Apple's First Phone Designs

MacRumors · Jul 17, 2007, 11:10 PM

The son of Hartmut Esslinger, a designer for Apple in the early 80s posted a collection of never before published images of Apple Designs from the early 80s including several Apple phone designs.

This design resembles Apple's Apple //c design.

Article Link

siurpeeman · Jul 17, 2007, 11:12 PM

it makes me want apple to incorporate phone capabilities in all macs. just plug in a phone line (in addition to support for voip) and dial away.

arn · Jul 17, 2007, 11:27 PM

Siemens made a Newton phone, btw

arn

GoCubsGo · Jul 17, 2007, 11:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arn

Siemens made a Newton phone, btw

arn

Looks like one of those pda cell phone padfolios that you can fold up and put in your briefcase.
Cute

nostaws · Jul 17, 2007, 11:52 PM

some cool looking stuff. Interesting to see. Jobs was at apple then. In the images, I saw the apple phone, and a cube computer design. Both which jobs revisited upon returning. I wonder how much of that stuff is representative of Steve Jobs, and if any of that is still floating around in his head for product ideas.

I assume that triangle thing was a mouse, it actually looked pretty comfortable in the hand for being so angular.

JPyre · 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Macrumors

"I know that hand. It was in the fall 1973 Bulova watch catalog." - Derrick Zoolander

Interesting stuff, I wonder if the bill collectors would still charge a fee for check by phone. This also brought back to mind the AT&T video phones, what ever happened to them?

LimeiBook86 · Jul 18, 2007, 01:11 AM

Wow some of these are so cool!

This Macintosh design almost looks like an iMac.

Plus I'm sure this would of ended up worse than the puck-mouse, hehe

Great story!

juststranded · Jul 18, 2007, 01:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LimeiBook86

Wow some of these are so cool!

This Macintosh design almost looks like an iMac.

Plus I'm sure this would of ended up worse than the puck-mouse, hehe

Great story!

Heck, that thing still looks better than a lot of PC's being sold. I'd buy it.

Scottgfx · Jul 18, 2007, 02:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Macrumors

The son of Hartmut Esslinger, a designer for Apple in the early 80s posted a collection of never before published images of Apple Designs from the early 80s including several Apple phone designs.

Perhaps it was because of the breakup of AT&T in the early 1980's, but it seems everyone was working on phones. As evidenced by this...

http://www.atarimuseum.com/ataritel/index.html

Atari actually had some good industrial design back in the day. Too bad they got caught up in the price war with Commodore.

Lixivial · Jul 18, 2007, 05:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nostaws

In the images, I saw the apple phone, and a cube computer design. Both which jobs revisited upon returning. I wonder how much of that stuff is representative of Steve Jobs, and if any of that is still floating around in his head for product ideas.

Well I think the Cube was probably derived from his NeXT origins, personally. Plus it would appear he's always been/still is fascinated with cube designs (NeXTCube, G4 Cube, Fifth Avenue Apple Store). But I, too, have always wondered if he trawled through Apple's past when he returned in '97.

I mean, it's quite amazing how a lot of those designs reflect current and recent Apple products. As LimeiBook86 pointed out, this looks like the G3 iMac.. This looks like the iBook/MacBook, or then-future Apple laptops. Leopard's Stacks dates from around 1994, and I'm sure there are a many more unutilized prototypes/ideas that have since been implemented that we don't know about. And if the naming on the images is accurate, it would seem certain names even came from that foregone era as well.

Interesting stuff, indeed.

fixyourthinking · Jul 18, 2007, 05:36 AM

Apple actually shipped 20 or so (for beta testing) of the The Paladin which was a Phone/Fax/Computer/Scanner/Copier/Printer. It was based on the PowerBook Duo. I owned one in 2002 and sold it a few months later on eBay. I'm surprised this was left out of the mix. Good article though.

iMeowbot · 05:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adzoox

I'm surprised this was left out of the mix.

