Early iPhone design was inspired by Sony
If you're craving another dose of iNostalgia after setting eyes on one of Apple's chunky iPad prototypes then you're in luck, as court documents have thrown up some early incarnations of your favourite iDevices in their concept phases.
First up is the iPhone design picked up by Buzzfeed, which Apple designers infused with an iPod Nano-inspired design, with its rounded corners and brushed aluminium body - a far cry away from even the first-gen iPhone's design, let alone the svelte glass and aluminium chassis which encases the iPhone 4S.
The second iPhone mockup found by The Verge follows the Motorola Xoom school of design, with its angled and cut corners, though the screen and home button appear to have made it through the culling stages.
The thin iPhone design above loses the crazy angles and instead resembles an squashed iPhone 4, with good reason. Its N90 codename was also reportedly shared by what we now know to be the iPhone 4.
And the last iPhone protoype? Well, the Sony logo emblazoned on it is a pretty big indication of the Japanese tech giant's influence in product design at the time, and it's pretty safe to say that you're looking at the earliest spark of inspiration for the iPhone 4 or 4S that's currently nestled in your pocket.
The iPad prototype doesn't give away much – but it appears to be rocking an honest-to-goodness Kickstand. And a rather intrusive and unwieldy one at that, unlike the Microsoft Surface's effort.
What will the iPhone 5 bring to the design table? Check our iPhone 5 rumour roundup for all the speculation and join us in waiting patiently for its official launch, whenever that may be.
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