Newton II - Does The Rumor Have Legs This Time? 242
Ian Lamont writes "Mike Elgan at ComputerWorld has an interesting analysis of the small computing market, and predicts that the market is primed to take off. He admits that small computers have been tried before and failed ('Every single UMPC device that has been shipped or announced suffers from lousy usability, high prices, poor performance, ill-conceived user interfaces, or any combination of the above') but he points to several recent products — and a rumor — that he says changes the playing field and paves the way for the first-ever successful small computer, from Apple. The products are the iPhone and the iPod touch. The rumor: Apple Insider has sources who claim that Apple is actually working on a 'modern day Newton' to be released in the first half of 2008. The device will supposedly have a version of Mac OS X Leopard and a touch interface, according to Apple Insider. A lot of people just aren't buying it. They point to the fact that the first Newton eventually flopped. A few note that similar Newton II rumors have been trotted out in years past, as well as a high-profile hoax. Nothing ever came of them." Would you buy if the Newton came back?
It better fix the Beat up Martin = eat up martha.. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:It better fix the Beat up Martin = eat up marth (Score:2)
Re:It better fix the Beat up Martin = eat up marth (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Note that the last Newtons had ARM chips that were faster than some modern PDAs, so there isn't a huge amount you'd want to improve with the design.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
In my opinion, the Newton deserved to die. At one point my family had one and it was the clunkiest most anemic device we'd ever used.
A year later my father got a Palm Professional - It kicked the Newton's ass handily, and was a fraction of the price of the model of Newton we had (I forget which one.)
As to Newton II - As I see it, iPhone = Newton II.
Would I? Well, it depends... (Score:2, Insightful)
It depends on how Apple begins to treat the iPhone hacks going around. If they stop the cat and mouse game to please the AT&T gods with disabling and "bricking" the altered iPhones, then maybe I would consider it. Hell, I was considering an iPhone until this whole bricking deal came to be.
I'm sorry but Steve Jobs wouldn't be where he was today if it weren't for a rabid fan base and he's quickly killing off the fan base by linking up with the douchebags of the worl [att.com]
Re:Would I? Well, it depends... (Score:4, Insightful)
I agree that the bricking of iPhones was a piss poor move. Though I suppose if they did release a Newton II that it would likely do everything that people wanted to hack their iPhones to do but lack the cell phone capability.
After all the technology for a Newton II and iPhone are not that unrelated.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Secondly- stopping a workaround is not the same as purposefully destroying hardware that someone else has bought and paid for. If an individual did that instead of a company, they'd be arrested for destruction of private property.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Would I? Well, it depends... (Score:5, Insightful)
The only reason the iPhone and iPod touch aren't the next generation Newton is that they aren't sold, supported, or configured as platforms for running third party software. If a "Next Generation Newton" was locked down, it wouldn't be a "Newton", it would be an iPod.
The whole thing boils down to money. Apple tried selling PDAs, and they didn't make a ton of money. By making the iPhone not a PDA, they not only get a nice chunk of rental revenue from AT&T, they avoid playing a game that they tried before and lost.
However, timing is important in business. Companies are getting out of the PDA business, which means it is time for a contrarian business to consider getting in. The big question with Apple is, what are they going to do to get people to buy more of their stuff? After a few more generations of iPhone and iPod, it's bound to become a harder sell. So a lateral move into a different product category is plausible, although it isn't inevitable they'll go back into the PDA business.
Maybe something that look a lot like the PDA business though. If I was smart enough to know what that might be, I'd be rich.
Re:Would I? Well, it depends... (Score:4, Interesting)
Jobs is famous for not allowing a product to see the light of day until it meets his standards. PDAs with styluses really do suck, but everybody seems to love the idea of a multitouch PDA.
I don't think it's going to be the equivalent of a tablet PC though. No keyboard is a big drawback there. In the future, when multitouch matures a bit, maybe Apple will consider a tablet with an onscreen keyboard though.
Re:Would I? Well, it depends... (Score:4, Interesting)
Sounds cool to me but I would rather see a Linux implementation if they could get all the nice gesture stuff working smoothly as Apple does. It is marketing which killed of the PDA market more than the phone market. I don't see even halt the number of smartphone users around as I used to see using PDA's(Palm, Handspring, Sony, and even iPaqs). When the marketing stopped and it didn't seem cool anymore, people slowly left the devices in the desk and doing that for just one month can kill the battery for good. Non replaceable batteries also fixed the life expectancy and probably lead to many EOL scenarios.
