

The funny thing (or not so funny thing) is that if the Apple employee lost this phone in China, he would probably be dead by now.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10291701-37.html

[$_$]

If you found an iPhone at a bus stop, would you call Apple customer support? Hell no! you'd look on it, and see if you could find the owner's identity! And they did that by the way - they knew who the owner was. But instead of contacting him, they called Apple support for some stupid reason ( :troll: )

And 68 is right. AT THE VERY LEAST they shouldn't have taken it home or even looked at it, but turn it in at the bar's lost and found, so the owner could claim it when he realized he lost it.


The phone was bricked not long after the developer realized it was gone; apple bricked it remotely.

[$_$]

The funny thing (or not so funny thing) is that if the Apple employee lost this phone in China, he would probably be dead by now.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10291701-37.html


My thoughts exactly

[Ilagon]

For those who can't wait for this iPhone to be released:

http://modmyi.com/forums/iphone-news/708097-new-iphone-drop-sooner-than-planned.html

[goo3]

Apple's gonna lose millions with the leak. Being able to control how, when, and what to announce during a product launch is much better than having Gizmodo doing it for them.

[LiquidTurbo]

Apple's gonna lose millions with the leak. Being able to control how, when, and what to announce during a product launch is much better than having Gizmodo doing it for them.

Yea, I can just picture Steve Job's face right now..

http://cache-02.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/04/500x_62531_eljobso_2.jpg

http://cache-03.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/04/500x_62623_tomweppler.jpg

http://cache-02.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/04/500x_62626_larrylo.jpg

[taylor192]

how are you gonna contact him if you have his phone.....
and it has been bricked.

[Expresso]

And 68 is right. AT THE VERY LEAST they shouldn't have taken it home or even looked at it, but turn it in at the bar's lost and found, so the owner could claim it when he realized he lost it.

I honestly have zero faith in a Bar's Lost and Found, do you?! Some kid working at the bar would've just kept it. And this whole scenerio would've played out again.

[SkinnyPupp]

True! But then he would be the one who stole it, not you! ;)

[Graeme S]

Maybe he did.
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[tgill]

The phone was bricked not long after the developer realized it was gone; apple bricked it remotely.
actually the guy who sold it to gawker (gizmodo) browsed the guys facebook app...

fact is if you buy stolen property unknowingly or knowingly in california you are at fault

[BlacknJean]

fuck the apple nazis

[no_clue]

I predict apple is going to win, a fortune 500 legal team is formidable compared to gawker media. Gizmodo must know it was stolen to pay $5000 for it which will make the shield law void. Hope the 2 million views was worth it!

[Sky_2000]

Wow I didn't know their were so many lawyers on this forum! You guys must all be super rich from your lawyering. What school did you all go to? The school of hard knocks?

[1990TSI]

Wow I didn't know their were so many lawyers on this forum! You guys must all be super rich from your lawyering. What school did you all go to? The school of hard knocks?


I did, with jay Z

also, I found the phone, and fabricated the whole thing

y'all just got tsi rolled

[ecsw]

NO ONE READ THE STORY? WTF.

The engineer from APPLE LOST IT AT THE BAR on his birthday party after DRUNK.

The guy who found it was trying to return to the engineer but the prototype was REMOTELY KILLED next morning. He CALLED APPLE trying to return, no one believed him.

He then told Gizmodo and Gizmodo bought it. They thought it was fake, but after a week playing with it, Jason (Gizmodo Editor) believed it was real. He documented/photo it and then he CONTACTED APPLE about the phone and ask if that's they are missing a prototype. Gizmodo told Apple if that's indeed their prototype, please send a formal letter to request it back and they will love to give it back.

APPLE was behind one of the company that helped police search the apartment.

If Jason is guilty, he is guilty of depriving Steve's fun of unveiling the new iPhone. BS.

I better don't say too much about Apple, or they will break into my house too.

[ecsw]

The funny thing (or not so funny thing) is that if the Apple employee lost this phone in China, he would probably be dead by now.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10291701-37.html

he was. He killed himself.

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Foxconn-Missing-iPhone-Suicide,news-4272.html

[Manic!]

Next time I lose a phone I hope I get the Apple treatment.

[Manic!]

I predict apple is going to win, a fortune 500 legal team is formidable compared to gawker media.


Why would Apples lawyers be involved in a criminal case?

[jeff19]

he was. He killed himself.

