Images Of 10-year-old iPad Prototype Surface During Patent Trial

Had Apple not managed to radically revise its early tablet designs before finally launching the iPad in early 2010, the tablet market would likely be in a much different place right now.

As uncovered by Network World, this horribly thick vision of what an Apple tablet might have looked like utilizing decade-old technology was created by the Cupertino, California-based company some time between 2002 and 2004 according to testimony from design boss Jonathan Ive. “My recollection of first seeing it is very hazy, but it was, I’m guessing, some time between 2002 and 2004,” Ive testified. “I remember seeing this and perhaps models similar to this when we were first exploring tablet designs that ultimately became the iPad.” The images of the prototype tablet were shown during an ongoing patent trial between Apple and South Korean rival Samsung (005930KS).