Buy an iPhone 4/4S Prototype for a Million Dollars on eBay

So, a guy walks into a bar while an Apple employee is celebrating his birthday… wait, stop me if you know the punchline. While I doubt that the story repeats itself here, you could find out yourself for what will likely end up being over a million dollars, in what seems like a bidding joke at this point. At that price, I am sure that the seller of an iPhone 4/4S prototype is open to any questions. (Edit: the seller has revealed that he works as a repairman and bought it from a potential client who was unaware that the phone was a prototype. So, you would have to find that man to hear a story about it. Then another to get to the good details. It’s a chain of investigation.)

Obvious signs that the iPhone offered for sale is a prototype are how the Model No., FCC ID, and IC ID are missing actual numbers, with all numbers replaced with X. Don’t get too excited, algebra fans, there is no equation that will solve for X in this case. That is, unless you are also an engineer. Though the serial number is not actually valid on Apple’s site for obvious reasons, there is an ominous DF1692 code marked on the front.

Being a prototype, there is a lack of functionality, meaning this is more of a brick reminiscent of what is available in a huge array of stores. However the unlock screen and Emergency Call options do appear, so the hardware does indeed function. Trouble is, it cannot be activated through a standard copy of iTunes nor does an AT&T SIM card help.

In stark contrast to a new iPhone, the prototype has already seen a ton of damage. But the most blatant thing that the steep price grants the buyer is the opportunity to see what blank volume buttons look like, missing the + and – indicators, and you cannot put a price on that, can you?

This is simply my own speculation, but this could be an iPhone 4S. Considering how rumors said that the iPhone 4S is simply an iPhone 4 chassis housing new hardware feature being given to developers to test apps (so that new hardware can be tested without iPhone 5 being leaked), it seems like the seller would not know the difference. That is especially true since the iPhone 4 is not specifically labelled with the “4.”

Right now, the current bid is at $999,999. Who wants to break the million barrier as part of this price joke created by bidders with nothing better to do? Find the auction onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/cgi.ebay.com/Apple-iPhone-4-black-APPLE-GENUINE-PROTOTYPE-TESTER-/130540359649?_trksid=p5197.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D5%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D1097641438049325804&autorefresh=true#ht_1298wt_176');" target="_blank" href="http://www.ip4help.com">here before it is taken down in an attempt for a real sale. Then once the new auction is up, make sure to have a good bar story to tell before bidding.