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Foxconn-Missing-iPhone-Suicide,news-4272.html

Fucked up
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[SkinnyPupp]

Wired interviewed the guy who sold the phone to Gizmodo.. He apparently regrets not doing more to return the phone to its rightful owner...

I bet his bigger regret is not getting more than $5000 for the phone! He probably could have gotten 10X that much if he tried.

[terkan]

I hope the guy that "found" the iphone lives with guilt for the rest of his life.. for all we know.. that guy that "found" the phone at the bar coulda stolen it from his bag etc. i mean.. if the phone was a prototype to begin with, he's probably not allow to have it out in the public? like taking it out and leaving it on a table.. so i'm guessing the phone was in his bag or briefcase or whatever.. and the guy took it with the intention of selling it... and come on.. pretty sure giz knows that it's a real iphone prototype.. otherwise he won't be paying $5000 for it.. who da fuk pays $5000 for an item that they don't even know if it's real or not?

[threezero]

I don't understand why people can't accept that prototype DOES leave the office. I mean if it a prototype of a microwave i can understand it being int he same lab throughout the whole developmental process. But its freakin cellphone, how do you make sure it is working to its full potential if its not out any about in the same environment its going to be use in?????

I remember back in gr 8 my school tutor's husband work for nokia and he used to show me prototype phones all the time.

imo, both gizmondo and apple is milking all the publicity it can from this leak. Whether its accidental doesn't really matter. Really it doesn't hurt Apple all that much that 4g is leaked. If anything I'm more excited to get my hands on one now. I'm getting use to the look already, in fact i think i like it.

[bengy]

Apple's gonna lose millions with the leak. Being able to control how, when, and what to announce during a product launch is much better than having Gizmodo doing it for them.

Yeah right. The mindless Apple drones are just waiting for that pre-order page to pop up on the Apple store for the new iPhone.

[ecsw]

I hope the guy that "found" the iphone lives with guilt for the rest of his life.. for all we know.. that guy that "found" the phone at the bar coulda stolen it from his bag etc. i mean.. if the phone was a prototype to begin with, he's probably not allow to have it out in the public? like taking it out and leaving it on a table.. so i'm guessing the phone was in his bag or briefcase or whatever.. and the guy took it with the intention of selling it... and come on.. pretty sure giz knows that it's a real iphone prototype.. otherwise he won't be paying $5000 for it.. who da fuk pays $5000 for an item that they don't even know if it's real or not?

The iPhone was disgused with a case that made it looks like iPhone 3GS. If you read the story, u will know.

The guy didn't even found the phone. He sat at next table to the engineer.
When he was leaving, a bartender or the waiter told him, "hey your friend forgot his iPhone". He replied "Oh, that's not my friend.". He took it home because it was late at night, and said he will try to call the guy (he's got the name from the face book app on iPhone) tomorrow morning since he has his name from the phone.

He turn on the iPhone the next morning, found out it's dead. He then found out it's a "smaller" phone in a case that makes it looks like iPhone.
He remembered the name of the engineer from the facebook on the phone, he called Apple trying to reach him, but was refused.

He then called Apple support ('cause they won't connect him to the engineer), the support think he is joking.

I believe Gizmodo Editor (Jason) mentioned they went to the bar with him, chatted with the bartender or waiter in the bar who point to him "about his friend forgot to take his phone" to make sure it's not STOLEN before they pay $5000 for it. The guy has witness confirmed it was left on the table.

[jlo mein]

Apple's gonna lose millions with the leak. Being able to control how, when, and what to announce during a product launch is much better than having Gizmodo doing it for them.

Yeah right. The mindless Apple drones are just waiting for that pre-order page to pop up on the Apple store for the new iPhone.

Apple is definitely losing money due to this leak, make no mistake. Current iPhone 3GS sales are going to dramatically fall now that everyone is aware a new iPhone is coming out this summer.

Remember that last year, the 3GS was announced on June 9 and released on June 19. That's only 10 days of advance notice to consumers. Up until the June 9 announcement iPhone 3G sales were still steady, at which point they dropped off in anticipation of the 3GS.

Now Apple will have to live with 1-2 months of poor iPhone 3GS sales while they don't have the next iPhone ready for market. It will likely cost them millions of dollars.

[ecsw]

IMO, the reason why they search Jason's place was because Gizmodo did not stop posting pictures of the 4G. After return the phone to Apple, they starting to roll out internal pictures that they took on the 4G before they return to Apple.

