4 ms·

Is this legitimate? All references to the phone lead back to the same website. I'm surprised that the technology existed to do touch-based signatures. That wou

Is this legitimate? All references to the phone lead back to the same website. I'm surprised that the technology existed to do touch-based signatures. That would have required precise touch input and a decent amount of computing power in a tiny form factor. The screen is surprisingly large, slim and doesn't have the LCD look most laptops had at the time. It also is glossy, which really only became popular when Apple had its resurgence.

tonylemesmer 10y ago
Its most likely a visual prototype made using unrepresentative materials and processes, intended as a tool to aid design discussions and provoke innovation.
- TheOtherHobbes 10y ago
  I can't imagine this could have been built, never mind productised, using 1984 technology. There was absolutely no way to get a processor + memory system + display into a box that small. In 1984 everyone was using floppy disks for storage, and hard drives cost thousands of dollars. Even battery-backed RAM would have taken up an unexpectedly large volume. Everyone takes touch panels for granted today, but in 1984 the only place you could find a high contrast touchless LCD panel was in research labs, or possibly available at ludicrous cost as an advance product demonstrator. Touch - even pen touch - technology was certainly around, but not at this level of sophistication for affordable consumer applications.
  - harywilke 10y ago
    Apple started developing the Newton in '87 so it's not that surprising to see touch screens in a prototype from around that time.
    - corprew 10y ago
      it would probably also make sense that they made something like this while they were trying to figure out what sort of newton-like object they should make
  - dogma1138 10y ago
    There were touch screens even before 1984. There touch pad accessories including transparent ones to put over the screen for drawing applications for many popular 80s computers including the Atari. These were good enough for CAD and drawing applications. Touch POS were also available in the late 80s including virtual signature terminals. The Casio PB-1000 was a micro computer with a touch screen and it was released in 87. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casio_PB-1000 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casio_PB-1000 It was relatively cheap and mass produced Apple could've released something very close to their prototype pre 1990 for sure.
  - joezydeco 10y ago
    That's because this was a product concept exercise. It's an exercise in thinking about functionality, design, and form and less about the underlying technology. There was a period during the Scully era where Apple did a number of these concepts, most famously the "Knowledge Navigator" video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb4AzF6wEoc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb4AzF6wEoc This was circa 1987, but was looking ahead to 2000 and beyond with things like always-on background networking and video conferencing. 30 years later we're finally getting to some of the stretch concepts shown in the video, such as conversational interfaces like Siri. Post-Scully and back into the Jobs II era, this stuff went away. And it's probably a good thing they did. Here's why: "Commercial entities have no advantage in releasing concept products the likes of which they hope to subsequently sell. If the conceptual piece truthfully captures their “best” it can only tell their competitors how advanced they are and where they fall short. If it camouflages their true capabilities in an effort to mislead their competitors, then what value is it to others? In fact, the intention to mislead competitors is really the only effective reason for a commercial entity to publicly release concept products" https://counternotions.com/2008/08/12/concept-products/ https://counternotions.com/2008/08/12/concept-products/
  - tonylemesmer 10y ago
    By visual prototype I mean: not working. The screen graphics on that prototype are likely paper with printed pixels and a sheet of polycarbonate stuck over the top. All very simple methods to make something that looks right, but certainly doesn't do anything useful. Its a very common process[0] in industrial design. The housing mouldings are made from polyurethane cast in silicone moulds (vacuum casting). I am a product designer (physical products) [0] http://www.amalgam-models.co.uk/services/prototyping/ http://www.amalgam-models.co.uk/services/prototyping/
Merad 10y ago
The second sentence of the article states that it's just a mock-up, then the rest of the article proceeds as if the author believes it was a real, working device.
joezydeco 10y ago
Yes. A lot of these prototypes were documented in the 1997 book "AppleDesign: The Work of the Apple Industrial Design Group" by Kunkel and English (now out of print). https://www.amazon.com/Appledesign-Apple-Industrial-Design-Group/dp/1888001259 https://www.amazon.com/Appledesign-Apple-Industrial-Design-G... Some images from the book can be found here: http://www.99mac.se/forum/t/301501-samlarbok-i-nyskick-apple-design-the-work-of-the-apple-industrial-design-group http://www.99mac.se/forum/t/301501-samlarbok-i-nyskick-apple... Esslinger also wrote his own book called "Keep It Simple: The Early Design Years of Apple". https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/3897904071 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/3897904071
- josh64 10y ago
  Wow that newton emate picture really brings back memories. I love the design of that thing!

tonylemesmer 10y ago

Its most likely a visual prototype made using unrepresentative materials and processes, intended as a tool to aid design discussions and provoke innovation.

