A "lost" prototype Apple VideoPad 2 will go up for auction in November as part of Bonhams' History of Science and Technology sale in Los Angeles . The VideoPad will be auctioned alongside other Apple prototypes and memorabilia that belonged to Steve Jobs and is estimated to sell for between $8,000 and $12,000.
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Developed between 1993 and 1995 alongside the VideoPad 1 and 3 (the only two examples shown to the public), this sole surviving prototype PDA was Apple's next effort after the Newton Message Pad. Unlike the Newton Message Pad, the flip-up screen apparently included a built-in camera for video conferencing.
Despite being designed to be ahead of its time, it was canceled along with the Newton OS after Jobs returned to the company in 1997. According to Bonhams, this was after Jobs realized that the technology was not yet at the level required to provide a good user experience.
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The device was created from concept sketches designed by former CEO John Sculley. The device never made it to the general public, but it was a very early vision for a tablet, and if you think about it, there's a fine line separating it from successful devices like the iPhone and iPad.
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Other Apple devices set to go up for auction include the original Apple II Personal Computer and prototypes such as the Apple Macintosh, the Apple EMate 300 and the first-generation iPad, as well as a handwritten letter from Jobs himself to his childhood friend, estimated at $200,000 to $300,000.
