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$999,999 (Fake) Bid for an iPhone 4 Prototype

By - Source: Tom's Guide US

Sadly, it won't activate on iTunes.

An iPhone 4 prototype is already stuff of legend when one was acquired by Gizmodo and then taken apart for the world to see well before Apple's press event.

Recently another one appeared on eBay, which quickly gathered enough attention for the bidding to quickly hit the six-figure range.

Image from @AppleSpotlight

The bidding eventually settled to somewhere around $2000 (with fake bids canceled) before the auction was ended early. It's unclear if eBay or the seller pulled the listing but we can guess with fair certainty the Apple did not appreciate that it's prototype hardware – even if it's for an already-released product – is on the street for sale.

Read more at Engadget.

There are 14 Comments. B
Top Comments
  • 13 Ð
    LetUsAdvance , July 6, 2011 9:54 PM
    So why do we have to know about a fake bid?
Other Comments
  • 13 Ð
    LetUsAdvance , July 6, 2011 9:54 PM
    So why do we have to know about a fake bid?
  • 9 Ð
    fayzaan , July 6, 2011 10:04 PM
    because there's nothing else to post! bwahahaha
  • 3 Ð
    jbenson256 , July 6, 2011 10:07 PM
    Such blasphemy.
  • 8 Ð
    molo9000 , July 6, 2011 10:07 PM
    Why is this news?
  • 7 Ð
    jfby , July 6, 2011 11:20 PM
    Maybe I've been under a rock the last year, but hasn't the iPhone 4 been out since last Summer? How can this possibly be news? Who would spend $2000 on a prototype when they can go to the store and get ripped of there for a full fledged production model, instead?
  • 3 Ð
    Ciuy , July 6, 2011 11:23 PM
    its a fricking phone, stop drooling about it !!!!!!!
  • 3 Ð
    fir_ser , July 6, 2011 11:41 PM
    Who would be interested in a iPhone 4 prototype?
  • 0 Ð
    bjaminnyc , July 7, 2011 12:13 AM
    The production model is crap why would anyone want a prototype? I've had to replace my iP4 three times due to poor manufacturing QC.
  • 0 Ð
    scuba dave , July 7, 2011 12:26 AM
    bjaminnycThe production model is crap why would anyone want a prototype? I've had to replace my iP4 three times due to poor manufacturing QC.


    Um, I think you'd just have to chalk that up as either you, or yours, are just too rough with it, or plain and simply the incredibly unlucky.. I don't know a single person that has had to replace their ip4 outside of breaking it due to negligence or upgrading it to a larger size. Heck, we are looking to use them in my building as business phones as we haven't had a problem with the couple we have, not to mention a couple other features we would like to have on our phones..
  • 3 Ð
    anonymous@guest , July 7, 2011 12:44 AM
    Guys!!!!!! This article is actually valid. It's special because it marks a new milestone in human stupidity. We know that people want everything from Apple, especially an inferior model of iPhone 4, but we don't know how much they'll pay for it. But thanks to Marcus Yam here, we now know that people will pay more than $50 for one.

    Kudos to Marcus Yam for letting us in on the lengths that people will go to own something from Apple. Your foresight into this matter is quite remarkable.

    Oh, and my 12 year old cousin really, really likes Apple as well, and he'd like to have a job where he could just write about Apple all day long. Could you guys hire him? He wants you guys because you guys do such a good job of this, and he sees your experience in this field to be quite valuable.
  • -3 Ð
    bjaminnyc , July 7, 2011 12:52 AM
    scuba daveUm, I think you'd just have to chalk that up as either you, or yours, are just too rough with it, or plain and simply the incredibly unlucky.. I don't know a single person that has had to replace their ip4 outside of breaking it due to negligence or upgrading it to a larger size. Heck, we are looking to use them in my building as business phones as we haven't had a problem with the couple we have, not to mention a couple other features we would like to have on our phones..


    3 major problems. 1) Microphone on headset did not work 2) Headphone jack stopped allowing me to change songs volume etc..3) Top button stopped working altogether. My phone is always in a protective case and I take relatively good care of it, zero cosmetic blemishes on any of them. I know what you’re thinking I just needed to hard reset, or backup and restore, or different headphones. I’m quite capable of trouble shooting by tech issues these things were just broken.

    I’ve had every model (2,3,3gs,&4), and still have most of them in good shape repurposed as HTPC remotes around the house. I’ve had more problems with the iP4, than all other models combined. At this point, not due to the manufacturing failures of this model, I’m convinced that my next phone will be a android of some type.

  • 0 Ð
    gorehound , July 7, 2011 2:57 AM
    who cares ?
    i will never own a smartphone with caps included.waste of money that is better spent elsewhere in my home.
    you buy one and then the telcos hose you down but good.
  • 1 Ð
    cookoy , July 7, 2011 5:02 AM
    someone, somewhere must be bragging to his friends: "i bought a genuine iphone4 prototype cheap. the bidding went as high as $999999 but for some fortunate system glitch at ebay, i was able to buy it for $2000."
    "Does it work?"
    "No"
  • 0 Ð
    eddieroolz , July 7, 2011 3:32 PM
    I'm not sure why this is newsworthy. Fake bids happen all the time.
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