And We Call It … iLandline

Turns out the iPhone that Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled back in January of 2007 wasn’t the company’s first shot at creating a phone. Apple had tried its hand at designing a smartphone nearly 25 years earlier — a very different smartphone from the ones we’re familiar with today.


Designed by Frog Design founder Hartmut Esslinger this device, too, featured a touchscreen and was reportedly conceptualized with some help from AT&T. But as you can see from the photo above, it was anything but portable. It was ultimately consigned to Stanford’s Island of Lost Apple Prototypes.

(Image courtesy of Jay Mug)