iPhone 4G leak: controversy rages over Apple coder Gray Powell

April 20th, 2010

The iPhone 4G leak storm continues to rage after the Apple employee who apparently lost the device was outed. It’s not likely to be a good day for Apple software engineer, Gray Powell, who has been named and shamed. Now a controversy is raging over whether Powell’s name should have been made public.

In a post title “How Apple lost the next iPhone”, Gizmodo details how Gray Powell, a 27-year-old Apple software engineer working on the iPhone Baseband Software which allows the phone to make calls, mislaid the device. Even though he only graduated from university in 2006, Gray Powell was apparently entrusted with the iPhone 4G prototype.

The new iPhone was lost on March 18 at a Gourmet Haus Staudt, a German theme pub in Redwood City, California. The apparent reason for Gray Powell’s identity being known? He was updating his Facebook page from the phone. The app was on screen when the iPhone 4G was found with the most recent update praising the German beer.

The idea that the iPhone 4G was found in a bar without any kind of pass code protection to stop people snooping through its menus and apps is just part of the controversy surrounding Gray Powell and the new iPhone. On Twitter, commentators and rival journalists are debating whether Gizmodo should have revealed Gray Powell’s name .

John Gruber of Daring Fireball said: “I am upset about how Gizmodo outed an individual.” Meanwhile major tech tweeter Robert Scoble said: “The guy who sold Gray’s iPhone is a real sleezebag. What a jerk.”

Meanwhile Frederico Vittici of Mac Stories has started a #letsblockgawker campaign (Gawker Media is Gizmodo’s parent company) and tweeted: “We won’t write a single word about the Apple engineer.”

Gizmodo responded to concerns by saying: “Apple already knew who lost it. This post could save his job.” And there could be something to that with Apple facing public scrutiny following the iPhone 4G leak.

As for Gray Powell himself, his Facebook profile has disappeared (though plenty of fan pages have sprung up), his Twitter feed is protected and his Flickr account has been made private. A transcript of a phone call between him and Gizmodo suggests he’s still at his desk at Apple. The identity of the individual or individuals who found the iPhone 4G is yet to be disclosed.

Due TBC | £TBC | Apple (via Gizmodo)

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Tags: Apple, Gray Powell, iPhone, iPhone 4.0, iPhone 4G, leak

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 20th, 2010 at 11:30 am and is filed under Mobile Phones, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

vince

“Even though he only graduated from university in 2006…”
Not too sure what this is supposed to mean…I’d be offended!
Rhys Davis

As I posted in a thread on here earlier today of course hes kept his job. He was doing as told and allowing a controlled leak to take place.

Shame on everyone for being fooled by this obviously orchestrated and carefully planned leak. . He “happens” to leave it on a bar stool having taken it out during the evening rather than the day(And cmon who would take a phone to a bar to test?). The guy next to the guy who left it purposefully engages the two guys and insists on giving it to them. The guys who find it ring apple several and get ignored despite the fact apple KNEW it was missing because it was remote wiped within 12 hours. Then all of a sudden apple wants it back from gizmodo? pfft biggest planned leak ever. And a classic distraction from the apple vs android/adobe thing thats been in the press this past week.

Im not saying its THE next phone. It could be one to throw us of the scent but its for sure a planned leak. And if you need anymore proof, Apple, the most dictatorial company when it comes to security, havent even fired the guy.

Shame on all you techie sites for not even floating the idea that this might be a planned leak despite the fact its a large part of the marketing strategy. Roll your tongues back in and be objective instead of wandering around like a bunch of fanboys.

Also, as quoted in gizmodo he was able to access the phone and play with a reputed 6 pages of apps before it was wiped overnight. Your seriously telling me Apple sent out a prototype for testing, at night, to a bar, and didnt even put basic security like a pin code on it?

http://www.gravatar.com James Holland

I don’t buy the claims it’s an intentional leak… it’s just not Apple’s style. The odd bit of info here and there, maybe, but not a whole device. Personally, I’ve always found them tighter than a fat woman’s shoe when it comes to advance info…
http://www.electricpig.co.uk Ben Sillis

I can believe it’s unintentional. The pin code is surprising, granted, but there’s no way Apple would leave any technology lying about it in the hopes a gadget site would find it – what if a high ranking HTC executive picked it up?

Rhys Davis

ex Apple employees have categorically stated that controlled leaks is one of their most common marketing methods. They frequently leak things to journalists they have an agreement with such as the well known relationship they have with the wallstreet journal. So its 100% their style.

The pin code is beyond surprising. This is the company that bolts prototypes to tables, that insists devlopers have a mega secure room to store their products, etc etc. Even your basic phone user tends to put a pin on their phone so to suggest Apple didnt have 1 security feature on their prototype is both naive and foolish. They are THE most locked down corp in this market. And I think the odds of a htc exec picking it up in a bar in CA are fairly slim which is probably why they picked a bar over one of their usual testing areas.

Rhys Davis

Oh and ask yourselves this. Why once they knew it was lost, and wiped it, and were offered it back by the guys who found it, did they not accept the offer or actively go after it?

There are far to many outlandish coincidences in this story to swallow

Rhys Davis

And if a HTC exec did pick it up I imagine they’d just realise aside from the front facing camera its specs are near identical to the nexus one/desire/Incredible/other 1ghz phones around.