It's obvious they confiscated all his compurters (2 servers, 4 computers) to make sure no more picture is going out.

Again, Apple is behind one of the 7 companies that provides help to do the search.

I can't believe how many ppl are on Apple's side. Gizmodo was actually a Apple-friendly blog. All of their editors wrote all the reviews in favor of Apple which is why I don't read Gizmodo as much as I used to be.

[ericthehalfbee]

ecsw you need to get your "I hate everything Apple" head out of your ass - you're making a complete fool of yourself reposting comments that have already been proven false.

The guy who found the phone did not do enough to return the phone. What he did was the equivalent of me finding a stolen car and calling GM in Detroit to ask them if they know who the car belongs to. When the receptionsist doesn't know what I'm talking about I take that as a sign that I'm allowed to keep the vehicle, since she didn't know whose car it was.

Basically, the guy had every intention of keeping the phone and making money off it, and made a couple hasty calls to the wrong people so he'd have some sort of "alibi" for later on.


And BTW, the police raided the house, not Apple. Are you guys so fucking stupid that you actually think the courts and police do whatever Steve Jobs asks them to? Do you actually think he controls the government too?

LOL at the idiots making comments as if Apple did the raid on the house, Apple employees arrested and interviewed the people involved and Steve Jobs will be the judge who decides on the sentencing.

[jeff19]

So how much $$ does 2 million hits roughly translate to??
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[ecsw]

ecsw you need to get your "I hate everything Apple" head out of your ass - you're making a complete fool of yourself reposting comments that have already been proven false.

The guy who found the phone did not do enough to return the phone. What he did was the equivalent of me finding a stolen car and calling GM in Detroit to ask them if they know who the car belongs to. When the receptionsist doesn't know what I'm talking about I take that as a sign that I'm allowed to keep the vehicle, since she didn't know whose car it was.

Basically, the guy had every intention of keeping the phone and making money off it, and made a couple hasty calls to the wrong people so he'd have some sort of "alibi" for later on.

And BTW, the police raided the house, not Apple. Are you guys so fucking stupid that you actually think the courts and police do whatever Steve Jobs asks them to? Do you actually think he controls the government too?

LOL at the idiots making comments as if Apple did the raid on the house, Apple employees arrested and interviewed the people involved and Steve Jobs will be the judge who decides on the sentencing.

Well, I dont hate Apple. I had iPhone and iPod. I think iPhone is more advance than many phone on the market. But that doesnt give them the right to do things that's not proved in the court.

Read the article. The team that help police search Jason's place is R.E.A.C.T.
It shows on the paper. It's constructed with 7 technology companies which Apple is in the list.

http://publicintelligence.net/rapid-enforcement-allied-computer-team-react-task-force/

Are you the judget? no, I don't think so, then you have no right to say it's proven false. Federal prosecutor is putting the seized property on hold as if Jason is consider as journalist, the warrent is invalid.

http://gizmodo.com/5524843/police-seize-jason-chens-computers

WTF are you calling stupid? I am stating what I read, never call or atatck anyone in this thread anything offensive. This is a discussion board, if my reading is proven wrong, then just point it out. No need to be offensive. I made the post because many people think without reading that Apple must be right which I don't agree.

You think the the police will just be reading the Gizmodo and consider Jason's phone as stolen when they have free time browsing the web? WAKE UP, there must be someone file a complain toward this issue and ask police to search his house.

[Meowjin]

Actually apples people were at the guys house. Watch yesterdays daily show and you will find the story
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[simsimi1004]

ecsw you need to get your "I hate everything Apple" head out of your ass - you're making a complete fool of yourself reposting comments that have already been proven false.

The guy who found the phone did not do enough to return the phone. What he did was the equivalent of me finding a stolen car and calling GM in Detroit to ask them if they know who the car belongs to. When the receptionsist doesn't know what I'm talking about I take that as a sign that I'm allowed to keep the vehicle, since she didn't know whose car it was.


bad example. if you found a prototype of something, not released to the public, you dont call the local dealer. you would actually call the head office.

[SkinnyPupp]

bad example. if you found a prototype of something, not released to the public, you dont call the local dealer. you would actually call the head office.
Personally I would call the owner, whose name is all over the phone And if you do contact the company, you don't call tech support :lol

[ecsw]

that's what i've been saying. the guy tried to call head office with the engineer's name or something, but they refused to connect him through. he then decided to call support after they refused to let him talk to the engineer. there were 2+ phone calls made to apple, not just the support.

most people missed this part, that's why i keep telling. maybe he shouldn't have take the money from gizmodo, but it's also part of the engineer's fault to get drunk and left it at the bar.
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[ecsw]

READ THE ORIGINAL STORY. The guy waited with his friend for a while.
He made many calls, not just to Apple Support.

