14 DAY TRIAL // An iPhone prototype has hit eBay with an asking price of $4,500, or just above €3,600, with the seller suggesting the item should make a fine collector’s piece. Eager buyers can secure the phone now for $10K / €8,000.
Titled “Apple iPhone 4 32GB N90AP PROTOTYPE UNRELEASED SWITCHBOARD TESTER UNIT” the sale is likely to fetch the seller’s asking price, and perhaps even more, should it not get pulled by Apple in the meantime.
History has shown that Cupertino frowns upon business ventures involving stolen test units from its labs, and this one should make no exception. In fact, this item has prototype written all over it. Literally. Even the logo is intriguing.
The seller claims this device is unique, and that it has its own serial number which shows up as invalid in Apple's system, since the company doesn’t register prototypes.
“This iPHONE is not only unique in it's hardware, but it's running Apple's software testing suite, called SwitchBoard which is used to test the devices functionality,” according to ddnets, the seller.
He notes that Apple usually dismantles test units but, somehow, this one lived to tell its story. The seller had to provide the battery on his own, since Apple had removed it.
“All functions of the software seems [sic] to work. All parts on this iPHONE are original prototype parts, except for the battery, which was removed by Apple, and I replaced it with an OEM iPhone Battery,” he writes.
Ddnets insists “this is a one of a kind item, none like this have been listed on ebay before.” He claims it comes with no warranty whatsoever, “and is intended as a collectors item.”
Needless to point out, if anyone here really is interested in nabbing this thing, they’d better hurry.