Apple prepares to dust off Newton
Rant In the hope that folk are daft enough to buy it this time
THERE is a distinct feeling of déjà vu about the latest Apple-flavoured rumour concerning the release of a new PDA.
According to the Apple fanboy magazine MacDailyNews, the new 'Newton', will have a smaller Macbook screen - in glass with Iphone-like, but fuller-featured multi-touch. It will apparently run a full Mac OS X. We talk about it in detail here
Yet while Apple has been doing well with its Iphone and Iplod gadgets, the PDA is one area it has a long and troubled history in doing extremely badly.
When people talk about Apple's failures, the Newton - the PDA which did not fit into your pocket and cost roughly the same as the GDP of a small nation - usually appears top of the list.
The software that was supposed to translate your handwriting could barely read the paper.
The six years that Apple tried flog this turkey were only bought to an end when St Steve of Cappuccino returned to the company and stuck a bullet through the project's head.
The question remains as to why Apple would like to return, like a dog to its own vomit, to something it clearly had no expertise in selling?
Two important things have chanced since the days of the falling Apple. The first is that the Cuppuccino outfit has got a little more experience in making and marketing similar sorts of gadgets. The Iphone is more or less a PDA with a phone function.
And the second is that Apple is confident that it has its Iphone, Iplod fanboys so brainwashed that they will buy anything. So it may be dusting off a project that gobbled its way to the execution bloc in time for Christmas and then allowed itself to be stuffed.
Our guess is that it will look like an Iphone but have a few more PDA features. An Iphone for those who have no friends to call. Little more than a souped up Newton. µ
Comments
Damn
I was hoping for a Charlie rant!Hello!!!
Hello folks, the "new newton" has been around a while. It is call the i-phone.Idiots.
The original Apple Newton was simply ahead of its time. it was released, what, '92 or '93, when the available storage capacity, screen resolution, mobile CPU horsepower and handwriting recognition wasn't there yet.The new slab won't be called Newton and won't share its API but it's 2008 now and I wouldn't bet against Apple getting it right this time round.
It's got my attention
I would want one as long as it has a user replaceable battery. I would wait for at least a few months but a small email browser with good battery life would be cool. I have a Eee PC with Ubuntu on it but I am sure a Apple product like mentioned would do just what I want and do it in style and ease of use because of the best OS available, OS X.More that would be cool
If it turns out to be true and they release some type of touch tablet computer I am sure you could use one of their new aluminum wireless keyboards with it. I have one and beside having a small footprint the thing is way cool like all Apple's stuff. Wireless mouse support too. I sure hope it all come true.Anxiously Waiting
Glenn
Huh?
What a childish comment, dissing Apple because a non-existent product doesn't change the world!should be more than that
a phoneless IPhone, I mean. That one is already available as IPod Touch.Apple
You homeys who think that Apple makes "cool" stuff need to move out of your mommie's basements and get a real life. Real men don't have the time nor the interest in "cool" gadgets. If it helps me get done what I need to do, fine, it's a tool, like a hammer or a nuclear warhead. But to fawn and drool over it? That's just sickening. You homeys need serious psychological help.Ever used a Newton?
The Newton was an excellent PDA. It had features that are still unavailable in today's PDAs. And with Graffiti, its recognition was excellent. As for the iPhone, anyone who thinks it's a PDA is not a real PDA user. I currently use a Tungsten E; I have over a hundred items in task list, about a hundred memos, and hundreds of contacts.Innovative Newton Interface
The Newton went through several generations. Handwriting improved with each one, and by the last generation they had it right. But it was still too big, too costly, and far too ridiculed by media+public to make a comeback against the cheaper and smaller Palm Pilot.If you got past the original handwriting problems, the Newton's user interface was incredibly innovative and still way ahead of anything I've seen since on a touch pad or PDA.
The simple logic of writing "Meet fred for lunch Tuesday" on a scratch pad and it automatically matching "Fred" from your contact list, understanding that "lunch" was a noon appointment, and injecting it directly in your calendar for Tuesday was incredible. Lots of other great examples like that.
If Apple digs up this code from wherever it's buried and revives in on the iPhone, it will be a winner.
Huh?
Changes you didn't notice:- Apple Mkt Cap has increased 10 $150B or so
- 210 international retail shops
- OS X is done and excellent
- Graphic keypad replaces handwriting recognition
- Music, video, apps included on day 1
Nick, Wake up and smell the coffee.
iphone lite?
Isn't the iphone almost a pda anyway?Apple rant
Nick ranting against Apple. Who would have guessed? Pretty weak "joke" names for apple products. iPlod? Is that the best you can do? And no name for the iPhone at all?How about gayPhone? Or even fagPhone? As for the iPod Touch why not call it the iTouchUpChildren?
Have you really got nothing better to do?
A nice product, really...
I have to agree; the Newton was really well-executed and got unfortunately slammed by the press. The handwriting support wasn't too shabby, and the interface for organizer features has, extremely disappointingly, never been matched. The price point was always a problem, and the e-Mate a sorry cut-down version in an ugly case, but within a few years of its death they could've put one together for the cost of a cellphone in parts. (Contrast Psion and the Revo; basically the same hardware, different software, and unfortunately not nearly enough takers to keep them afloat. As someone who used a Psion for a while, I have to say that it really made the Newton's advantages for organization clear.)I assume what Apple is actually considering is an iBook-tablet to fill (or create) a new niche between the iPod/iPhone and the keyboarded PCs. Apple's largest market is among graphic artists, and trust me, they would kill for a tablet device. Apple hasn't wanted to lose support from Wacom, or endure a wave of "The New Newton" press, but Tablet PCs mean Windows-using artists have been much better served than Macheads -- and Cintiqs still cost more than entire Photoshop-capable Macs.
Unfortunately, I think this means any new product won't have any of the Newton magic. But if the hardware ever comes out, perhaps fans can fill the gap.