iPhone News Updated

Seller of iPhone prototype identified

Attorney says 21-year-old regrets not returning device

A 21-year-old who sold a prototype of the new iPhone to the Gizmodo tech news site “regrets his mistake in not doing more to return the phone,” said the attorney for the man, identified by Wired.com on Thursday as Brian J. Hogan.

Jeffrey Bornstein. who Wired.com said was Hogan’s attorney, released a statement to the Web site about his client: “He regrets his mistake in not doing more to return the phone … Even though he did obtain some compensation from Gizmodo, Brian thought that it was so that they could review the phone.”

The case, dubbed “iPhone-gate,” has taken several twists and turns since an Apple software engineer left the iPhone prototype about a month ago in a bar in Redwood City, Calif., 20 miles from the company’s headquarters.

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The case of the lost iPhone and a sour Apple

Apple has been crowned the third strongest global brand in the world and Steve Jobs seems to be already flexing his new-found extra muscle.

Last Friday, armed with a search warrant, California’s Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team searched the home and car of Jason Chen, editor of the popular tech blog Gizmodo, in Fremont and seized computers, digital cameras, a cellphone and other items.

Jason’s fault: last week he posted pictures and dissected details of an iPhone prototype found in a bar in Redwood City in San Mateo County. The new iPhone, which Gizmodo reportedly acquired for $5,000 from an undisclosed person, had been disguised to look like an iPhone3GS. After the scoop, Apple acknowledged the device belonged to the company, and the Gizmodo returned it.

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