More Early iPhone and iPad Prototype Designs Surfaced
AllThingsD has now put together a gallery of dozens of images of the early iPhone and iPad prototype designs from the court documents revealed during the ongoing lawsuit between Apple and Samsung.
Among the many filings on Saturday was a document with dozens of sketches and prototypes for both the iPhone and iPad. Some had already been included in earlier filings, but Saturday’s collection was particularly extensive.
The filing features a host of sketches, images from computer-aided design programs, and photographs of actual models that Apple fabricated as part of its design process.
Among the concepts that had previously surfaced was a series of the early Sony-inspired designs used by Samsung as evidence that Apple had copied the iPhone design from earlier innovators.
"Purple" dates back to August 2005 — months before the Jony prototype was originally designed. According to the documents, Shin Nishibori's Sony-style touches were simply "an 'enjoyable' side project," embellishments on a concept Apple had already designed. The documents contend that Purple remained free of the alleged Sony inspirations, ultimately giving birth to the iPhone in 2006 (and looking decidedly like the iPhone 4).