Ive me a fully open iPhonePDA and a keychain telco wireless phone module with Bluetooth support and it'll be cool once again to have a PDA. IMO.
LoB
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Would I? Well, it depends... (Score:4, Interesting)
I want an affordable (>$500 2007 dollars), multi-purpose (music / web / email / ebook / addresses), computing device, that isn't tied to being a cell phone.
Consumers don't want Windows Mobile, and they don't want Palm OS Hacket, but they do want PDAs. Otherwise, hacking the iPhone and the iPod wouldn't even be an issue.
Re: (Score:2)
Like a computer?
Re:Would I? Well, it depends... (Score:4, Interesting)
I almost bought an iPod Touch. I didn't care if it played music or not; that's sort of an "icing on the cake" thing. The movie thing is nice, too, but not huge. But it looked to be a UMPC that I could like. That was until the calendar disabling. Then you couldn't use it as a disk. Oh, and the screen is really too small. I've said (here and several other places) many times before that what I want is something the size of a Steno pad (in all three dimensions) that has a minimum of buttons and no hardware keyboard. Yeah, I want a "PADD" from Star Trek: TNG. I think most business people would use one for their primary computer, leaving their "desktop" machine to gather dust.
Re: (Score:2)
Give us a PADD and let us worry about the UI and applications and let the Telco's worry about making the network reliable. The iPhone hardware would make a great v1 PADD with wider models later on.
LoB
Screen is not too small, device size just right (Score:3, Interesting)
I also disagree the Touch (or iPhone) screen size is too small. I watch it while jogging (on a treadmill) and it's perfectly easy to view. Being able to hold it steady and/or closer (as on a plane) would only make it better. And on a plane specifically I would not want a larger screen because they are too distracting
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
I *am* also a business person. And I am saying t
Size (Score:2)
So ya, in a way size does matter
Agreed... all it would take is an iPod Touch SDK.. (Score:2)
All it needs is to be open enough that people can develop programs for it. It doesn't need to be too complex, look at a lot of the cool apps for the Palm Pilot... and synchronize a datebook, notes, and contacts.
Sadly, I'm still stuck with my old black and white (hah, black and green) Handspring Visor Deluxe since it just works and it refuses to die.
They have to be douche bags first.. (Score:2)
The hot feature of today started out as the 'bricking' of yesterday.
Themes in OSX? Impossible - then... Not so much.
Third party apps on iPhone? Impossible - then... Not so much.
Non-Apple Widgets on an Apple device? Impossible - until the rabid fan base who
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
Because I use a modern mobile device and do a lot of mo-photoblogging and enjoy having access to the web/AIM wherever I am. I don't care what YOU need, it's what I want.
Newton is already back, it's called the iPhone (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Newton is already back, it's called the iPhone (Score:4, Informative)
All things (and many others) you cannot do with the iPhone. I fail to see how the iPhone can be the new Newton.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
After the switch, however, the emphasis WASN'T on clock speed, but how fast that processor did the same tasks, and in that Moto/IBM just couldn't keep up with Intel.
Larger Form Factor would *ROCK* ! (Score:5, Interesting)
There are situations where you wouldn't want your phone *and* a planner, but there are plenty of situations at work where you would find both very useful, but it would be cumbersome to drag a full-blown laptop along. In a larger form factor, the apps already on the iPhone would really rock. The iPhone would still be vital because of its form factor. You could still enter contact data and look at your agenda in a pinch. But for heavy-duty work, the additional screen real estate would be a big win.
iPhone - phone = Touch, iPhone + PDA = Newton (Score:2, Insightful)
1. The hardware, OS, and interface are pretty mature (most current PDAs are lacking in one of those dept's)
2. It would explain why Apple is not allowing 3rd party apps for the iPhone (it would be a "Newton II" exclusive) and why they have painstakingly removed most PDA "features" from the Touch.
3. Being based on OS X, it would be trivial developing new applications for the "Newton II".
Re: (Score:2)
No thanks, I'll pass.
It never went away - just into drag.. (Score:2)
It's primal, to be sure, but it's instinctive for a mammalian male (Alpha) to slaughter the offspring of a lower ranking animal when returning to or joining a pack.
It's still there in business, it just plays out differently.. This is the deal:
The Newton had to die for the iPod to be born, but the original utility is too timeless to go away forever.
