Did Apple 'plant' the iPhone prototype?

BANGALORE, INDIA: The background of the story is that an unreleased iPhone 4G prototype was found abandoned at a San Jose bar few days back (Check the article here). Now, read on.

Gizmodo, a competing website has published an article stating that the iPhone prototype was found at a different bar -- but not in San Jose. This anti-climax to the mysterious iPhone saga seems to have caught big Apple's notice. The company is reported to have contacted the website asking for the phone to be returned.

The request has come in from Apple's legal department, which it calls verification of the device's authenticity.

The tech blog site revealed early Monday that it was in possession of a device it concluded to be a prototype of the unreleased and as-yet-unannounced next-generation iPhone G4. The device was reportedly found last month on the floor of a San Francisco Bay Area bar after reportedly being left by a customer who was identified as an Apple employee who goes by the name of Gray Powell. 

An examination of the device, which was initially masked in the body of an iPhone 3G, pretty much convinced Gizmodo editors that this was the genuine. But the million dollar evidence of course is the letter  from Apple general counsel Bruce Sewell.

Apple has the reputation of being a company that is extremely stringent with prototypes before release date. Conflicting reports of 4G ptototypes being found under similar mysterious conditions by rival blogs are raising eyebrows across Cyberia. The most obvious suspicion is that the entire saga was a deliberate plot by Apple to guage audience reaction to the 4g model, and an unofficial release of its new features. Smart, isn't it?