Just an update:

http://goo.gl/n1rw

Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) drove the investigation into the “lost” iPhone G4 that had police knocking down the door of the Gawker Media Gizmodo editor who paid for the prototype device after it was discovered in a bar. Cnet has the details in an affidavit. Apple complained the the device was “stolen” after it was accidentally forgotten in a by an employee bar not far from Apple’s headquarters. The company said that the device was priceless and that the disassembling of the iPhone by Gizmodo caused damage to Apple’s property. The big news here is that police were tipped off by the roommate of the person who sold the iPhone to Gizmodo.

Apple also complained that the publication of the images and video of the forthcoming iPhone hurt its sales, since prospective buyers of the device were likely to wait until the new one came out. Still, this argument seems a bit specious, since Apple consumers tend to expect constant updates to the company’s devices.