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| Rare Apple VideoPad 2 model sold at auction |
A rare Apple VideoPad 2 prototype is set to sell at auction in Los Angeles early next month for between $8,000 and $12,000.
The plastic PDA model - the only known surviving model - shows how the company once envisioned a monopoly on the video telephony market.
The Californian company developed three VideoPad concepts between 1993 and 1995 based on sketches drawn by former Apple CEO John Scully (John Scully).
However, the design was never translated into a commercial product and the project was abandoned when Apple founder Steve Jobs returned to the company in 1997.
Unlike the VideoPad 1 and VideoPad 3, the VideoPad 2, which has a foldable screen and a camera for video conferencing, has not been officially shown to the public.
According to Bonhams Auctions. The prototype was originally purchased in 1995 from a corporate engineer in Palo Alto, California.
The VideoPad concept is an attempt by the company based on its former personal digital assistant, Newton MessagePad.
The units were sold in November 1993 and 50,000 units were sold in the first three months.
However, this does not represent the company's economic success, as after Jobs returned to the company, MessagePad and Newton OS were also discontinued.
VideoPad can enhance MessagePad by adding a camera and video screen on top.
Apple developed three VideoPad concepts between 1993 and 1995
The prototype of the device that was auctioned contained a fake memory card slot, a power jack, a telephone line input jack, and two built-in speakers.
Comes with a genuine black leather case with the Newton light bulb logo engraved on it.
According to reports. Jobs left VideoPad after concluding that the technology needed for a positive user experience was not yet available.
It took another 10 years for the company to officially enter the mobile phone market and another five years before the iPad hit the market. One could say it is the spiritual successor to the discontinued VideoPad.
It is reported that the VideoPad 2 is not the only part of the company's history that has been auctioned.
Technically, prototypes of the original Apple II PC, Macintosh, Apple EMate 300 Digital Assistant and first generation iPad will also be on sale.
A letter from Steve Jobs to his childhood friend Tim Brown is also said to sell for between $200,000 and $300,000. These items will be auctioned off at the Bonhams History of Science and Technology auction on November 3, 2021.