Bids on eBay amount to more than $127,738 for Apple 'iPhone 6 Prototype'

Bids on eBay amount to more than $127,738 for Apple 'iPhone 6 Prototype'

People across the world have expressed strong interest in a supposed brand new 64GB Apple iPhone 6 prototype phone, with bids on eBay going up to US$100,100 (S$127,738) on Monday.

Released in Singapore last month, a 64GB iPhone 6 costs about $650 here.

According to the eBay listing for the prototype, the starting bid was set at US$999 (S$1,275). The seller - whom The Huffington Post says goes by the name of Alex - wrote that he "accidentally" came into possession of the prototype when renewing his contract with his mobile service provider.

"I am giving a 110 per cent guarantee on this being an authentic Apple prototype device," says Alex, who appears to hail from California in the United States, based on his item's stated location.

He adds that the phone is not running on iOS 8, and appears to be in developer mode. Pictures that Alex uploaded onto eBay show various Apple software testing apps already installed in the phone. A photograph of the phone's lightning port also shows it to be red-rimmed, when it is usually uncoloured.

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"I cannot guarantee that it will make calls or that the camera will work," adds Alex in his seller's notes. "However, I can guarantee you that the device is a 64GB iPhone 6...The device comes with the box, charger, headphones and wall charger as well as all the paperwork."

His descriptive notes also state that he tried to plug in the phone into iTunes and the device was recognised as an iPhone.

Judging from the bids, where close to 50 people offered bids amounting to more than US$100,000, it appeared that Alex's lack of guarantees on the phone's calling and picture-taking functions were not a downer.

According to The Huffington Post, 172 people had bid on the phone as of Monday.

However, The Straits Times' checks on Alex's listing on Tuesday morning show that the item is no longer available, and the item's sale ended on Monday at about 5pm. No bids are reflected, and no reasons were given by the seller on the sale's closure.

brynasim@sph.com.sg


This article was first published on Oct 7, 2014.
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