Top 10 Apple Products - That Apple Never Released

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Top 10 Apple Products - That Apple Never Released

Posted 12/03/2008 at 12:54:57pm | by Michael Simon

FireDrill

Back when FireWire was still in its infancy, Apple tried out a few different motherboards with varying degrees of success. One of these, aptly named FireDrill, utilized a pair of chips from little-known multimedia processor company TriMedia. Unfortunately for them, the chips ran way too hot for comfort, and Apple quickly abandoned the project for one fitted with cooler and speedier PowerPC processors. It might not work, but the blood-red motherboard is straight fire.

Knowledge Navigator

A prototype that exists only in video form, it’s doubtful that the technology behind Knowledge Navigator exists today, let alone in the late ’80s. Set against a classical music soundtrack, this brainchild of then-Apple CEO John Scully is nothing short of remarkable, a digital hub with a brain, human voice and snappy bow tie. Leave it alone and it’ll take messages, schedule meetings, organize files and brush up on the rate of deforestation in Africa. Engage it and it’ll respond to your questions (and ask the occasional follow-up), scour the Web faster, and more accurately, than Google, and ignore your mother’s phone calls. It’s ridiculous now; it was certifiably insane in 1987. Check out the demo video below.

pda
PDA

Apple is widely credited with creating the industry’s first portable digital assistant in the Newton MessagePad, and consistent rumors have called for a new PDA to emerge from the depths of Apple’s campus, sporting a multi-touch screen and running a modified version of OS X. Of course, iPhone comes pretty darn close, but we can’t help but remember the 2004 All Things Digital conference, when Steve Jobs uncharacteristically mentioned how proud he was of the Apple PDA his team had developed but never shipped. We’ve never seen it in the flesh--and there’s a distinct possibility that Steve was pulling our leg--but we want to believe there’s a product hidden at 1 Infinite Loop that’s a little iPhone, a little Newton, and a whole lot of wow.

VideoPad

At the Mac Expo in 1995, Apple again piqued the industry’s curiosity with a sort of next-generation Newton. Dubbed VideoPad and presumably developed alongside Apple’s VideoPhone app, the flip-style device merged a cell phone, PDA and videophone that somehow communicated with a giant base that had two screens of its own, along with a CD-ROM drive and a handset. We’re not really sure how (or if) it ever worked, but it’s likely the reason for iPhone’s complete lack of video capabilities. Clearly VideoPad scarred somebody at Apple for life.

spirit
Honorable mention
Macintosh Spirit

Before the Happy Mac graced our start-up screens, Steve Jobs commissioned Belgian artist Jean-Michel Folon to create a logo for the still-in-development Macintosh. Handsomely paid $30,000 in advance for his work, the resulting image of a flying Mac man holding a keyboard and mouse didn’t quite float Steve’s boat. The fickle CEO passed on Folon’s “Macintosh Spirit” and tapped Apple art directors Tom Hughes and John Casado for a more palatable logo, which we now know as the timeless Picasso logo.

Can't get enough prototypes? Click below to check out the concepts dreampt up by the Mac|Life staff.

COMMENTS: 18

TAGS: prototypes

COMMENTS

You're an a**hole. You write
Submitted by St on Wed, 2008-12-03 21:29

You're an a88hole. You write like you're composing a text book, and you mock those who like the PowerPad. Why do you think that's cool? because it's not... You may think you're cool, but, that's not true, you're audience dosent think you're cool, but they think PowerPad is cool, so instead of begrudging, let's place ourselves next to the tragic. Might as well let people think you're with them instead of being a certain braggart not far past your first sentence. I mean s*** Know what im saying? Email me.
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What?
Submitted by colinc on Wed, 2008-12-03 21:54

Seriously, what are you going on about? I thought this was great! And no, no one know's what you're saying, it didn't make much sense.

