Auction house Bonhams has put up for auction a rare prototype of the Apple tablet. This is reported by The Verge.
The Apple VideoPad 2 model for sale is a prototype of a PDA, or tablet computer. The device was created by the company between 1993 and 1995. It is reported that the device was the next attempt by the American company after the Newton Message Pad to present a smart device of a new format.
Judging by the images, the gadget has a foldable form factor, a screen and a camera for video communication. Work on VideoPad 2 was halted in 1997 after Steve Jobs returned to the company. According to the auction house, Jobs decided that the device was not yet finalized and it was too early to release it into production. It also clarifies that the Apple executive broke the prototype during the study.
The rare gadget was designed by former Apple CEO John Scully. “If you look closely, you can see the similarities between this prototype and the brand’s successful products like the iPhone and iPad,” the journalists noted.
Apple VideoPad 2 will be up for auction in November. The organizers of the auction intend to sell the device for a price ranging from 8 to 12 thousand dollars.
At the end of the summer, journalists found out that in the 2010s, Apple, under the leadership of Steve Jobs, was working on the release of a compact and cheap smartphone. In the letter from the entrepreneur, the new smartphone is described as a smaller and budget version of the iPhone 3GS.
Kingston is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