The images linked in the OP are from frog design. That project was from after their relationship with Apple had fallen apart.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lixivial

Well I think the Cube was probably derived from his NeXT origins, personally.

Kinda sorta. frog did the cube, so there is a relationship of a kind to the sketches and mockups seen here.

mainstreetmark · Jul 18, 2007, 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPyre

"I know that hand. It was in the fall 1973 Bulova watch catalog." - Derrick Zoolander

Interesting stuff, I wonder if the bill collectors would still charge a fee for check by phone. This also brought back to mind the AT&T video phones, what ever happened to them?

http://www.ojophone.com/homepage

eenduiker · Jul 18, 2007, 10:01 AM

the poor site is down for the additional pics.

Here is the google cache:

http://209.85.135.104/search?q=cache...&client=safari

maler · Jul 19, 2007, 02:28 AM

Seems to me like pictures from Apple Design book, so not "unpublished". But i must check at home.

Yankees 4 Life · Jul 19, 2007, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by juststranded

Heck, that thing still looks better than a lot of PC's being sold. I'd buy it.

haha so true, i would definently buy that thing. throw away my crappy landline fone!

thejoshu · Jul 19, 2007, 11:36 AM

Many of these (all? I'd have to take a look) were published in Paul Kunkel's excellent coffee-table book AppleDesign. Good luck finding a copy.

branjosef · Jan 29, 2009, 11:35 PM

This is so awesome. Awesome find.

kdarling · Jan 30, 2009, 07:43 AM

So where is Apple and their home phone now? We need one.

Verizon has stepped in with their new Hub using VOIP, with 800x480 touchscreen and neat little widgets for family use:

I think this will be a year of home convergence. I have an HP Touchsmart in the kitchen, which is used by everyone for surfing, weather reports, TV Guide, notes and especially video Skyping. It can DVR too, with a cable attached. Also has voice control. It just needs a landline phone connection as well.

Nokia's been working for years on integrating smartphones with home entertainment systems and so forth.

Should be fun. Can't wait. Apple needs to be in this arena, and not just with Apple TV.

branjosef · Jan 30, 2009, 10:48 AM

So star trek looking... Love them all

ingenious · Jan 30, 2009, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by siurpeeman

it makes me want apple to incorporate phone capabilities in all macs. just plug in a phone line (in addition to support for voip) and dial away.

you mean like a 56k modem.....??

WPB2 · Jan 30, 2009, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by siurpeeman

it makes me want apple to incorporate phone capabilities in all macs. just plug in a phone line (in addition to support for voip) and dial away.

Dude what are you talking about. You want to use you mac as a telephone (PSDN). That is a step backward. How about Skype, google talk, or the many other VOIP services out there. There are way too many to name.

Martin Finch · Feb 5, 2009, 01:26 PM

I'm loving the retro looking images. Ah, wish I was born in the 70's

-M

chr1s60 · Feb 5, 2009, 01:47 PM

It would be interesting to see the impact that these earlier Apple phones would have had on Apple's entry to the cell phone market.

betaboy78 · Feb 9, 2009, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPyre

"I know that hand. It was in the fall 1973 Bulova watch catalog." - Derrick Zoolander

That made me laugh!

Jul 17, 2007, 11:10 PM	#1
MacRumors macrumors bot Join Date: Apr 2001	Apple's First Phone Designs The son of Hartmut Esslinger, a designer for Apple in the early 80s posted a collection of never before published images of Apple Designs from the early 80s including several Apple phone designs. This design resembles Apple's Apple //c design. Article Link
	0

Jul 17, 2007, 11:12 PM	#2
siurpeeman macrumors 603 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: the OC	it makes me want apple to incorporate phone capabilities in all macs. just plug in a phone line (in addition to support for voip) and dial away. __________________ grr...argh...
	0

