Going up for auction: An Apple VideoPad prototype

The Apple VideoPad prototype rejected by Steve Jobs years ago goes up for auction

There is a probability that you are familiar with Apple’s iPad, ranked among the top tablets you can get. But there are greater possibilities that you may not know that the iPad was not the first-of-its-kind, authentic Apple device. From 1993 to 1995, Apple developed a device known as the VideoPad, however it couldn’t persuade Steve Jobs, who returned in 1997 to take the reins of the company. This rejected prototype is now going up for auction in November, expected to sell between $8,000 and $12,000.

The VideoPad 2 prototype arrived at some point in the 2 years between VideoPad 1 and VideoPad 3, however in contrast to them, couldn’t make a public appearance. It became Apple’s next attempt at developing the line of Newton OS gadgets after the Newton Message Pad, however it had a fold-up display screen with an integrated digital camera for video calling. The prototype was an end result of conceptual layout sketches that Apple’s former CEO John Sculley drew to envision his early thoughts about a tablet.

Bonhams, an international auction house, is retaining the History of Science and Technology auction in Los Angeles in November wherein the forlorn Apple VideoPad 2 will be put to public sale. Well, it’s clear enough why there might be high interest in an Apple product that never made it to the market, however the fact that it got rejected by the stalwart, Steve Jobs, makes it greater valuable. Bonhams stated that Jobs did not feel VideoPad 2 was the technology needed for a good user experience.

The VideoPad 2 looks like a device that was in advance of its time, however it didn’t persuade Jobs, who was spearheading innovation at Apple back then. Not an awful lot literature is available about the VideoPad 2 because, obviously, it never made it to the public, however I am hard-pressed to believe that it’d have been an on hand tool for video calls when video calls were not even popular.

The auction wherein this VideoPad 2 prototype will be showcased will even see an auction of other Apple gadgets, which include the authentic Apple II Personal Computer and prototypes of Apple Macintosh, Apple EMate 300, and the first-generation iPad. There is also an autographed handwritten letter from Steve Jobs to his early life pal and it is expected to sell between $200,000 and $300,000 at the public sale.

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