The iPhone 4 is certainly no longer the secret it was when Gizmodo revealed all last year, but that doesn’t mean some original prototypes aren’t still finding their way into the wild -- and onto eBay, where one such model is currently fetching upwards of $2,000 after hitting a million bucks thanks to phony bidders.
This Is My Next is reporting that another lost iPhone 4 prototype has surfaced more than a year after the infamous one that Gizmodo got their hands on. This one is also on sale to the highest bidder, but in a more legitimate venue: eBay. The handset first came to the public’s attention by way of iPhone Dev Team member pytey’s Twitter feed and at this writing, has bid up to a wallet-busting $2,025 after hitting a high of a million bucks thanks to what the seller calls “non-legitimate bidders” whose dibs were cancelled.
“You are bidding on black Apple iPhone 4 XXGB PROTOTYPE/TESTER,” the eBay description reads. “Please review all detailed pictures. I did removed rear cover to examine the internal parts and it looks just like any GSM iPhone, NO WATER DAMAGE, does not appear to be ever taken apart. Serial number does not appear to be valid according to apple.com. Sim tray has serial number and IMEI No, when I ran it through database it says that the iPhone is a tester.”
Unfortunately, the eventual winner isn’t getting much except for bragging rights to a prototype, since this iPhone 4 can’t be activated through iTunes and is being sold simply for parts. “Phone will not activate on at&t and when syncing with iTunes it says that this phone cannot be activated with at&t sim card it won't activate,” the seller explains in his description.
Over the weekend, the prototype handset got some unwanted attention from false bidders, who quickly increased the current bid all the way up to a million dollars before the seller curtailed them. “Due to non-legitimate bidders I am canceling ‘some’ bidders and I am requesting all potential buyers to EMAIL ME FIRST,” the seller added to his listing late Sunday night. “If you don't email me OR If you don't have ‘appropriate feedback’ your bid will be cancelled. Thank you.”
Maybe Steve Jobs and Phil Schiller having some weekend fun? They're such pranksters, those two...
Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter
(Photo courtesy eBay.com)
