Prototypes of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s were discovered in bars
What made this story so interesting was that since the device had yet to be unveiled, the public had no idea what the iPhone 4 was going to look like at the time and the design was a huge departure from the iPhone 3GS. The late Steve Jobs, talking about the iPhone 4, said, “It’s like a beautiful old Leica camera.” The discovered device did have a front-facing camera.
The iPhone 4 prototype discovered in a San Jose bar in 2010 and sold for $5,000
And no more prototype phones were ever left behind in a bar again, right? After all, how ridiculous would someone have to be to get entrusted with his company’s important smartphone prototype, have a few drinks, and forget that he had the device with him. This couldn’t happen again, could it?
The Google Nexus 4 was also left in a San Francisco bar
This Google Nexus 4 prototype was also found in a bar
But a customer named Dave Hodge knew exactly that what Barton had found was important. Hodge called Google and was told that not only did an employee get fired over the incident, but Hodge himself could also be considered an accessory to a crime. Eventually, LG got the phone back and promised Barton a free Nexus 4 as long as he kept his mouth shut until the phone was unveiled.
That was a promise that Barton failed to keep although we never did found out whether he got a free Nexus 4 anyway.
Times are different now. Renders of upcoming devices are released all of the time and a whole new industry was created led by Evan Blass whose identity was only guessed at when he first released renders under the name of @evleaks.
