Is Apple Angry or Thrilled with iPhone 4.0 Leak?
Monday, April 19, 2010 at 11:26AM 
image: Gizmodo.comFirst, let's get you up to speed if you missed all the excitement: Over the weekend engadget reported a prototype (or finished?) iPhone 4.0 has been found in the wild, apparently misplaced at a bar. Turns out those wily guys and gals at Gizmodo actually had the phone and posted all the details about it today.
Let's take this at face value for a minute: If Apple really did "lose" the phone, don't you think they could use things like the find my iPhone feature to locate the device, or have the person who lost it carefully re-trace their steps? (I'm sure Apple would've been happy to supply a few extra hands to look as well.) That person would've been summarily fired, unless it was Steve himself, or say Johnny Ive.
Once the phone was lost, what would the chances be of it finding its way to a tech blog, and another tech blog being tipped off within days of each other. (To clarify, Gizmodo says they've had the device about a week.) Perhaps once the phone made it Gizmodo, and nothing was posted (say, right before Microsoft's Windows 7 announcements) more info was "leaked" to Engadget to ensure the story ran.
So which is it? Is this truly an accidental leak that is showing off the great new features of the new phone and stealing the thunder from the competition, or was it a calculated leak to make sure everyone knew what was next from a company notoriously tight-lipped about future products?
Either way, the question remains, is Apple angry at the leak, or thrilled that everything is going according to plan?
Reader Comments (6)
My uneducated guess: accidental leak.
The hype and anticipation for the phone already seems pretty elevated. And that "tight-lipped" company gets a lot of PR mileage out of being exactly that - stingy on the details!
I think some bonehead left it behind and somebody then stumbled upon the bounty. You've just got to wonder, if it was accidental, does said person still have a job??
Calculated Leak. Apple would not allow this to happen by accident.
Thrilled. They leaked a fake phone and slashdotted a website.
Feels like an accidental leak. When Apple wants to get "secret" info out, they just contact one of the bloggers they have on their payroll *cough* *cough* John Gruber.
Calculated leak. With the release of Droid Incredible and HTC HD2, and HTC Evo 4G among others coming soon, I think Apple is slowly leaking additional details. John Gruber posted his info awhile ago.
I also think the possible late fall Verizon phone rumors are calculated leaks.
After read and hearing all the stories, plus the bar picture of the Apple employee at the bar. This guy just lost phone and possibility his job, Sorry no conspiracy here. No calculated leak. Just a dumb ass who lost his iphone.