UPDATED: iPhone HD/iPhone 4G "finder" found

While Gizmodo showed off a prototype iPhone HD/iPhone 4G just over a week ago, and revealed the identity of the Apple engineer who brought it to the now-infamous bar, the identity of the man who brought it from the bar to Gizmodo was not revealed -- until now.

An investigation by Wired involving (we kid you not), looking at social network posts and confirmed via a source (which was not revealed) led them to Brian J. Hogan, a 21-year-old resident of Redwood City, California who, through his lawyer, said:

  • a story broadly matching that previously provided by Gizmodo
  • that he regrets not doing more to try and return the iPhone prototype
  • that the $5000 he received from Gizmodo was for exclusive access to the device for review purposes

According to his lawyer, he's also a good boy.

UPDATE: CNET has identified the man who contacted technology blogs like Gizmodo, Engagdget, etc. about the iPhone prototype as Sage Robert Wallower, a 27-year-old University of California at Berkeley student.

Police continue their investigation, the internet continues their discussion.

[Wired, CNET]

Rene Ritchie
Contributor

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.