Lost Next Gen iPhone 4 Prototype Returned to Apple As Seen on TV

Thumbnail image for NewiPhone4open13.jpgThe New York Times contacted Gawker CEO Nick Denton, via text message and discovered that the person who found the iPhone at at Gourmet Haus Staudt in Redwood City was paid $5,000 for the iPhone 4.

Apple's attorney wrote Gizmodo a letter asking for the errant iPhone 4 back. Editor Jason Chen in an interview with CNN said that does not think he did anything wrong because the iPhone 4 was not stolen, it was lost. Gizmodo gave the phone back to Apple yesterday. 

Chen confirmed that the iPhone 4G was the real thing, because of the Apple-labeled parts and that Apple asked for it back.

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PC World wrote a time line of what happened on March 18, Gray Powell,
Apple software engineer updated his Facebook status and the bar and left
it there.

The anonymous iPhone 4 finders sees the phone is owned by Gary Powell from Facebook
and waits for him to come back into pick it up. The finder thought it
was still an iPhone 3G

On March 19, the iPhone 4 was wiped clean of its data and was
discovered to be more than an iPhone 3G. It had an iPhone 3G camouflaged
case around it.  He removed the case to reveal something else. The
finder tried to return it to Apple to no avail.

Then the finder shopped the iPhone 4 around to media.  When Gizmodo
first posted the photos some reporters thought it was hoax on Monday it
became clear that it was the real thing.

Brian Chen has been seen on CNN and Good Morning America, touting that
the new iPhone will be able to use Skype. All the new features are listed in the article we published yesterday.

It confirms that tech blogs, Gizmodo one of them pay for leaked material.  That's how they get their scoops,