In a story eerily reminiscent of last year’s lost iPhone saga, a new report suggests that an Apple employee has lost an unreleased iPhone prototype in a San Francisco area bar. Citing a source familiar with the investigation, Cnet reports that the iPhone went missing at the Cava 22 “tequila lounge” in the San Francisco’s Mission district in late July, prompting a scramble by Apple to recover the device. The report claims that while Apple did not file a police report on the loss, it did contact San Francisco police to make them aware of the situation, and that the phone was electronically tracked to a single-family home. When police and Apple’s investigators arrived at the home, they spoke with a man who admitted being at the bar on the night the phone was lost, but denied knowing anything about it, and allowed the police to perform what was a fruitless search of the premises. According to the report, Apple has taken extraordinary steps to protect its devices from leaks following last year’s embarrassing incident, including transporting test units inside locked and sealed boxes.
Another iPhone prototype lost at N. California bar?

Charles Starrett
Charles Starrett was a senior editor at iLounge. He's been covering the iPod, iPhone, and iPad since their inception. He has written numerous articles and reviews, and his work has been featured in multiple publications.