Finder of iPhone 4G Prototype Identified, Says He Regrets “Mistake”

Wired.com has identified the person who found the prototype fourth-gen iPhone as Brian J. Hogan of Redwood City, California. Wired discovered Mr. Hogan’s identity by following clues on social networking sites, then confirmed it with a source closely “involved in the iPhone find.”

According to his lawyer, Jeffrey Bornstein of K&L Gates, Hogan was at the Gourmet Haus Stadt with friends when someone at the restaurant handed him the prototype iPhone and asked if it belonged to him. The person then left. Hogan asked around for the phone’s owner, but no one claimed it. Hogan then left the Haus Stadt with the phone.

According to his lawyer, Hogan’s only efforts to return the phone came when a friend offered to call Apple Care on his behalf. It’s unclear if that call was actually made, although secondhand retellings have said it was.

Mr. Hogan has been interviewed by police but has not yet been charged with a crime.

A statement released by his lawyer says that Hogan now regrets his actions after finding the phone, but clarifies that he did not sell the phone to Gizmodo, but rather granted them temporary access for $5,000:

He regrets his mistake in not doing more to return the phone. Even though he did obtain some compensation from Gizmodo, Brian thought that it was so that they could review the phone.”

In addition to questioning Hogan, authorities have also pursued a search warrant against Gizmodo journalist Jason Chen, raiding his home and gathering evidence. No charges have been brought in the case so far.

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1 Response

  1. da5id says:

    Oh, God….all this is a storm in a freakin’ teacup! Apple GTF over it!! Anybody would think it was about wartime secrets or something! Apple need to grow up. Who gives a shit if people know what their phone is going to look like before it gets released? Apple have capitalized on the ‘surprise reveal’ in the past and sure it was interesting at the time but it’s getting a little cheap and worn now.

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