Earliest known photos of an Apple iPad prototype

Yoni Heisler, Network World:

So what did this mysterious 035 mockup actually look like? Well, I looked back at some older filings in the Samsung/Apple case and stumbled across the 035 mockup in question. And now with the added context from Ive's deposition, these photos may be the earliest iPad mockups you'll ever see.

Gates: Apple may have to make a Surface-like device | Technically Incorrect - CNET News

CNET, writing about Bill Gates' appearance on Charlie Rose:

"You don't have to make a compromise. You can have everything you like about a tablet and everything you like about a PC all in one device. And so that should change the way people look at things."

I think these three lines pretty much sum up Microsoft's goal: change how people look at things -- make them think the iPad is lacking. No keyboard. No stylus. No traditional computing metaphor.

Here Comes Nexus 7 Nightmare: The iPad mini - Bloomberg

Again, I suggest the name "iPad Junior."

Rumored $200–250 7-inch iPad “on track for October” – Marco.org

Marco Arment on the latest 7-inch iPad rumor:

If this 7” iPad is real, maybe it has a 1024x768 resolution, yielding a logically 512x384 area, in half of the 10” iPad’s screen area. Effectively, it’d be the iPad 3’s screen cut in half. (Then apps could keep a consistent scale for interface elements, which would make development a lot easier.)

That sounds a lot more likely if they want to hit a $249 price and make a profit.