Seen at Panic, a rather strange prototype of the first iPod.
This is a first-generation iPod housed in a massive case, featuring some options like a JTAG connector for debugging. What’s peculiar is that it doesn’t date back to the early stages of development but rather the final stages (around two months before the announcement in September 2001). It has the scroll wheel, buttons, screen, and battery, all packed into a huge box. And according to dixit Tony Fadell (the father of the iPod), it’s a P68/Dulcimer prototype. The format was designed to test functions without resembling the final product (mission accomplished).
The prototype
Empty inside
Connectors
Side by side with the original