I always said that if my Newton we
Re: (Score:2)
The Newton flopped because... (Score:5, Insightful)
2) Synchronizing data was a painful process involving lots of cable manipulation, app-launching, etc. (the Palm had a dock: very easy)
3) Too expensive (by about $500)
4) Too large (Palm got it right)
5) NewtonScript was nice, but too weird. A C++ dev kit would have helped a lot (but was politically impractical in the Newton group)
6) Apple management wanted royalties on applications (which was just absolute bugf*ck insanity)
[Yeah, I worked on it.]
Re: (Score:2)
The Newton was just starting to become a decent device when it was Steved.
Re: (Score:2)
Partially because the hardware and system software divisions at Apple too busy getting PowerPC of the ground to make sure IR was built into every Macintosh at the time.
Newton had IR; the Mac didn't. Enter a plethora of cables.
Re: (Score:2)
iPhone? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:iPhone? (Score:5, Insightful)
The iPhone has third party apps (Score:3, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
"LA LA LA THERE ARE APPZ"
Re:The iPhone has third party apps (Score:4, Insightful)
I hate to tell you, but the average customer, even Apple's average customer, isn't going to deal with hacking their PDA just so they can install solitaire on it.
But that's the thing (Score:2)
Very true. Isn't the Newton quite dead? That's not a very good role model for an argument.
I hate to tell you, but the average customer, even Apple's average customer, isn't going to deal with hacking their PDA just so they can install solitaire on it.
Now you've hit upon why the current solution is not as much of a problem as people make it out to be - the average users is fine with the iPh
Control Hardware+Software = User Experience! (Score:4, Insightful)
I've owned multiple Palm devices, and I now own the iPhone. Palms were nice for keeping info, but ultimately not worth the trouble of lugging and extra device around. If some sort of Apple data tablet succeeds, then it will have to have functions not covered by the iPhone. You will be able to do the iPhone functions with more screen real estate and comfort, but there will be additional functions.
Something that acted like a 21st century Newton and also acted as a graphics tablet would rock. Such a device would also be a kick-ass eBook reader. Doctors would love the thing. (My ex, when she was in med school, had a Sony made PalmOS device pretty much to just to carry around pharmacological reference material. Practically everyone in med school had a PDA for that purpose.)
The tech in the iPhone has a lot of potential if you put it in something the size of a day planner.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Well I feel like it's stupid to be speculating about a "new Newton". Is it going to look like the old models? Is it going to work like the old Newton? Will it have handwriting recognition? Will it be called the Newton?
Yes, I think the iPhone is Apple's new PDA, and Newton is Apple's old PDA. I bet Apple is working on some new laptop models that are thinner and lighter. Perhaps, in addition to that, there will be a very small tablet-style Mac with a touch screen. It wouldn't surprise me if Apple want
Newton II Purchase? (Score:2, Interesting)
I would indeed buy it. I still use a MessagePad 2100 that's far more reliable and longer-lived that the iPaq I purchased to replace it - even if, yes, the iPaq had more capabilities.
I'd love to have the best of both worlds - reliability, great handwriting recognitiion (yes the last Newtons had that), with a color screen, WiFi, and hackability.
I don't believe the rumors, though.
tag: rumorsrumorsrumors (Score:4, Funny)
Perhaps this explains the lack of an SDK... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
A better change today than before (Score:5, Insightful)
1) Much greater technology penetration of main stream markets. (Not just for nerds anymore. Or perhaps "its hip to be square.")
2) CPU speeds are fast enough today to allow for a more advanced GUI in a portable device.
Newton + Multi-Touch = WIN (Score:2)
My guess is eMate V2.0 (Score:2)
I believe that there is more talk of a sub notebook than a newton.
But what they hay. Put out a story that references an updated Newton, and you are guaranteed to get lots of eyeballs - truth be damned.
No Need for one (Score:2)
I could pay the extra bucks for a Treo or iPhone to combine Palm functions w/ a phone, but I'm cheap.
For those who need it, i would be a good option. I actually liked a friends Newton many years ago, but again, never had need for one.
I still use my messagepad 2100. (Score:5, Interesting)
Though I am tempted on trying to compile the Einstein emulator on my iPhone, and using one of the two styluses designed for the iPhone that are being produced. But its not just the fantastic handwriting recognition that brings me back to it every year; its the large screen. The Newton was never meant to be a PDA, as it was made before that term was even cobbled together. It was originally developed to try and supplant the current buisness laptop. Longer battery life, more portable, and you can write, fax, etc with it. If you realize this, and that it was not a device built for comically big pockets, then it hit the mark perfectly.
