VideoPad 2 is one of the early devices that paved way for the modern iPad but it was rejected in the prototype stage.
Apple VideoPad 2 prototype (Source: Bonhams)
New Delhi,UPDATED: Oct 22, 2021 16:29 IST
There are chances that you are familiar with Apple’s iPad, which is among the best tablets you can get. But there are more chances that you may not know that the iPad was not the first-of-its-kind, original Apple device. Back between 1993 and 1995, Apple developed a device called the VideoPad, but it could not convince Steve Jobs, who just returned in 1997 to take the reins of the company. This rejected prototype is now going up for auction in November, estimated to sell between $8,000 and $12,000.
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The VideoPad 2 prototype arrived sometime during the two years between VideoPad 1 and VideoPad 3, but unlike them, could not make a public appearance. It was Apple’s next attempt at growing the line of Newton OS devices after the Newton Message Pad, but it had a fold-up screen with an integrated camera for video calling. The prototype was a result of conceptual design sketches that Apple’s former CEO John Sculley drew to envision his early ideas about a tablet.
Bonhams, an international auction house, is holding the History of Science and Technology auction in Los Angeles in November where the forlorn Apple VideoPad 2 will go for auction. Well, it is clear enough why there would be high interest in an Apple product that never made it to the market, but the fact that it got rejected by the stalwart, Steve Jobs, makes it more valuable. Bonhams said that Jobs did not feel VideoPad 2 technology was yet the level needed for a positive user experience.
The VideoPad 2 seems like a device that was ahead of its time, but it failed to convince Jobs, who was spearheading innovation at Apple back then. Not much literature is available about the VideoPad 2 because, obviously, it never made it to the public, but I am hard-pressed to believe that it would have been a handy device for video calls when video calls were not even popular.
The auction where this VideoPad 2 prototype will be showcased will also see an auction of other Apple devices, such as the original 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 childhood friend and it is estimated to sell between $200,000 and $300,000 at the auction.
Published By:
Shubham Verma
Published On:
Oct 22, 2021
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