Looks Like Apple Lost Another Prototype iPhone in a Bar

For the second year in a row, an Apple employee misplaces his precious device

Uh oh, looks like Apple might have another iPhone leak on its hands. CNET is reporting that an Apple employee may have lost a prototype iPhone 5 at a bar. "The errant iPhone, which went missing in San Francisco's Mission district in late July, sparked a scramble by Apple security to recover the device over the next few days, according to a source familiar with the investigation." A source apparently told CNET that the phone sold for $200 on Craigslist.

Apple electronically traced the phone to a two-floor, single-family home in San Francisco's Bernal Heights neighborhood, according to the source.

When San Francisco police and Apple's investigators visited the house, they spoke with a man in his twenties who acknowledged being at Cava 22 on the night the device went missing. But he denied knowing anything about the phone. The man gave police permission to search the house, and they found nothing, the source said.

If the reports are true, Apple is experiencing iPhone leak deja vu. Last year Gizmodo purchased a lost (also in a bar) iPhone 4, leaking coveted information about the new phone's specs. Since last year's incident, after which the tech company tried and failed to press charges against Gizmodo, Apple has upped its security. Reading CNET's report, however, it looks like Apple still hasn't been careful enough.