Source: cnBeta
Before Apple officially released the iPhone in 2007, the company secretly developed multiple prototypes — some of which were designed to be very different from the iPhones we know today. Now, another prototype of the iPhone has been exposed, and its design is very intriguing because it has an iPod turntable that turns into a numeric keypad.
The prototype was revealed by Tony FaDell, who was primarily responsible for Apple's iPod development in the 2000s. Since Fadell recently released a new book called Build, he has now been sharing details about his work at Apple and other tech companies.
The story behind the development of the first iPhone has been told by many people. After Apple's failed plan to work with Motorola to put iTunes on the ROKR E1, Steve Jobs and other Apple engineers decided they had to develop their own smartphones.
Before 2007, however, Apple had no other mobile devices other than the iPod, which was first used as the conceptual basis for Apple's smartphone. As the company explored the idea of simply putting the phone inside the iPod, a peculiar prototype was created that had a turntable that then turned into a numeric keypad.
According to Fadell, the prototype was made by a third-party manufacturer in the early stages of the development of the "iPod phone." Thanks to having a rotating device, users can quickly change the bottom of the iPod to use it as a phone. In addition, the prototype has a built-in camera, and the color is also quite similar to the color officially selected for the first generation of iPhones.
How the iPod phone became the iPhone
Interestingly, Fadell revealed that it was Steve Jobs who strongly encouraged the team to create an iPod with phone capabilities, rather than an entirely new device. This is because, because the iPod's turntable design is already quite classic, Jobs believes that Apple's smartphones should also have this design.
While the former vice president of the iPod division thought it was a good idea at first, he also agreed that the experience of using a phone with a turntable wasn't great. This forced Apple's engineers and designers to completely rethink the project, this time with a large touchscreen — with almost no physical buttons — and a Mac OS X-based operating system. As for the rest of this story, I believe everyone already knows.
New book "Build"
In his new book, Build, Fadell shares several other stories about his work at Apple. For example, he revealed how Steve Jobs was completely opposed to making the iPod compatible with Windows PCs. He also talks about how former Google CEO Eric Schmidt convinced Jobs that web apps were the right choice for the iPhone.
Of course, there's also a story about Nest Labs, a smart home device company founded by Fadell after leaving Apple and acquired by Google.