Photos reveal 2002 Apple prototype
Long before Steve Jobs revolutionised the way we use computers with the iPad in 2010, Apple had already been working on what would become the world's most popular tablet computer.
Court documents from 2002 reveal for the first time the earliest prototypes of what would become the iPad.
Bigger and thicker - but remarkably similar to the product released in 2010- the '035', shows Steve Jobs spent almost a decade working on the tablet computer before releasing it.
Emblazoned with an Apple logo and boasting signature Apple design features such as rounded corners, the photos are unmistakably the first renderings of what would become the iPad.
At a 2010 digital conference, Jobs spoke about the process of putting the iPad together.
"I’ll tell you a secret. It began with the tablet. I had this idea about having a glass display, a multitouch display you could type on with your fingers. I asked our people about it. And six months later, they came back with this amazing display."
"And I gave it to one of our really brilliant UI guys. He got scrolling working and some other things, and I thought, "my God, we can build a phone with this!" So we put the tablet aside, and we went to work on the iPhone."
Based on depositions in the current battle patent battle between Apple and Samsung being fought in courts around the world, website iOnApple was able to track down the prototype Jobs was talking about.
The information comes from a deposition made by legendary Apple designer Jony Ive.
"My recollection of first seeing it is very hazy, but it was, I'm guessing, sometime between 2002 and 2004," Ive said.
"I remember seeing this and perhaps models similar to this when we were first exploring tablet designs that ultimately became the iPad."
Ive has long been considered Steve Jobs' right hand man when it comes to Apple products' iconic designs.
Ive and Jobs are responsible for the key design features that make up the millions of iPhones, iPads and iMacs being used around the world every day.
