Alleged iPhone Prototype Seen on eBay

It's almost identical in pictures on eBay, but a "Prototype" iPhone 4 is a "But It Now" bargain of $10,000. The bidding has reached $4,500 for a "***RARE*** Apple iPhone 4 32 GB N90AP PROTOTYPE UNRELEASED SWITCHBOARD TESTER UNIT."

Found first by 9to5Mac, the device sports a strange logo on the back, almost like a moon -- or maybe a Death Star homage. 9to5Mac calls the symbol a "protologo."

And, in due course, the protologo now has a Twitter handle, promising if anyone can find another protologo out there, the reward is one's "own internet."

The eBay listing reads: "Iphone (sic) 4 Prototype/Tester unit. This is one of a VERY small amount of Apple prototype devices and never seen on ebay... THIS IPHONE is a functional representation of this design. This iPHONE (again, sic) is not only unique in it's (sic) hardware, but it's running Apple's software testing suite, called SwitchBoard. USUALLY THESE PROTOTYPES ARE DISABLED BY APPLE BUT THIS ONE IS FULLY FUNCTIONAL."

Naturally, this all tough to swallow, especially the last little jagged bit: if Apple can wipe any phone, anywhere why not wipe one that was swiped?

The top-rated seller's description is confident this is the real deal, using Apple specs and claiming to have proprietary markings proving it's an Apple device.

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