You’d be naive to think Apple churns out hit products without doing homework first. Before gadgets hit the market, companies invest heavily in research and development, which often results in early prototypes that rarely see the light of day. A good example is a prototype of an Apple television box (above) from 1995, which recently sold on eBay for $46.
The Apple Interactive Television Box (ITV for short) was made 10 years before the release of the Apple TV. It kind of looks like a retro TiVo. The box features chips made by Motorola, Texas Instruments and VLSI Technology.
It was equipped with a bunch of old-school ports that you’ve probably forgotten about today: stereo audio RCA jacks, a Mac serial port, S-Video, RF in, RF out, RJ-45 Ethernet, ADB port, HDI-30 SCSI port and dual SCART connectors. The OS was a subset of the Mac OS with QuickDraw and QuickTime software, according to the Apple Museum.
Apple tested the ITV prototypes only internally in 1993, but in 1994 the company formed a partnership with British Telecom to launch a consumer trial with 2,500 households participating. The project was canceled in late 1995 when it was clear that ITV would not become commercially successful.
Home entertainment has been a tough market to crack. Apple still refers to its Apple TV, which was released in 2005, as a “hobby” due to its moderate success. And it’s obvious why: There are just so many different ways people watch video content, whether it’s through digital cable, On-Demand, iTunes, DVDs and so on.
Another great example of a classic prototype was Bashful, an early Apple tablet made with the help of Frog Design back in 1983.
See Also:
- Hideous iPhone Prototypes on Ebay
- MacBook Air Prototype Sold on Ebay
- New Phone Prototype Tries To ‘Con’ its Way Into Your Portable …
Photo: eBay
Full story at http://feeds.wired.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/Td9U1TTm4ag/
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