Who would have thought that a simple “beer-out” will penetrate Apple’s impenetrable security.
An Apple employee, Gray Powell (picture on left), was hanging out in Gourmet Haus Staudt in Redwood City, California last March 18, 2010 drinking a couple of German beer there.
He overestimated the effect of the German beer, and left his “IPhone 4G“, cleverly disguised as an IPhone 3Gs on the bar stool before leaving home.
After which, Gizmodo got hold of the suspected IPhone 4G device, and the rest is history (or at least, spread all over the internet). 
According to Gizmodo.com,
The person who eventually ended up with the lost iPhone was sitting next to Powell. He was drinking with a friend too. He noticed Powell on the stool next to him but didn’t think twice about him at the time. Not until Powell had already left the bar, and a random really drunk guy—who’d been sitting on the other side of Powell—returned from the bathroom to his own stool.
The Random Really Drunk Guy pointed at the iPhone sitting on the stool, the precious prototype left by the young Apple engineer.
“Hey man, is that your iPhone?” asked Random Really Drunk Guy.
“Hmmm, what?” replied the person who ended up with the iPhone. “No, no, it isn’t mine.”
“Ooooh, I guess it’s your friend’s then,” referring to a friend who at the time was in the bathroom. “Here, take it,” said the Random Really Drunk Guy, handing it to him. “You don’t want to lose it.” After that, the Random Really Drunk Guy also left the bar.
The person who ended up with the iPhone asked around, but nobody claimed it. He thought about that young guy sitting next to him, so he and his friend stayed there for some time, waiting. Powell never came back.
During that time, he played with it. It seemed like a normal iPhone. “I thought it was just an iPhone 3GS,” he told me in a telephone interview. “It just looked like one. I tried the camera, but it crashed three times.” The iPhone didn’t seem to have any special features, just two bar codes stuck on its back: 8800601pex1 and N90_DVT_GE4X_0493. Next to the volume keys there was another sticker: iPhone SWE-L200221. Apart from that, just six pages of applications. One of them was Facebook. And there, on the Facebook screen, was the Apple engineer, Gray Powell.
IPhone 4G vs. IPhone 3G
According also to Gizmodo, the guy who ended up with the leaked IPhone, thought about returning it the next day, but was shocked that the IPhone was already dead – apparently, through MobileMe, the service Apple provide to track and wipe out lost IPhones. The guy then realized that the IPhone that is currently in his possession is something different. He successfully tinkered with it and managed to open the alleged IPhone 4G.
Weeks later, Gizmodo got it, and confirmed that the alleged IPhone 4G belongs to Powell. Gizmodo contacted Powell and the conversation went;
Gray Powell: Hello?
John Herrman (Gizmodo): Is this Gray?
G: Yeah.
J: Hi, this is John Herrman from Gizmodo.com.
G: Hey!
J: You work at Apple, right?
G: Um, I mean I can’t really talk too much right now.
J: I understand. We have a device, and we think that maybe you misplaced it at a bar, and we would like to give it back.
G: Yeah, I forwarded your email [asking him if it was his iPhone], someone should be contacting you.
J: OK.
G: Can I send this phone number along?
J: [Contact information]
Well, now that the alleged IPhone 4G is out for the world to see, what now? For sure, Mr. Powell will receive something bad from his employer, Apple. If he ends up being guilty of violating any regulations (product/trade secrecy/ confidentiality), he may be terminated by Apple.
But Gizmodo is appealing through their blog that Apple should “go easy” on the “kid” (Gary Powell).
Well it is an honest mistake. Anyone can make that mistake, even Steve Jobs himself. And come on, who are getting “surprised” with IPhones these days? IPad got us giddy-giddy, but I think no one were that surprised when the IPad was released, structurally speaking (it looks like a bloated IPhone anyway).
So Apple, Gizmodo is right, go easy on the kid. A week of hard labor will do (Nah, I’m just joking on the last part ).
How about you? What should Apple do to its employee Gray Powell?
This story shows aggain the ability of men to forget everything by drinking a lot of beer. But I guess I wouldn’t drink so much if I had an Iphone prototype with me. I think Gary just couldn’t live without beer:-).
[...] Curtis swimsuit malfunction | on Ann Curtis swimsuit malfunction| A big accident.windows tablet on The new IPhone 4G leaked – thanks to an Apple employee.Pilipinas Got Talent on Mayweather vs. Mosley 24/7.UFC 113:Machida vs. Shogun free live streaming | [...]
@ Windows Tablet – Oh yees, the power of beer. Never underestimate the power of beer. haha
Thanks for the comment Windows Tablet! 
Engineers have the highest alcoholism rate =) … just saying! =P