There are those people who need the newest, shiniest thing right away and will wait in line for hours, days or even weeks to get it. And then there are people who want the newest new thing at its peak newness, so new that it’s a prototype that probably very few will ever get to see. Those people are willing to fork over at least $94,500 (and counting) for an iPhone 6 prototype that was never supposed to fall into a consumer’s hands. Except that it did.
A seller on eBay has snagged almost $100,000 so far in bids for an iPhone 6 64GB prototype that he says he accidentally received after renewing his contract with Verizon.
It’s so prototype-y that it doesn’t even have iOS 8 installed on it, but instead is running in developer mode. And oh yeah, it might not actually do the things phones are supposed to, like calling people.
Per the description:
“There are no FCC markings on the rear of the device or a model number. This is the real deal!!! The lightening port is red which is a sure sign of a prototype. This device is being sold as is. I cannot guarantee that it will make calls or that the camera will work. However I can guarantee you that the device is a 64gb iPhone 6 which was sent to me from Verizon.”
The seller told CNET a similar story, saying he believes it was just “luck of the draw” that he received the phone in the first place.
“I determined that this iPhone was a version not meant for the consumer market after seeing the software version on it. I am an avid tech lover and I knew what this software was right away. It is actually called SwitchBoard and is only for internal Apple testing,” he explained.
I only have one question — does it come with Minesweeper? That was a great game and it kind of looks like the right touch for this thing.
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
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