The launch of the iPhone 5 is undoubtedly a highly anticipated event. As some , the loss of a prototype device would be big news. Apple certainly could have planted the story in the media in an effort to keep interest high.

Apple has been accused, in the past, of intentionally leaking information on future products as part of its overall marketing strategy, and former employees have confirmed this. Former Apple marketing chief John Martellaro even wrote about how the company uses these controlled leaks in last year.

"The company has been doing that for years, and it helps preserve Apple's consistent, official reputation for never talking about unreleased products," Martellaro admitted. "I know, because when I was a Senior Marketing Manager at Apple, I was instructed to do some controlled leaks."

Was CNET the channel this time? We can't say for sure yet. It is a little different this time in that no real info on the device itself was released. Still, apparently no information was needed--the media is in a frenzy either way. Building hype for one of its most anticipated products isn't exactly past Apple.

For more tech news and commentary, follow Ed on Twitter at , on , or .