Huge screen, USB, Ethernet and serial ports… check out images of one of the first iPhone prototypes

During the busiest period of the Californian trial between Apple and Samsung, we saw a series of documents which showed some prototypes of iPhones not counting those that, from time to time, appear on eBay (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 ) and those who were “forgotten” in bars by Apple employees (a, b).

IPhone Prototype

Now the Ars Technica received images from a former Ma employee showing an iPhone prototype (from 2005) with a 5 Ă— 7 inch screen!

IPhone Prototype

USB, Ethernet and serial ports were also part of "iPhono", something that Apple never put in the final device. The explanation is a little obvious: according to the former employee, Apple never intended to put it all in a final product. The inclusion of these doors was only to facilitate the work of engineers on the device.

“At that time, nobody knew what (the final device) would be like,” he said.

IPhone Prototype

The screen size (12.7 × 17.7 centimeters) is also explained by the need to basically run a full version of OS X, since at that time iOS (formerly called “iPhone OS”) was still under development in addition to facilitate handling, such as the inclusion of doors.

IPhone prototypeIPhone prototype

The article also comments that the chip used in the prototype was the S3C2410 (ARM9; 200-233MHz), from Samsung, a distant relative from the processor that equipped the first iPhone (ARM11; 620MHz limited to 412MHz). That is, the partnership with Samsung actually started back there, showing that Apple did not imagine what it would become.

Has anyone ever stopped to imagine what Apple has today of prototypes in the portions of 1 Infinite Loop?