A year has come and gone since the release of the iPhone 4, and Apple has been fairly silent until recently.

On Aug. 31, CNet.com ran an exclusive story describing how, in a repeat of last year's missing iPhone 4, an Apple employee lost an unreleased iPhone model in a Mexican restaurant and bar in San Francisco. Apple reportedly contacted the San Francisco Police Department, saying the device was "priceless" and they were "desperate to secure its safe return."

Apple traced the phone to a two-story home in San Francisco's Bernal Heights neighborhood and partnered with SFPD to investigate.

Police and Apple's investigators arrived at the home and spoke with Sergio Calderon, who acknowledged his presence at the bar the night the iPhone went missing but said he didn't know anything about the phone.

Calderon gave the police permission to search his house, but they found nothing. Apple's investigators also offered Calderon money, no questions asked, for the return of the device, but he continued to deny knowledge of the device.

It was reportedly sold on Craigslist for $200, according to the article.

The latest lost iPhone added to speculation that has been building in the months following the release of the iPhone 4, the Internet has been ablaze with rumors about the next iteration of the device.

Brian Middleton, unified applications analyst for the University, explained some of the supposed features.

Near Field Communications chip

"In the typical sense, it allows data transfer between two devices over a short range," Middleton said. "It could allow the phone to be used in place of a credit card. You could just hold your phone up to the vending machines around campus and buy a drink."

A5 dual-core processer

"Basically, dual core just means there are two processers on one chip, which gives you more processing power," Middleton said.

More processing power allows the device to run faster.

Eight megapixel rear-facing camera

"Megapixels don't really mean too much," Middleton said. "The pictures will be larger, but you're still limited by the size of the optics and the device."

In addition to those features, the iPhone 5 is rumored to have an "edge-to-edge" display, making its screen comparable to Google Android phones like the HTC Inspire.

As for Apple's lost iPhone, Middleton said he thinks it was an accident.

"I think they're just bad at keeping track of it," Middleton said. "With all of the stuff that went down with the iPhone 4, I don't think they meant to lose it."

But some students don't think Apple's actions are purely accidental.

"I don't think Apple would allow a prototype to just float around with their employees," said Chris Nguyen, biochemistry sophomore. "I thought they would learn from the last time they lost one."

Apple apparently won't be taking any more chances, as the company added two job listings for a product security team after the phone went missing.

But Nguyen doesn't think the lost iPhone will deter people from buying the phone anyway.

"If anything, everyone gets kind of a sneak peek into what's definitely going to be in the phone," Nguyen said.

Apple has yet to make any announcement regarding the next iPhone.

Source: lsureveille