How can you tell it hit the mark? Alright, users of Palm 3's, rase your hand. (*glances around*)
Psion 7 out there? (*glances around, sees a couple hiding in the closet*).
It hit the mark because we still talk about it. We still crave for it to come back. It might of even been around today if the spin-off company making them was not bought back by Apple shortly before Jobs got back, which he axed with childlike glee becuase it did not fit into his picture of a "user experience" device.
Re: I still use my messagepad 2100. (Score:2)
Nope, but... [fx: reaches into pocket] ...this 'ere 5mx is always with me, and gets used for, well, just about everything. (I've extolled its virtues enough times already, so I'll leave it at that for now.)
Re: (Score:2)
My father's first PDA was a Newton, it lasted a year before being supplanted by a Palm Professional. The Palm Pro blew the Newton away in terms of responsiveness, and Graffiti only took 30 minutes to learn and unlike Newton's handwriting recognition, actually WORKED.
Sadly, Palm got lazy and started coasting. After a progression of Palm Pro (hand-me-down when dad got a Palm III), Palm III (hand-me-down aft
Re: (Score:2)
Actually, the term "PDA" was coined by Sculley to describe the Newton. Sculley was fond of personifying technology ("Personal Digital Assistant", "Knowledge Navigator", etc.)
Newton? (Score:2, Interesting)
Why?
Oh - I don't know - apart from the fact that that project was the darling of the very man WHO HELPED OUSTER JOBS IN 1985. But as we all know - Steve Jobs wouldn't dare knee-jerk product decision based on grudges or personal feelings. Naw. Never. Pay it no mind.
Newton's back - ayep...
Nah (Score:2)
Next up: (Score:4, Funny)
Wow, that guy couldn't be more out of touch (Score:4, Insightful)
It isn't. UMPCs suffer because they're way too much computer for a portable device, and cost way too much. Let's face it, most people don't need desktop power shrunk to a 7 inch screen; we could use it, but only if it didn't cost more. The problem is that UMPCs are cool, but they cost considerably more than the cheapest laptop.
He also mentions Nokia's upcoming tablet, then dismisses it out-of-hand by pointing to the company's dispersion. Hold on. That's about the only reason that doesn't make sense. This product will be Nokia's third generation entry into the field, after the n770 and the n800. You can argue that "Nokia hasn't gotten it right yet, and they're not this time"; you can claim that "They won't be able to get the retail channels for their 'non-cellphone cellophone'"; you can claim that they still haven't put a basic software suite together -- all those would be questionable, but valid responses. But "Nokia has too many pots in the fire?" Uh, they have _one_ pot in the fire, and it happens to use a lot of the same parts as their cellphone mobile devices (reducing their cost of entry into the market).
Finally, he says the "Newton II" will be a winner if it's under $1000. Dude, we're talking about mobile devices here. Gadget freaks, especially those who get their toys for free, love all the cool stuff that comes with the high price tag. What Apple and Nokia are showing is that you don't need a $1000 device to give fundamental internet access.
Do the math this way: take a $400 internet tablet, and a $600 desktop computer. What are the limitations going to be using these two on a daily basis vs. what a $1000 table can do? Now remember that most of your target market already has a computer, and one better than $600. The real killer in this field is going to be cheap and with a good interface, not $999 and the apple brand. That way lies the Newton I
Yeah, nothing ever came out of it (Score:3, Insightful)
In a heartbeat! (Score:3, Interesting)
Here is what I want:
No bigger than the iPhone
Bluetooth
HWR
SD Slot
WiFi
Java
Microphone
32GB Flash
8 Hr Battery
Here you go (Score:2)
http://www.palm.com/us/products/handhelds/tx/tx_specs.html [palm.com]
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
You don't seem to have done your homework on the Touch - some of these features the Touch has, others, you're quite likely never to see adopted.
- The Touch is smaller than the iPhone in thickness, the same height, and very, very slightly wider than the iPhone. I've compared the two - they're the same form factor, besides the thinness of the Touch.
