We could start off this story by bagging the poor Apple technician that left a pre-production iPhone 4 at a bar and rehashing the Gizmodo saga from 2010. But the truth is that we've all lost things while we're in the middle of doing something else like say, sitting on a train. One poor Honor employee in Germany might find faint solace in that assurance as the company has turned to the public for help in finding a prototype smartphone.

The clarion call went out on Monday, just before noon local time, through Twitter. The message from the Huawei-owned firm reads in part:

On Easter Monday, April 22, 2019, an Honor employee lost an Honor smartphone prototype while traveling on Deutsche Bahn Intercity-Express trip #1125 from Düsseldorf (at 6:06 a.m.) to Munich (at 11:08 a.m.). The prototype is in a gray protective case which conspicuously disguises the camera with a cover.

Anyone who might be able to help is encouraged to contact Honor Germany or Deutsche Bahn customer service. A reward of 5,000 euros is on offer for anyone who turns in the device.

So far, only one person has replied to the tweet with a measure of cynicism, surmising that this plea could be part of a public relations hoax. Other reactions include the obligatory Apple references and some jeering for a finder to sell the prototype to a competitor to reap double the reward. In any case, the cash has not been claimed yet, so the hunt is still on.

By the way, the Honor 20 series of smartphones is set to debut on May 21.

Source: @HonorGermany