The early prototype is also quite large—about 5″×7″ and roughly two inches thick. “Seems large now,” our source said, “but at the time it was really impressive seeing basically a version of OS X running on it. “From the looks of the logic board photos, Apple had a decent idea in 2005 of where the iPhone would end up, even if the final product became much more integrated.
It’s fascinating to see the iterations a company like Apple goes through. These prototypes are clearly far more functional than some of the designs seen in the Samsung trial and meant to pin down the software rather than the hardware.
This prototype also partly confirms Steve Jobs’ comments that Apple had a working prototype of the iPad before the iPhone, and it was only when he started to use it that he suggested Apple make a phone.
Iterate, inspect and adapt. Very few successful products are birthed in their final form.
via Exclusive: super-early iPhone prototype had 5″x7″ screen, serial port | Ars Technica.