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

By Rene Ritchie
last updated

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
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.

23 Comments
  • Bad title - made me think the Mac Finder app was coming to iPhone 4!
  • ROFL
    "According to his lawyer, he’s also a good boy."
  • @Mike I agree, the title is a bit misleading. I read the article only to be disappointed.
  • @Mike
    So did I :(
  • @mike same here
  • Well at least we know he is a good boy. :x
  • Same here... :-(
  • @Mike that would've been siiiiiick :):
  • You guys @ tipd are such hypocrites!
    This guy punctured Apple's unhealthy obsession with secrecy and fed your, mine and a gazillion other folks endless curiosity about the next iPhone... and for this we get a nauseatingly self-righteous witch-hunt. Way to go.
  • nevermind the fact that he quinched our insatiable appetites by selling property that didn't belong to him. But what the hey it's only Apple's billion dollar baby they are so worried about.
  • Rene, you can't get this crowd excited like that with such a provocative title! We smell blood now, and will only be sated with real finder features..... Or brains..... Brains.......
  • Tell Apple to go Stick it 4G Up it HD Apphole! Let the boy go!
  • At least we know what specs are on the latest iPhone. I'm still holding out for a 4.3 inch screen.
  • "regrets not doing more to try and return the iPhone prototype"... anyone with brains would have realized before trying to flog it off that apple would track them down eventually.
  • he sold stolen property, he broke the law... He contacted Gizmodo to sell the found item, knowing what it was...
  • @Mike, Artur, and others, same.
  • Lol dont complain. The website has to make sure to make some views. Anyway. Id be like that boy. If i send a ticket ( because the online Apple service is the worst in the wholw world) and the ticke is talen as bull. Ill tale all the money. Can juice to the fuking iPhone ( lost not stolen)
  • Up until Apple claimed the device from Gizmodo, it was unreasonable to not acount for the possibility that the device was either a forgery or jus another Chinese knockoff. That said, dude did try to sell property that wasn't his to sell.
  • "That said, dude did try to sell property that wasn’t his to sell."
    Too true. I am sure a lot of us have found something and sold or gave it to someone else and never got caught. The biggest difference is we didn't give/sell it to a high profile blog, nor was the item in question such a high profile device.
    It's the difference between Jaywalking and Jaywalking naked in front of a bus of children. One of them is far more noticeable.
  • @ Matt(sZ)
    Sacking an engineer for showing Woz (of all people) a 3G iPad, reported suicides at Foxconn, turning up at a private address before police demanding access. Put in perspective, we're talking about CE devices not national security leaks. There was nothing but good PR initially on this for the billion dollar baby, now with each reveal all I hear is Apple dragging its nails down the blackboard: an excruciating experience.
  • Are his personal details neccessary?
  • Screw Apple. I have zero compassion for them ever since they tried to paint me as a criminal for customizing my own device (jailbreaking). And no I have never stolen an app. I just want my calendar appointments to show on my freakin' lock screen. So go ahead and send your REACT task force goons to kick down my door.
  • LOL Redhat is a cool guy LOL