When I first saw Gizmodo posting the picture, I thought it's bad if they really purchase a stolen phone. But Jason's story made sense to me after I read it.

http://gizmodo.com/5520438/how-apple-lost-the-next-iphone

================================================== ===
The person who eventually ended up with the lost iPhone was sitting next to Powell. He was drinking with a friend too. He noticed Powell on the stool next to him but didn't think twice about him at the time. Not until Powell had already left the bar, and a random really drunk guy—who'd been sitting on the other side of Powell—returned from the bathroom to his own stool.

The Random Really Drunk Guy pointed at the iPhone sitting on the stool, the precious prototype left by the young Apple engineer.

"Hey man, is that your iPhone?" asked Random Really Drunk Guy.

"Hmmm, what?" replied the person who ended up with the iPhone. "No, no, it isn't mine."

"Ooooh, I guess it's your friend's then," referring to a friend who at the time was in the bathroom. "Here, take it," said the Random Really Drunk Guy, handing it to him. "You don't want to lose it." After that, the Random Really Drunk Guy also left the bar.

The person who ended up with the iPhone asked around, but nobody claimed it. He thought about that young guy sitting next to him, so he and his friend stayed there for some time, waiting. Powell never came back.

During that time, he played with it. It seemed like a normal iPhone. "I thought it was just an iPhone 3GS," he told me in a telephone interview. "It just looked like one. I tried the camera, but it crashed three times." The iPhone didn't seem to have any special features, just two bar codes stuck on its back: 8800601pex1 and N90_DVT_GE4X_0493. Next to the volume keys there was another sticker: iPhone SWE-L200221. Apart from that, just six pages of applications. One of them was Facebook. And there, on the Facebook screen, was the Apple engineer, Gray Powell.

Thinking about returning the phone the next day, he left. When he woke up after the hazy night, the phone was dead. Bricked remotely, through MobileMe, the service Apple provides to track and wipe out lost iPhones. It was only then that he realized that there was something strange that iPhone. The exterior didn't feel right and there was a camera on the front. After tinkering with it, he managed to open the fake 3GS.

There it was, a shiny thing, completely different from everything that came before.

He reached for a phone and called a lot of Apple numbers and tried to find someone who was at least willing to transfer his call to the right person, but no luck. No one took him seriously and all he got for his troubles was a ticket number.

He thought that eventually the ticket would move up high enough and that he would receive a call back, but his phone never rang. What should he be expected to do then? Walk into an Apple store and give the shiny, new device to a 20-year-old who might just end up selling it on eBay?

===============================================
Here is what happed when Jason saw it and bought it for $5000.
===============================================

Weeks later, Gizmodo got it for $5,000 in cash. At the time, we didn't know if it was the real thing or not. It didn't even get past the Apple logo screen. Once we saw it inside and out, however, there was no doubt about it. It was the real thing, so we started to work on documenting it before returning it to Apple. We had the phone, but we didn't know the owner. Later, we learnt about this story, but we didn't know for sure it was Powell's phone until today, when we contacted him via his phone.

Gray Powell: Hello?

John Herrman: Is this Gray?

G: Yeah.

J: Hi, this is John Herrman from Gizmodo.com.

G: Hey!

J: You work at Apple, right?

G: Um, I mean I can't really talk too much right now.

J: I understand. We have a device, and we think that maybe you misplaced it at a bar, and we would like to give it back.

G: Yeah, I forwarded your email [asking him if it was his iPhone], someone should be contacting you.

J: OK.

G: Can I send this phone number along?

J: [Contact information]

He sounded tired and broken. But at least he's alive, and apparently may still be working at Apple—as he should be. After all, it's just a stupid iPhone and mistakes can happen to everyone—Gray Powell, Phil Schiller, you, me, and Steve Jobs.

=====================================

Gray Powell admit on the phone that he mis-placed it at the bar. He NEVER mentioned it was stolen. I don't understand why ppl keep thinking it's stolen?

[ecsw]

Personally I would call the owner, whose name is all over the phone And if you do contact the company, you don't call tech support :lol

phone was dead, remote killed by the engineer. Please read the story and tell me I was wrong.