Jul 18, 2007, 01:11 AM	#7
LimeiBook86 macrumors 604 Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hanging around in NJ with his cutie. :)	Wow some of these are so cool! This Macintosh design almost looks like an iMac. Plus I'm sure this would of ended up worse than the puck-mouse, hehe Great story! __________________ My 'How to Draw Fun Animals' iBook is now on iTunes "Just you try and stop me..." My Site Thrift Fails Tech Blog
	0

Jul 18, 2007, 05:36 AM	#11
fixyourthinking macrumors 6502a Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Greenville SC	Forgot the Apple Paladin Apple actually shipped 20 or so (for beta testing) of the The Paladin which was a Phone/Fax/Computer/Scanner/Copier/Printer. It was based on the PowerBook Duo. I owned one in 2002 and sold it a few months later on eBay. I'm surprised this was left out of the mix. Good article though. __________________ WWW.FIXYOURTHINKING.COM
	0

Jul 18, 2007, 10:01 AM	#14
eenduiker macrumors newbie Join Date: Apr 2007	site down the poor site is down for the additional pics. Here is the google cache: http://209.85.135.104/search?q=cache...&client=safari
	0

Jul 17, 2007, 11:27 PM	#3
arn macrumors god Join Date: Apr 2001	Siemens made a Newton phone, btw arn
	0

Jul 17, 2007, 11:52 PM	#5
nostaws macrumors regular Join Date: Jan 2006	some cool looking stuff. Interesting to see. Jobs was at apple then. In the images, I saw the apple phone, and a cube computer design. Both which jobs revisited upon returning. I wonder how much of that stuff is representative of Steve Jobs, and if any of that is still floating around in his head for product ideas. I assume that triangle thing was a mouse, it actually looked pretty comfortable in the hand for being so angular.
	0

Jul 19, 2007, 02:28 AM	#15
maler macrumors newbie Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Praha, Czech republic	Seems to me like pictures from Apple Design book, so not "unpublished". But i must check at home.
	0

Jul 19, 2007, 11:36 AM	#17
thejoshu macrumors newbie Join Date: Nov 2003	Many of these (all? I'd have to take a look) were published in Paul Kunkel's excellent coffee-table book AppleDesign. Good luck finding a copy.
	0

Jan 29, 2009, 11:35 PM	#18
branjosef macrumors 6502a Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: 1.222.333.456	This is so awesome. Awesome find.
	0

Jan 30, 2009, 07:43 AM	#19
kdarling macrumors Demi-God Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Device engineer for 30 yrs, touchscreens for 20.	So where is Apple and their home phone now? We need one. Verizon has stepped in with their new Hub using VOIP, with 800x480 touchscreen and neat little widgets for family use: I think this will be a year of home convergence. I have an HP Touchsmart in the kitchen, which is used by everyone for surfing, weather reports, TV Guide, notes and especially video Skyping. It can DVR too, with a cable attached. Also has voice control. It just needs a landline phone connection as well. Nokia's been working for years on integrating smartphones with home entertainment systems and so forth. Should be fun. Can't wait. Apple needs to be in this arena, and not just with Apple TV.
	0

Jan 30, 2009, 10:48 AM	#20
branjosef macrumors 6502a Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: 1.222.333.456	So star trek looking... Love them all
	0

Feb 5, 2009, 01:26 PM	#23
Martin Finch macrumors member Join Date: Feb 2009	I'm loving the retro looking images. Ah, wish I was born in the 70's -M __________________ Whipped App For iPhone - Out Now. http://whippediphoneapp.blogspot.com/
	0

Feb 5, 2009, 01:47 PM	#24
chr1s60 macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: California	It would be interesting to see the impact that these earlier Apple phones would have had on Apple's entry to the cell phone market. __________________ 15" MacBook Pro - iPad - White iPad mini - iPod Classic - iPod Shuffle - iPod Nano - White/Silver iPhone 5
	0

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