Poor Grey Powell?

So I’m sure that anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock for the past two days is familiar with the scoop that Gizmodo had with the next generation iPhone being leaked. And the Internet is abuzz with chatter about the 27 year old software engineer who blew it big time and “lost” the new iPhone at a bar on his birthday, only to have it found and “sold” to Gizmodo.

However the question still remains, was this truly a case of lost-and-found, or did Apple just perform another one of the “leaks” it is known for. Is this just a case of viral marketing? Either way what will happen to poor Grey Powell?

Firstly you have to know a little history; Apple has been a master of “controlled leaks” in its past, using them to generate buzz about new products and updates to older lines. They’ve done this type of thing on purpose before, so there’s no telling if this is just an elaborate marketing scheme.

On the flip side, it is a pretty “big” leak, more like a burst dam, however that could be used to lend plausibility to the viral marketing (“Apple would never allow a leak this big!”)

But in either case what happens to Mr. Powell? If it was a legitimate case of losing the prototype, I’m sure that a harsh reprimand will be in order, perhaps even termination, and where does a Software Engineer with a reputation for losing prototypes and causing Internet scandals go to find work?

Some sites are commenting on the fact that a search on Grey Powell doesn’t turn up much. It seems conspicuous that in this day and age a 27 year old of any kind would have this small an Internet footprint… especially one who is a Software Engineer. However it could be that this is a clue, maybe he’s really careful about his privacy because he understands the danger of putting too much information online. Yet that doesn’t sound like the type of guy that would go to a bar and drop a prototype on accident.

I don’t know if we’ll see or hear more from poor Grey Powell, but he sure has provided us some entertainment!