Sure Jason Chen may have made up the whole story. But I rather believe he didn't.

[goo3]

I don't understand why people can't accept that prototype DOES leave the office. I mean if it a prototype of a microwave i can understand it being int he same lab throughout the whole developmental process. But its freakin cellphone, how do you make sure it is working to its full potential if its not out any about in the same environment its going to be use in?????


And it's usually pretty safe. Engineers aren't stupid. Lose your $75000 job or leak a proto for $5000?

Yeah right. The mindless Apple drones are just waiting for that pre-order page to pop up on the Apple store for the new iPhone.

This whole Apple fanboy thing is so outdated. They've reached the mainstream smart phone market whether you like it or not.

It's not just lost sales, it's marketing too.

Marketing costs money. The impact they get with a product launch is worth as much as a multi-million dollar marketing campaign.

They still gain awareness with the leak but not in the way they want, and it won't be as effective as it could have been.

[Gridlock]

Please stop telling everyone to read the original story. We did!

We think its BULLSHIT because it is.

More likely.

Dude overhears some conversation about the amazeballs 4G phone in his pocket. Dude takes the phone. Dude makes some phone calls and sells that shit fast.

Gizmodo decides that for $5000, its good to go.

Anyone think its a coincidence that they called Apple to try to return it? Would you call Nokia if you found one sitting on the bar stool? All they wanted was proof that they tried.

And THAT is what San Mateo police are looking for proof of.

The shame here, is its bringing to light some interesting issues on what defines a journalist.

As well, this is a big deal because its fucking Apple. If it were anyone else, no one would care, but how DARE someone do this to Apple.

[InvisibleSoul]

Gray Powell admit on the phone that he mis-placed it at the bar. He NEVER mentioned it was stolen. I don't understand why ppl keep thinking it's stolen?
Because California law says that an item is considered "stolen" if the item was truly lost or misplaced, but the finder did not make a reasonable attempt to locate and return it to the owner.

It's up to the court to decide what a reasonable attempt is in this case.

[threezero]

Wouldn't leaving it with the bartender be a better idea than walking around aimlessly looking for the owner?

I mean interview with gray powell mention he went back to the bar to look for it.

If I lose a phone, other than waiting for the person that found it to call me, I would revisit all the places I've been to and ask the people WORKING there. It is the logical thing to do.

Having work in service sector before many phones were lost and found this way. Maybe the guy didn't steal the phone, but he obviously intend to keep the phone ever before he found out its not just a 3gs. All the argument of "if you find a prototype phone you should call the company hq" shouldn't even be there because if he really intended to return the phone he would have have done the right thing in the bar before he went home and tinker with the case and finds out its a protoype.

[simsimi1004]

why would the guy take it at all in the first place/ shouldve been left with the bartender.

maybe his intentions was to steal it but found out that he could be in a lot of shit for keeping it
so he tried to return but failed so he decided to sell it.

[Meowjin]

Wouldn't leaving it with the bartender be a better idea than walking around aimlessly looking for the owner?



short answer,

no.

[threezero]

^ interesting, knowing that you work in the environment may i request the long answer.

[ecsw]

Fine, then I have nothing to say if everyone think the story is all made up.

I'd rather believe there's some decency with people.

I asked myself if I found a phone at the bar, I would definitly try to return the phone to the rightful owner. $5000 was a mistake. But it's also very tempting for many people if Gizmodo is the one who offer up the money (which I dont know).

[ecsw]

Fine, then I have nothing to say if everyone think the story is all made up.

I'd rather believe there's some decency with people.

I asked myself if I found a phone at the bar, I would definitly try to return the phone to the rightful owner. $5000 was a mistake. But it's also very tempting for many people if Gizmodo is the one who offer up the money (which I dont know).

I forgot to mention. I know a friend who works in restaurant. He told me the lost and found is for simple things only. If there's nice phones and all, some one will take it home. u all think lost and found is better than the guy taking it home? I won't.

[ericthehalfbee]

bad example. if you found a prototype of something, not released to the public, you dont call the local dealer. you would actually call the head office.
Did you even read what I said? I think GM Detroit would be the head office, but you can correct me if I'm wrong.


The guy who found the phone is a crook, plain and simple. If I found a phone there's no way I would be thinking "hey, I can get $5,000 for this thing". The guy figured out he had something valuable and threw morals out the window so he could make some quick cash.

