Just when you thought this whole iPhone HD prototype/Gizmodo/Gray Powell insanity was over, Lufthansa, the German airline had to come in and up the ante.
Lufthansa’s marketing director, Nicola Lange, upon hearing about the whole scenario with Gray Power, put this message up on Twitter, inviting Powell to fly for free to Munich, to drown his sorrows in a good German beer.
According to an article over at CBS News:
“At Lufthansa we also noted with great interest your passion for German beer and culture. We thought you could use a break soon–and therefore would like to offer you complimentary business class transportation to Munich, where you can literally pick up where you last left off.”
All of this because Powell supposedly was at a German bar drinking for his birthday when the iPhone prototype was lost.
“We got some hints so far from people who know him but we haven’t heard from him as well,” said Martin Riecken, a spokesman for the airline, who confirmed the authenticity of the tweet. Although no mention of accommodations was extended, Riecken said Lufthansa would “make sure he has a happy time.”
Ok, I have had enough of this! This is crazy. Its bad enough that Apple has been dominating the media for several weeks now. This Apple prototype story has vaulted Gray Powell and the lust for the new iPhone HD (or whatever its going to be called) into the stratosphere. The guy got drunk and lost the phone. Some other guy found it and sold it to Gizmodo (which is beyond wrong). Apple is going to get the phone back from Gizmodo. More than likely Powell is going to get fired and have a hard time getting a new job. (Then again, if this whole thing is a Apple conspiracy, he may get a raise and a company car, who knows?) Ok, done, next case, move on…but NO. Now Powell is going to get a free flight to Germany for his troubles?
What next? Is Microsoft going to recruit him to sell Windows Phone 7 devices because he can get media attention to whatever phone he uses? I swear its all a bad soap opera with the media documenting it all.
And on that note, did you know that if you run a search for Gray Powell or the iPhone HD on YouTube, you can find something like this:
Or even this: