Apple is usually notorious for their ability to keep a tight seal on future products and keep them a mystery. Even with the next generation iPhone announcement being imminent, no misinformation is being thrown about. This is why when the public gets to see Apple’s prototypes, everyone is excited. The other day, we got a taste of a prototype when we saw a 15” MacBook Pro (2007 model) with a built in 3G antenna and sim-card slot, which surfaced on eBay. The owner, Carl Frega saw bids reach $70,000 for the machine before Apple successfully had the listing pulled. Frega has claims to have purchased the prototype from a former Apple engineer via Craigslist. The machine was sold via Craigslist despite its unsuccessful eBay fiasco. The new owner took the laptop to a genius bar where it was denied service (as Apple employees had no idea what to do with the machine). The new owner then turned around and sued Frega for selling him a fake MacBook and Frega was forced to pay back the $740 that he gained from the sale, finding himself as the owner of the device once again. We aren’t really sure how the Judge made the decision, considering the MacBook was in fact a real piece of Apple hardware. The trouble Apple went through to retrieve the unit should be enough to prove that as well. As of right now, it is unclear how or if Apple will compensate Frega for the prototype. It doesn’t seem likely that Frega stole the device. The whole event does give us some insight as to what to look forward to in the upcoming future. As usual, stay tuned for more info on the topic by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and/or subscribing to our RSS feed. Authors: