Rare circa 2009 prototype of the first-generation Apple iPad, which boots up the SwitchBoard utility, an in-house Apple launcher program for diagnostic and debugging tools used in development. The iPad prototype measures approximately 9.5˝ x 7.5˝ x .5˝, and the caseback features only the Apple logo, with no FCC notice or model information as seen on the final product. The unit reports about 2GB of storage, compared to the minimum of 16GB shipped in the retail model.
Previously from the collection of world-renowned Apple hardware collector Henry 'Hap' Plain III, and accompanied by his letter of provenance.
Development of the iPad began as early as 2002, and Steve Jobs told Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher that the idea for the iPhone actually came from the development of the iPad: “I’ll tell you a secret. It began with the tablet. I had this idea about having a glass display, a multitouch display you could type on with your fingers. I asked our people about it. And six months later, they came back with this amazing display. And I gave it to one of our really brilliant UI guys. He got [rubber band] scrolling working and some other things, and I thought, ‘my God, we can build a phone with this!’ So we put the tablet aside, and we went to work on the iPhone.”
After the iPhone's massively successful release in 2007, Apple's engineers were free to return their focus to the tablet project—essentially bringing the iPhone's intuitive multi-touch interface to a much larger display, allowing it to be used more like a laptop or netbook. When introducing the first iPad on January 27, 2010, Steve Jobs promised: “iPad is our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price… iPad creates and defines an entirely new category of devices that will connect users with their apps and content in a much more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before.” Since that time, the iPad has become the best-selling tablet computer series in history, with over 670 million units sold.