- I doubt that you'll ever see an iPod with an SD Slot. Why? Apple prides itself on vertic
Re: (Score:2)
That is also why if Stevie boy wants to sell me a true PDA for $300-500 he needs to have the features I listed to have me as a customer. I know what the size of a Touch and iPhone is, and I know that the iPhone does not have WiFi and the Touch does. I know the iPhone has bluetooth and the touch doesn't. I want both, is that ok with you? The Newton had a PCMCIA slot, why should this new device not
Re: (Score:2)
Oh, really now...
know that the iPhone does not have WiFi and the Touch does.
Really? Huh. Guess I somehow unlocked some magical high-speed data connection on my iPhone, but I'll be darned if it only works near WiFi points...
Do some more homework. [apple.com]
Re: (Score:2)
I prematurely elaborated... sorry...
I still want both Bluetooth and Wifi in my non-iPhone, non-Touch, non crippled PDA device.
Re: (Score:2)
Seriously, with the specs you're asking for, that's not going to cost any less than $1000. Can't be any larger than an iPhone, but somehow manage to have an 8hr batt with wifi and BT? I don't think you understand how these devices are made.
I hope so, but... (Score:5, Informative)
I think a lot of what makes it great, though, is that the interface for Safari is heavily tweaked for web surfing. It's really easy to pan and scan around, and you can pinch and expand to zoom in and out. One of the most useful features is the ability to tap on a section of a web page and have it adjust the zoom intelligently to frame the text or photo you're dealing with. And then there's that turning the device on its side and having the screen roll with you thing.
The result of all of this is that you can surf really well on a very small device. I wouldn't have thought a full browser could be so usable on such a small device, but they did it, and it's great.
The other apps, though, aren't nearly as usable. The music player has cover flow, which is really quick and useful -- I didn't think it would be before I bought the touch, but it is. It's not that they're bad. It's just that all of that insanely great UI stuff is tweaked specifically for web browsing. The stuff that it does is aimed at that problem, and a lot of times the features aren't even implemented in other apps.
The point is that what they've done is different from making a new kind of widget set for portable devices. On a normal desktop system, and on a normal PDA, you have a widget set that lets apps run in GUIs and behave in standard ways. This has very specific gui tweaks for a key app, safari.
I think the philosophical change of the touch (and the iPhone, obviously) is that the designers seem to be working from the premise that usable UI on such a small device is challenging enough that you have to tweak things very specifically for the app of the moment, and not just use something more general like MFC.
So Safari is tweaked out brilliantly, and it's flat out amazing. The music player is ok, it's certainly functional, but it's not so amazing. It's not "I can't believe how cool this is" great.
I kind of wish I had my old iPod video interface back, honestly. Or I wish I could zoom in and out, to change the size of the type on my podcasts, because sometimes long titles are hard to read.
So the question is, how are you going to make a really great PDA? Do you have to have genius UI designers working on every app? I mean, how are you going to do IM on these things? How do you get around that "entering text sucks" barrier? And there's going to be some usability problem like that popping up over and over again in app after app.
(I think this is part of why they want to keep these things locked down -- I believe that Jobs really hates the idea of people running ugly unusable apps on his devices.)
I mean, they could make a PDA, and they could use the tech they already have, and it would probably be just another PDA with a standard general interface, and an insanely great web browser. And that would be cool. But I think they're more ambitious than that.
Re: (Score:2)
As for text entry, it's always going to suck. Handwriting sucks on paper, never mind when you try and do it on a little tiny piece of paper and have a computer try to interpret it. Voice? I don't want to sit around talking to my computer, certainly not in public! Small de
Easy question (Score:2)
PDAs are *still* stupid (Score:2)
1. The screen, by definition, isn't big enough.
2. Handwriting recognition sucks.
3. Speech recognition sucks.
2 and 3 are the big problems, because if you have 100% accurate speech OR handwriting recognition, you can get away with a smaller screen, since you don't need to see a lot of menus and such if your can simply "talk" to your computer.
Sadly, we're still pretty far away from truly universal speech/handwriting recognition. Which means that if you really want a portable computer, you pretty muc
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, the usual Palm device tries to be too many of the wrong things. A device like an iPhone with a decent sized screen, good web browser, wifi and good SDK would be perfect. NO handwriting recognition, but a touch screen keyboard for entering quick stuff like chat messages, fast e-mail replies and calendar entries.
Ebook reader, web page viewer, RSS reader, calendar, document viewer, music player... perfect.