TheOtherHobbes 10y ago
I can't imagine this could have been built, never mind productised, using 1984 technology. There was absolutely no way to get a processor + memory system + display into a box that small. In 1984 everyone was using floppy disks for storage, and hard drives cost thousands of dollars. Even battery-backed RAM would have taken up an unexpectedly large volume. Everyone takes touch panels for granted today, but in 1984 the only place you could find a high contrast touchless LCD panel was in research labs, or possibly available at ludicrous cost as an advance product demonstrator. Touch - even pen touch - technology was certainly around, but not at this level of sophistication for affordable consumer applications.
- harywilke 10y ago
  Apple started developing the Newton in '87 so it's not that surprising to see touch screens in a prototype from around that time.
  - corprew 10y ago
    it would probably also make sense that they made something like this while they were trying to figure out what sort of newton-like object they should make
- dogma1138 10y ago
  There were touch screens even before 1984. There touch pad accessories including transparent ones to put over the screen for drawing applications for many popular 80s computers including the Atari. These were good enough for CAD and drawing applications. Touch POS were also available in the late 80s including virtual signature terminals. The Casio PB-1000 was a micro computer with a touch screen and it was released in 87. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casio_PB-1000 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casio_PB-1000 It was relatively cheap and mass produced Apple could've released something very close to their prototype pre 1990 for sure.
- joezydeco 10y ago
  That's because this was a product concept exercise. It's an exercise in thinking about functionality, design, and form and less about the underlying technology. There was a period during the Scully era where Apple did a number of these concepts, most famously the "Knowledge Navigator" video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb4AzF6wEoc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb4AzF6wEoc This was circa 1987, but was looking ahead to 2000 and beyond with things like always-on background networking and video conferencing. 30 years later we're finally getting to some of the stretch concepts shown in the video, such as conversational interfaces like Siri. Post-Scully and back into the Jobs II era, this stuff went away. And it's probably a good thing they did. Here's why: "Commercial entities have no advantage in releasing concept products the likes of which they hope to subsequently sell. If the conceptual piece truthfully captures their “best” it can only tell their competitors how advanced they are and where they fall short. If it camouflages their true capabilities in an effort to mislead their competitors, then what value is it to others? In fact, the intention to mislead competitors is really the only effective reason for a commercial entity to publicly release concept products" https://counternotions.com/2008/08/12/concept-products/ https://counternotions.com/2008/08/12/concept-products/
- tonylemesmer 10y ago
  By visual prototype I mean: not working. The screen graphics on that prototype are likely paper with printed pixels and a sheet of polycarbonate stuck over the top. All very simple methods to make something that looks right, but certainly doesn't do anything useful. Its a very common process[0] in industrial design. The housing mouldings are made from polyurethane cast in silicone moulds (vacuum casting). I am a product designer (physical products) [0] http://www.amalgam-models.co.uk/services/prototyping/ http://www.amalgam-models.co.uk/services/prototyping/

Merad 10y ago

The second sentence of the article states that it's just a mock-up, then the rest of the article proceeds as if the author believes it was a real, working device.

joezydeco 10y ago

Yes. A lot of these prototypes were documented in the 1997 book "AppleDesign: The Work of the Apple Industrial Design Group" by Kunkel and English (now out of print). https://www.amazon.com/Appledesign-Apple-Industrial-Design-Group/dp/1888001259 https://www.amazon.com/Appledesign-Apple-Industrial-Design-G... Some images from the book can be found here: http://www.99mac.se/forum/t/301501-samlarbok-i-nyskick-apple-design-the-work-of-the-apple-industrial-design-group http://www.99mac.se/forum/t/301501-samlarbok-i-nyskick-apple... Esslinger also wrote his own book called "Keep It Simple: The Early Design Years of Apple". https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/3897904071 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/3897904071

josh64 10y ago
Wow that newton emate picture really brings back memories. I love the design of that thing!