Here Are Some Better Photos of the Original, and Gigantic, iPad

A couple of days ago, we wrote about how Apple had an iPad prototype as far back as the early 2000s, and today we get to show you some better, color photos of it.

Apple fanboys can consider themselves particularly lucky this time. It just so happens that someone who owns an iPad 2 somehow got their hands on the original prototype as well.

The photo above, and the ones in the gallery below, are comparison shots of the iPad 2 and the prototype, side by side (Buzzfeed provided them).

You'll notice immediately just how much bigger the latter is. The diagonal is of 12 inches and the profile is quite a bit thicker than that of the new model as well (almost one inch).

The only other noteworthy element is what appears to be a space for airflow in the area around the front glass panel, suggesting the tablet had active cooling (those many little holes). A fan would definitely justify the thickness.

Alas, we haven't seen the tablet actually do anything. We wonder if these prototypes even work really, and what OS they have, if any. If anyone manages to turn one on, though, we'll let you know.