The whole "I tried calling Apple" is BS so he can try to cover his ass for later.



As to having "Apple's people" at the house, can you people even use common sense? It's like you're implying Apple sent over a squad and invaded this guy's house. They didn't - it was the police that did. The only reason Apple would have anyone there would be to help the police identify anything. They would only be allowed to enter the house with the permission of the police, and only in the presence of an officer simply for the purpose of helping the police locate any property that was theirs.

There are a lot of circumstances where police may have additional persons come along to assist them. Getting tired of people thinking "Apple did this" or "Apple did that" as if Apple is some supreme authority that has the right to enter people's homes, have people arrested or whatever else you can come up with.


Funny how people are taking the side of the crooks in this story who broke the law. If it was a Blackberry prototype instead of an Apple one I wonder what people would say then?

[Matsuda]

REACT may be investigating if any trade secrets of the iphone were kept on his computers since they deal with high tech crimes. And for those who think Apple will lose a lot of money over this. Really? does it matter? Most people knew a new iphone was going to come out anyways. The features gizmodo found weren't groundbreaking cause they were expected in the next revision of the iphone. You don't think Apple is going to sell a shit ton of iphones when the next one comes out?

Its like saying a car company will lose a million zillion dollars this year on a certain model cause oh no! nobody will buy a 2010 cause a 2011 model will come out next year!!

[ecsw]

As to having "Apple's people" at the house, can you people even use common sense? It's like you're implying Apple sent over a squad and invaded this guy's house. They didn't - it was the police that did. The only reason Apple would have anyone there would be to help the police identify anything.

Funny how people are taking the side of the crooks in this story who broke the law. If it was a Blackberry prototype instead of an Apple one I wonder what people would say then?

identify what? the phone was returned to apple before they break into the house.

crooks? says who? you? if i am the guy who bought the phone just to return the phone to apple without report it on the internet because i know apple would want it back and if i am not putting in on the web, do u think i m will get into trouble? gizmodo is wrong on offering the money to get the publicty. but which news station wouldn't?

like i said, if jason simply return the phone back with maybe just 1-2 pictures, apple may not be so mad. but apple must be very mad when he didnt stop there and continue with all the internal picture the day after the phone was returned. why wont they go search the guy who found the phone? i am sure gizmodo have his address

that's just my opinion. but dont attack people when you dont want to listen to my opinion.

damn, out of many threads that i offer my help to people on revscene, i am not even allow to say anything because i believe the "crook?"
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[Graeme S]

You're allowed to say what you want. And they're allowed to call you idiots.

I'm really not sure and I'll reserve judgement for a bit to see what all comes of this.
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[terkan]

oh come on.. ask urself.. if you find a phone.. how likely are you seriously gonna attempt to RETURN the phone to the rightful owner.. most likely it'll just find it's way on craigslist for a small profit ~ if you have no intention of selling it, chances are you probably won't take it with you.

[ecsw]

oh come on.. ask urself.. if you find a phone.. how likely are you seriously gonna attempt to RETURN the phone to the rightful owner.. most likely it'll just find it's way on craigslist for a small profit ~ if you have no intention of selling it, chances are you probably won't take it with you.

as matter of fact, i found lost phones twice and have returned the phone to the operator (rogers).

also, someone mailed back my lost wallet with $200 cash un touched.

maybe that's why i'd rather believe people than thinking they are all crook.

i m out.
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[simsimi1004]

identify what? the phone was returned to apple before they break into the house.

crooks? says who? you? if i am the guy who bought the phone just to return the phone to apple without report it on the internet because i know apple would want it back and if i am not putting in on the web, do u think i m will get into trouble? gizmodo is wrong on offering the money to get the publicty. but which news station wouldn't?

like i said, if jason simply return the phone back with maybe just 1-2 pictures, apple may not be so mad. but apple must be very mad when he didnt stop there and continue with all the internal picture the day after the phone was returned. why wont they go search the guy who found the phone? i am sure gizmodo have his address

that's just my opinion. but dont attack people when you dont want to listen to my opinion.

damn, out of many threads that i offer my help to people on revscene, i am not even allow to say anything because i believe the "crook?"
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well i dont know specifics but maybe it was carrying the newest beta firmware unreleased and although bricked it couldved been backed up somehow etc,

[freakshow]

^ interesting, knowing that you work in the environment may i request the long answer.The long(er) answer is that there is an extremely high chance that the bartender will just sell it off anyways.