In fact, Esslinger goes so far as to say in his recent book, Keep it Simple, that he was the one who taught Steve Jobs to put design first. First published late last year, the book recounts Esslinger’s famous collaboration with Jobs, and it includes amazing photos of some of the many, many prototypes to come out of it. They’re incredibly wide ranging, from familiar-looking computers to bizarre tablets to an early phone and even a watch, of sorts.
The Verge has a collection of photos showing old Apple prototypes by Frog, the design company founded by Hartmut Esslinger and responsible for the Snow White design language. The Macintosh/tablet hybrid with a keyboard would have been interesting.