The German airline Lufthansa announced last Friday, April 23, that it has offered to fly Apple software engineer Gary Powell to Munich, the city in Bavaria famous for its annual beer festival. The invitation came in a letter to the engineer. Mr. Powell is the gentleman who lost a prototype fourth generation iPhone 4G on a bar stool in a German style beer garden in Redwood City, CA, not far from Apple's headquarters in Cupertino. The Lufthansa offer is for a free business class round trip ticket, so that, as the carrier put it, "You could pick up where you last left off."
Some thought that the lost iPhone was a marketing stunt, which Apple immediately denied. The errent much in demand gadget caused great embarrassment to Mr. Powell, who had just turned 27 and was celebrating his birthday at the bar. News about this high tech device was an instant media sensation. Gizmodo, a technology blog launched in 2002 by Peter Rojas, and the favorite gadget read of Apple CEO Steve Jobs, published photos of the iPhone which it had purchased for $5,000 from another patron at the same bar. Gizmodo claims ignorance about buying stolen property. Silicon Valley police, at the request of Apple, are investigating the matter.
PHOTO CAPTIONS: (ABOVE LEFT) In this July 21, 2009 file photo, a customer displays an Apple iPhone 3GS at an Apple store in Palo Alto, Calif. Apple Inc. shares have hit another all-time high Friday, April 23, 2010, now that it appears the iPhone could find a new sales outlet through Verizon Wireless. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File); (BELOW RIGHT) A technician takes a photograph of a engine of an Lufthansa aircraft at Tegel airport in Berlin, Tuesday, April 20, 2010. In Germany, airports in Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin saw their first planes roll up and down the runways Tuesday morning since German airspace was closed. (AP Photo/Gero Breloer); (BELOW LEFT) A Lufthansa aircraft lands at the airport of Frankfurt, central Germany, Tuesday, April 20, 2010. Germany's aviation authority broke the flight deadlock on Monday, granting Lufthansa an exemption to fly 50 long-haul planes carrying 15,000 passengers back home below the cloud of volcanic ash hanging over Europe. (AP Photo/Michael Probst);
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The new iPhone 4G is expected to be released in June, 2010. First available in 2007, the iPhone multimedia smartphone uses the AT&T cellular network, and may also be offered through Verizon Wireless as well. The current model, the 3GS, was released on June 17, 2009.
Late night talk show host David Letterman, was quick to capitalize on the story with his Top 10 Excuses for losing the iPhone. A video is provided after this article.
Lufthansa, which has been struggling in the worldwide economic downtown, is probably also jumping on the publicity bandwagon of a hot media story that has legs.
According to the technology website CNET, Mr. Powell's father issued a statement saying he did not think that Apple would fire his son for losing the device. That remains to be determined. An article in PC World by Paul Suarez thinks that Apple scripted the event. One thing is certain. The Company's shares (AAPL) closed on Friday at an all time historic high.
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Comments
Sounds like a deal to me, but I hate losing a phone - such a hassle.
I've never lost a cell phone... and don't have an iPhone (in the minority of all my friends), but whatever the case with this guy, it is getting a lot of publicity for both Apple and the airline. It's great P.R. for Lufthansa!
What a clever marketing promotion from Lufthansa! If the 27 year old employee who lost the phone gets fired, I'm sure he could use the free trip.
Funny top 10 list by Letterman.
Man, I should lose something too! :)
I've lost a lotta stuff over the years when over - imbibing..good for Lufthansa!
Cheers..
This whole sale of a phone was sort of ridiculous. I hope he goes though.
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