Frog Design releases 1983 tablet prototypes

It's this week! It's almost a sure bet that we'll finally, after all of these years, see the Apple tablet unveiled this week, and to celebrate, Frog Design (the company responsible for many of Apple's designs back in the day) has given Wired some old shots of prototype tablets from the Cupertino company ... from 1983. Of course, Apple has released tablet-like devices before, and they've been thinking about this type of computer for a long time. But back in 1983, they apparently commissioned some concepts for an unreleased tablet called "Bashful" (so called because it was designed to work with the Snow White "industrial design language" that Apple used back then in the //c and other releases.

As you can see above, the tablet isn't exactly "elegant" by today's standards, but it is interesting how similar it actually is to many of today's smartphones and handhelds, considering that we're talking about almost 30 years ago now. One model had a floppy drive attached (which was gigantic), and apparently they even considered a version with a phone on it as well. We still don't know for sure what Apple's release this week will look like, but it's fascinating to think just how far back the planning for this week's unveiling actually went.

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Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/01/apple-tablet-1983/

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It's this week! It's almost a sure bet that we'll finally, after all of these years, see the Apple tablet unveiled this week, and to...

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noel@nopun.com

Wow now I want both of them,

That 1983 version is genius!

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Thanks and Regards

Noel for Nopun.com
a professional graphic design studio

January 26 2010 at 8:39 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

petard

Nice. Apple //c keyboard. That's still one of my all-time favorites.

January 25 2010 at 11:16 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

1 reply to petard's comment

Actually, I think that's a Cassie, an unreleased frameless keyboard in a similar style to the //c.

January 26 2010 at 8:59 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

mr.

At least Frog Design had the smarts to include and optional external keyboard.

Let's hope that Apple includes and optional wired or bluetooth keyboard too.

January 25 2010 at 7:57 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Steven Fowler

I would have to disagree about this mockup being less aesthetically pleasing than today's designs. I love what Apple has become within the past decade and I would probably have a hard time getting along without OS X and my iPhone, but many of my favorite Apple designs are ones from the "dark ages" of the 1980s-1990s. While this isn't the best looking Apple tablet mockup (look up the Newton BIC or the PenLite, which is basically a tablet version of the PowerBook Duo), in a way I like this design better than some of the "iSlate" mockups floating around the web.

January 25 2010 at 6:28 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Stan

FrogDesign were responsible for some of the most influential and inspirational computer designs ever produced. I really adored their Snow White designs as a kid; I think they look as good today as they did way back in the 80s.

January 25 2010 at 4:59 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Very similar concept shots (along with quite a few others) were in AppleDesign, a fantastic (and out-of-print) book about Apple's design, ending just before the iMac (and after the eMate). I'm surprised there's been no mention of Project Juggernaut either (a Duo-like slate that mated to a desktop dock or a laptop keyboard), or the various PenMac concepts either. I know this predates them (and, actually, there are even more concepts like this), but they're definitely just as interesting.

January 25 2010 at 4:29 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Just a clarification.... I believe these are mockups or concepts. Not prototypes. Prototypes implies a semi-working device. These were physical (size/shape) mock ups from the design house not from Apple engineering.

January 25 2010 at 4:23 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

jtb

Awww....

January 25 2010 at 3:38 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply