eBay Gets iPhone Prototype

As with any great device, there will surely be some prototypes going before it – and the same applies to the iPhone. Somebody stumbled upon an early iPhone prototype on eBay, and this model comes complete with a rough beta version of the iPhone OS alongside a second, non-functional unit. The former is in good cosmetic condition and comes with a matte plastic screen, quite unlike the glass screen found in production units. It will have YM649xxxxxx for its serial number, where the seller said it hails from a factory in China and was manufactured in week 49 of the year 2006. Powered by iPhone OS 03.06.01_G, this phone can actually make calls, browse through mobile versions of websites and receive text messages. You can’t manually type SMS on the handset though. They’re currently priced at $300 a pop.