You're right - the problem with PDAs is no keyboard. Which
Re: (Score:2)
PDAs live on in smartphones and PDAphones. All of the previous PDA operating systems that are still alive (PalmOS, Windows CE/Mobile) are now in convergence devices. (Previously known as smartphones, but Microsoft has bastardized that term to mean crippled devices without a touchscreen.) Non-phone Palm and Windows Mobile devices still do exist, but they have insignificant market share compared to their integrated p
Who wants handwriting? (Score:2)
I did kind of like Grafitti but more because it was a sort of gesture-based keyboard than it was handwriting. I currently find the iPhone keyboard to be the best solution for small device input, because I think dynamic per-app keyboard layouts
Too soon to tell if it is worth buying (Score:2)
If Apple's PDA is also a phone, and if it is an open platform, AND if its capabilities are on par with what I can already get from the Windows Mobile world--640x480 screen, bluetooth, wifi, crapload** of software--then maybe I will buy in to it.
* I would have converged already
Might or might not buy. (Score:2)
I'd like something smaller, lighter and preferably tougher than my black MacBook. But I need to be able to type (fast), get photos onto it from my DSLR, and burn stuff to DVDs. That might be a lot to ask of a "newton ii"
Re: (Score:2)
I want to do all those things too, but not ALL the time. So I'd love to be able to leave my MPB in my car and take my iTouch-like PDA with me in case I want to look something up on the web or read a book.
newton joke (Score:3, Funny)
Q: How many Newtons does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: Foux! There to eat lemons, axe gravy soup.
Then why even bother with iPod Touch? (Score:2)
Most likely this would b
Re: (Score:2)
Apple's philosophy is to give you the choices (they think) you need, no more, no less.
An Apple PDA would probably cost a bit more than an iPod Touch, probably a little bigger, maybe a few more features. Not the same market.
It's different this time... (Score:2)
Handwriting recognition is h
Re: (Score:2)
NiMH AA batteries typically have at least 2000 mAh [steves-digicams.com].
The LiPoly cells used in phones often have 1500 mAh [cellularaccessory.com].
Mind you, you can't draw one amp out of any small battery for any length of time, much less an hour, but the units are convertible.
Still waiting for the perfect device. (Score:2)
What would I do? (Score:3, Interesting)
I chose the n800 over Apple because:
= open - great 3rd party app ecosystem (incl ssh and vnc)
= bluetooth keyboard, stylus screen keyboard, finger screen keyboard*
An N800 + freedom input slim (thumb) keyboard == micro laptop. Plus, theres rumors that the nextgen will have a slide-out keyboard. And WiMax.
(* I just wish the N800 had support for usb keyboards, like the dreamgear mini (thumb) keyboard
The N800 has been a big surprise for me. I have been a NeXT fan for 15 years, and as a result hated any Linux gui I came across before Hildon (thee n800's gui). I've also always been a pro bsd bigot (and anti-windows bigot
If they get it to sync contacts, calendar, and bookmarks with google (or bookmarks with delicious), and maybe more dynamic/integrated spell checking, then I don't know why I'd ever look back. Esp since someone is working on a version of hildon for the desktop.
So, most likely, ven though 9 months ago I'd have drooled over an OS X PDA like the rumored Newton II
The newton didnt flop (Score:2)
And ya, i did buy one, and ya it hurt the pocket book. Still have it, and it still works.
While i dont believe it will ever return, it would be a 'really great thing', as long as it was created in the same light as the orginainal. A true PDA from the start, not some sort of desktop OS shoehorned into a too small handheld device.
no (Score:2)
I have one now (Score:2)
It's already been done (Score:2, Interesting)
Touch is coming, note the iMac's glass (Score:2)
It has nothing to do with the Newton, though. There will be no stylus and no handwriting and no soups. This is just the evolution of the mouse.
Once you use an iPhone or iPod touch for a while you want to touch the Mac's screen, you want to scroll Web pages with a flick. When I make a Web page now I can't wait to see it on my iPhone so I can touch it, move it around. Even a graphics tablet doesn't feel as intimate
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
The iPhone has the potential to be the next Newton, but Apple has locked it down so that it is a content-feeding device, not a content-creating device. It also doesn't support third party apps and requires a cellphone subscription.
That being said, the final (working) version of Newton text recognition was bundled into OS X, which is what the iPhone runs on. So it wouldn't be too difficult to add it back in and use it (just use a stylus instead of a finger).
Re: (Score:2)
Having said that, I REALLY want a new Newton. The MessagePad 2100 was a brilliant computer, IMO as important and groundbreaking as the Apple Lisa. But, like Li
Re: (Score:2)
LoB