An Apple employee has reportedly left a prototype iPhone 5 in a bar – the second time an unreleased handset has shown up in public after a night on the town.
In a startling case of deja vu, the handset loss mirrors the situation when an unreleased iPhone 4 was left in a bar last year and later bought by a news website.
In the latest case, revealed by CNet, the handset was reportedly taken from a Mexican bar specialising in tequila in San Francisco – sparking a mad scramble from Apple security staff trying to recover the handset.
Citing sources close to the handset hunt, the report said the phone had ended up on Craigslist for $200, presumably with the seller unaware of the value of a top-secret prototype of a phone that's not expected to be made public until the autumn.
Apple security officials reportedly visited a house after tracking the handset's signal, but a police search found nothing and no official report was made.
Bar owner Jose Valle, who serves the drinks at the Cava 22 tequila lounge, said he'd received a number of desperate phone calls about a missing iPhone, but never found a handset.
"I guess I have to make my drinks a little less strong," Valle said.
Apple has yet to respond to a request for comment.
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