Apple VideoPad prototype to be auctioned for perhaps $10,000

A very rare prototype of the Apple VideoPad will be auctioned in November. The auction house, Bonhams, expects this never officially released personal digital assistant to fetch between 6900 and 10,000 euros.

This is the second prototype of the VideoPad, an openable PDA that has never seen the light of day. Three different prototypes were made between 1993 and 1995, but this second prototype is, to our knowledge, the only existing VideoPad . The top screen of the PDA contains a built-in camera that, according to Bonhams, is apparently intended ‘for video calls’.

The auction company reports that the VideoPad, along with the Newton Messagepad series of PDA systems, was personally canceled by Steve Jobs when he returned to Apple in 1997. This is because he believed that the technology was not yet advanced enough to guarantee a ‘positive user experience’.

The Apple VideoPad is part of Bonham’s History of Science and Technology auction and is set to begin November 3. On auction day, even more Apple-related products will be sold. Such as an Apple Emate 300, a prototype of the first generation of iPads and a letter written by Steve Jobs. The latter should yield around 210,000 euros, according to the auction house.