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Huh?
Submitted by Michael Simon on Wed, 2008-12-03 22:07

I'd love to respond, but I don't know what you're talking about. PowerPad? You mean the Nintendo thing?
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Uh.... what?
Submitted by Brendan Bartholomew on Tue, 2008-12-09 19:58

"You're" is an abbreviation of "you are," so you just told somebody (The author of this piece? The author of whatever Nintendo-related article on some gaming site you thought you were commenting on?) "...that's not true, you are audience dosent [SIC] think you are cool."Then you said things like, "...so instead of begrudging, let's place ourselves next to the tragic."Then there's this accusation that the object of your scorn is a "certain braggart?"Did any of this make sense in your native tongue? Yes? You think it did? Well I hate to tell you this, but Google Language Tools has let you down, buddy.Know what I'm saying? Email me.

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Newtons are real!
Submitted by NewMediaRoc on Thu, 2008-12-04 06:42

I can attest that the Newton is real. My step-father had one years ago when he worked for Rochester Institute of Technology. Apple used to send him lots of products to try out and keep. I'm not sure, but I think he may still have it.

The Newton was almost as big as a small lap top, it was slow as dirt, and had very, very limited capability. But for its time, it was ground-breaking. I remember being a kid thinking how cool it was to have a computer I could carry around in my hand... it even had a couple of games!

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Yes, Newtons are very real.
Submitted by Michael Simon on Thu, 2008-12-04 09:05

Yes, Newtons are very real. But Steve said Apple had developed a post-Newton PDA that was never released.
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We've got one.
Submitted by Susie Ochs on Thu, 2008-12-04 10:04

The Mac|Life staff has a Newton (and now, an eMate!) and we frequently spend entire minutes joyfully scribbling stuff like "Beat Up Martin" with the stylus and giggling at the handwriting recognition results. Good times!
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Reply to ST
Submitted by fortwaldron on Mon, 2009-01-05 12:26

Man, you must have written this senseless and juvenile piece of meandering blather on a Windows machine, right?
Oh, I'm sorry - Let me do that again with smaller words.
You are a Nixon!

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Re: the afore mentioned stream of unconsciousness (ST)
Submitted by earl_mc on Thu, 2009-01-08 18:49

What? I think, there-for iMac

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Newtons
Submitted by MacSnapOn on Sun, 2009-01-11 19:18

I had a Newton 130 at one time. I loved it, it went everywhere with me and I used it for a year before it broke down. Of course it was over 6 years old and had been well used before I got it. It beat any Palm device though, and the writing recognition beat Palm One out by a landslide.

The eMate was a great little portable computer that combined the best about the Newton and a laptop computer. Great for the kids to use, and they did up until 2002 when the schools shipped them out to the recycling facilities and started going PC and PalmOne.

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Move Files????
Submitted by jbrugue on Fri, 2009-01-30 04:08

Has anyone come up with a solution of moving files within your hard disk. I am new to this system and find this limitation very annoying.

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Apple products not released...
Submitted by Cell Phones on Mon, 2009-04-27 11:48

These seem to be some real cool gadgets. I am sure the new tech savvy generation would have loved these wonderful devices. :-)

Cell Phones

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great to see some history
Submitted by media sorcerer on Thu, 2009-05-21 20:57

thanx for this article it is fascinating to see the evolution of technology,

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nice article
Submitted by CameronA on Sun, 2009-05-31 07:06

That’s really nice article and search work I see on your site. i must come back again to read more just after my as 70-270 for Installing, Configuring, and Administering Microsoft Windows XP Professional about which I am confident to pass in first attempt because I have already pass 70-620 which is for Microsoft Windows Vista, Configuring as well as your page concern I must say that you have done a great job I must return on your page to read you more.

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I was sort of waiting for
Submitted by MMORPG on Sat, 2009-07-04 01:02

I was sort of waiting for the interactive television, but oh well =[
---
I'm a fan of Free MMORPGs and Game Music. Politically I'm a Libertarian and my current laptop is a Mac Book Pro [Latest Gen] and I absol

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actually starfish had a
Submitted by lora.a on Fri, 2009-10-09 17:26

actually starfish had a great future but somehow got buried...
fly fishing | dry skin | adult acne

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omega watches
Submitted by benet (not verified) on Tue, 2009-11-10 18:36

Every little chat Salon 1000 ah!replica watchYou are my best's buddy
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