Images of the first ever Apple iPad prototype have surfaced  with reports dating the images as being before the original iPhone.

The images show a much thicker device, but one that clearly resembles the iconic shape of the Apple iPad. It's believed that this is the product that Steve Jobs was referring to in an interview at the All Things D conference 2010.

"I’ll tell you a secret. It began with the tablet. I had this idea about having a glass display, a multitouch display you could type on with your fingers. I asked our people about it. And six months later, they came back with this amazing display."

The renderings were made public after appearing in the ongoing court case between Apple and Sumsung concerning the many alleged patent violations by both companies.

The first iPad came out in 2010 which means that nearly 8 years before Apple already had a working prototype of the multi-touch device, it was then that the decision was apparently made to focus instead on using this prototype to create the first iPhone.

Source: NetworkWorld