Apple asks for its "iPhone 4" back

It will be interesting to see if the person who took the device home will be prosecuted for taking it home, or for handing it over to a third party (California law requires you to notify the owner and return the object). Or if Apple will brush this one under the carpet due to the bad publicity that it would bring.

I must admit, when news of this broke I was skeptical. Personally, I was hovering between it being a viral marketing campaign and the device being a gray market Chinese import with a fake Apple branding (Some of the Chinese copy phones are extremely good. They use some of the same factories/machinery as the real phones, but are a lot cheaper and lack some of the functionality).

By Perfectblue97 on 20 Apr 2010

What about security, don't people use something to make the iPhone secure against casual inspection?

And as this was a development handset I'd have thought that some measure of security would have been useful.

By bazzer on 20 Apr 2010

The more I learn...

...about this, the more it smacks of a deliberate viral campaign.

By lokash20 on 20 Apr 2010

Phones and bars don't mix

I left my iPhone on a train once after a heavy session in a bar. When I reported it they said which phone is yours? They had found three lost phones on the same train and journey that I was on, and apparently they collect at least this number every day, frequently as many as eight!

By SwissMac on 20 Apr 2010

"They use some of the same factories/machinery as the real phones, but are a lot cheaper"


I wonder how they do that? It couldn't be that Apple are fleecing their customers could it?

By Lacrobat on 20 Apr 2010

Fleecing?

Of cource not... Apple is just adding a tiny margin. And the Chinese... they must be selling them at a loss.

By areluc on 20 Apr 2010

I just saw Steve Jobs walking round Infinite Loop sporting a prototype iPhrown.

Think I'll sell the pictures I took to Jizmodo.

By Glovepuppet on 20 Apr 2010

Apple's poor customer service

I'm not surprised the finder was ignored by Apple customer service. It is the worst I have ever encountered.
There is a strong message out there for Mr Jobs - if you want to avoid things like this happening again, improve your customer service.

By PeterJohnston42 on 22 Apr 2010

@lokash20

I agree with you about this being a viral campaign, or something suss.

Being cynical, I would say Endgadget have fabricated this story themselves. How difficult is to forge a letter from Apple? How easy is it to findout who Apple's Leagal guy is?

I just don't believe this is an entirely true story from Endgadget.

By rjd83 on 22 Apr 2010

@lokash20

I agree with you about this being a viral campaign, or something suss.

Being cynical, I would say Giz have fabricated this story themselves. How difficult is to forge a letter from Apple? How easy is it to findout who Apple's Leagal guy is?

I just don't believe this is an entirely true story from Giz.

By rjd83 on 22 Apr 2010

Is the Developer now required to erm jump from something high?

By dave_mcmahon on 22 Apr 2010

@rjd83

The Apple website lists their senior managers, including their top legal guy.
http://www.apple.com/pr/bios/

By jedi_kite1 on 22 Apr 2010

Looks like the LG Prada phone

Is it me or does this new iPhone look a lot like the old LG Prada phone?

Also who can guess on the name?
iPhone 4G (but 4G networks are still a way off for a lot of network providers)
iPhone 4 (What a dull name might as well drop the number)
or
iPhone HD (Seeing as that's the fashion for naming iPad apps and it would appear from the examination that this new phone does have a higher resolution screen)

By SimonBP on 22 Apr 2010

Ha! Serves 'em right.

You gotta laugh at the bit about the guy trying to contact Apple to report that he had the phone.

Apple, like so many enterprises deluded by their own self-importance, sets itself up as this aloof, uncontactable entity - an image quite at odds with the friendly, cool company its PR machine works so hard to portray. I can just imagine the reaction of the witless drone he spoke to. Being unable to see anything on their screen on how to deal with the call, they'd make some feeble excuse to cover their ignorance and get rid of the caller rather than pass it to someone who might have been able to deal with it properly save the 'great enterprise' getting some egg on its corporate face.

It's great to see this backfire and cause them a lot more than 10K's worth of embarrassment. Well done that dude for selling it and I hope he has fun spending the wonga!

By tolqua on 22 Apr 2010