That's really interesting. Whose job is it to actually design and develop the prototype board? It seems like that team would have to know quite a bit, if not nearly everything, about the device.
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A look at an original iPhone prototype
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Re: A look at an original iPhone prototype
#12Very dull content for anyone who has worked on anything related to mobile phone HW during the past 20 years. Every manufacturer has similar prototype boards and there is nothing special in this iPhone prototype.
Yeah, it bugged me that they were suggesting it was for secrecy. This is just what prototype hardware looks like. You break out as many electrical connections as possible to enable verification and debug.
Re: A look at an original iPhone prototype
#13Seeing what looks like a full iPhone attached to it (I know it's just the screen, but the inclusion of a taped-over home button is interesting) gives me kind of a "Thinking quickly, Dave constructed an iPhone using a circuit board, some tape, and an iPhone" vibe.
I was also curious about that. In other stories I've read, I've heard it referred to as a big ugly box with a touch screen embedded on top of it, which is what I imagined most people worked on. But this just looks like a normal iPhone with a large breadboard connected.
I always imagined that the iPad came about because some engineer had a Retina iPhone prototype on a standard 72dpi screen and figured it might work to replace a laptop.
Take the old eMac software, and bam, iPad.
(100% speculation)
Re: A look at an original iPhone prototype
#14Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was also curious about that. In other stories I've read, I've heard it referred to as a big ugly box with a touch screen embedded on top of it, which is what I imagined most people worked on. But this just looks like a normal iPhone with a large breadboard connected.
I always imagined that the iPad came about because some engineer had a Retina iPhone prototype on a standard 72dpi screen and figured it might work to replace a laptop. Take the old eMac software, and bam, iPad. (100% speculation)
I believe “iPad” was actually being developed prior to iPhone and was put on pause while multitouch and other technology was lifted from the project to support iPhone.
Re: A look at an original iPhone prototype
#15Seeing what looks like a full iPhone attached to it (I know it's just the screen, but the inclusion of a taped-over home button is interesting) gives me kind of a "Thinking quickly, Dave constructed an iPhone using a circuit board, some tape, and an iPhone" vibe.
That's likely a ex post facto hack, as a production iPhone's front piece was likely attached to make this prototyping board more complete.
The engineers back then certainly wouldn't have seen the iPhone-shaped screen assembly, they would either use the video out to a regular monitor (sufficient for most hardware testing and kernel development) while the developers responsible for making the touch screen work might have gotten a screen unit that wasn't iPhone-shaped.
(This particular board might have been assigned to someone who was only ever expected to use the video output ports.)
Re: A look at an original iPhone prototype
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
I always imagined that the iPad came about because some engineer had a Retina iPhone prototype on a standard 72dpi screen and figured it might work to replace a laptop. Take the old eMac software, and bam, iPad. (100% speculation)
I believe “iPad” was actually being developed prior to iPhone and was put on pause while multitouch and other technology was lifted from the project to support iPhone.
That's how Steve Jobs tells it.
Re: A look at an original iPhone prototype
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was also curious about that. In other stories I've read, I've heard it referred to as a big ugly box with a touch screen embedded on top of it, which is what I imagined most people worked on. But this just looks like a normal iPhone with a large breadboard connected.
I always imagined that the iPad came about because some engineer had a Retina iPhone prototype on a standard 72dpi screen and figured it might work to replace a laptop. Take the old eMac software, and bam, iPad. (100% speculation)
The iPad was actually conceptualized before the desktop workstation was common:
Re: A look at an original iPhone prototype
#18Very dull content for anyone who has worked on anything related to mobile phone HW during the past 20 years. Every manufacturer has similar prototype boards and there is nothing special in this iPhone prototype.
> Very dull content for anyone who has worked on anything related to mobile phone HW during the past 20 years
Not just mobile phone development, any HW job or embedded engineering usually involves these proto/dev boards.
It's just a tool that was used for the development of an electrical device. What's next? An article about the screwdriver that was used to assemble the first prototypes?
Re: A look at an original iPhone prototype
#19Very dull content for anyone who has worked on anything related to mobile phone HW during the past 20 years. Every manufacturer has similar prototype boards and there is nothing special in this iPhone prototype.
I realise that this was probably said in an effort to appear worldly in an “I knew the dog before he came to school” sort of way, but it does a good job of illustrating how working with cool tech can sometimes desensitize one to the fact that it is, after all, cool.
I bet rocket scientists think rockets are kinda boring too, after a while.
Re: A look at an original iPhone prototype
#20Very dull content for anyone who has worked on anything related to mobile phone HW during the past 20 years. Every manufacturer has similar prototype boards and there is nothing special in this iPhone prototype.
Very dull comment for anyone who has been on an internet forum during the past 20 years. Every group has similar members who feel the need to make other people feel bad for enjoying something.