Up next for Apple: the return of the Newton

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  • Reply 19 of 313
    I always thought of a newton as more than a PDA, or inteded to be more than a PDA with a few limitations imposed by the state of technology at the time. The current "UMPC"



    I would love to have something in the iPod touch category with schedule, address book, email, etc. In that form factor, that is a PDA. and I for one don't like to cary my PDA all the time, and sometimes what a smaller phone that slips into a pocket and (god forbid) if something happened to it is cheaper to replace.



    I would buy a neo-Newton to take with me on travels and maybe do all of those things plus have the ability to work on a document or two, update a website/blog, deal with email attachments, download photos from my camera when it was full... all of the things I lug my MBP around for now.



    But in the end those are two different devices. I would love to see apple bring something truely useable to the UMPC market and give us a Windows or Symbian alternative. But that isn't a PDA.
  • Reply 22 of 313
    How about they just add a working calendar and email program to the touch.

    I would buy that today if it were available, and a lot of others would too.



    There are a lot of people who want to have email and a calendar in their pocket who aren't going to buy an iPhone because of service issues or contracts.



    There is no technical reason not to do this, apple is leaving $ on the table.



    Bottom line is that I, and many others aren't going to wait for next year. I don't want to buy a palm or a blackberry, but if apple keeps hamstringing its products I just might have to...
  • Reply 23 of 313
    hobbeshobbes Posts: 1,252member
    Fascinating report, but I'm really not sure exactly who this product would be for.



    PDAs are currently dying - they're being wiped out by smartphones.



    Apple laptops are about to get even sleeker and thinner.



    The main markets would seem to be vertical markets (doctors, business users for meetings, people taking notes or needing net access while walking/working) or as an e-reader where using a notebook is impossible or a nuisance (e.g. reading on the train). But that's not what Apple is interested in. They're interested in the mass market of mainstream consumers.



    So, what's the mainstream use? Why do you need one of these in addition to a computer, iPod, and/or (smart)phone?



    And how many people would be willing to pay (let's say) $599 for one? Or even $499?



    I'm intrigued, mind you, but I'm unsure this would find a place in the mianstream market.
  • Reply 24 of 313
    Please let it have an apple version of telekinesis so i can stream my home computer to it.





    And 3d party apps.
  • Reply 25 of 313
    I'm guessing that if this does turn out to be true, it will be using this as it's engine.



    But it's not due out until 09.
  • Reply 26 of 313
    screedscreed Posts: 1,077member
    [reads article... faints]



    What happened!?





    Oh! The Newton!! Gadzooks!
  • Reply 27 of 313
    I could see this as a larger iPhone, but pure PDAs are falling by the wayside as SmartPhones and smart cellphones gain PDA features.
  • Reply 28 of 313
    Palm, Dell, HP, Sony, and every other PDA manufacturer learned years ago that the standalone PDA was a dead product. Microsoft proved that the "Tablet" PC and "Oragami" had no real market. Now Apple is going to come in and somehow create this market? I don't think so.



    This is a product which has a very small, albeit vocal, following. It would do Apple very little good to pursue this with any kind of hopes for selling on the level of iPod or iPhone. As a R&D project that will eventually produce fruit for the iPhone and iPod platforms, maybe. As some technology that might make it into the ultra-portable laptop that's supposed to come out soon, maybe.



    I agree that the Newton was more powerful in some ways than the iPhone. That's not the point. It was a brick. A big, giant brick that wouldn't fit into a woman's purse, let alone anyone's pants pocket. That alone limits its appeal.



    And for those who think this would be a laptop replacement, try running Photoshop or even iPhoto on it. Until it can do that, it's not going to replace my laptop. Most people do a lot more than Microsoft Word with their computers these days.
  • Reply 29 of 313
    3 Words:



    Eat Up Martha.
  • Reply 30 of 313
    Hey, they could call it the Foleo now that Palm has seen sense. Really Apple, don't be so stupid - big ass PDA? WTF? Nobody wants them anymore. You've been listening to Intel and their silly MID device mockups again haven't you?





    Just add the missing applications to the iPhone and iPod Touch and you've got the best PDA out there going, which also happen to be the best iPod and the best phone. Then let 3rd party developers fill the voids left. Done. Rebirth of the Newton completed.
  • Reply 31 of 313
    I have been waiting a long time for this. I want a PDA device so bad that I'm seriously considering buying the IPaq 211. I would prefer the iNewton instead.
  • Reply 32 of 313
    hobbeshobbes Posts: 1,252member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by aegisdesign View Post


    Hey, they could call it the Foleo now that Palm has seen sense. Really Apple, don't be so stupid - big ass PDA? WTF? Nobody wants them anymore. You've been listening to Intel and their silly MID device mockups again haven't you?



    Well, admittedly, it's not that big - according to the mock-up it's around the size of a small paperback book (and much much thinner).



    It's just not comfortably pocket-size.



    And the biggest folly of the Foleo is that it required a Treo to use, which just made no sense. I assume this product, if it ever actually appears, will nicely sync up with your computer but operate as a standalone device. (Although do you have to hunt around for Wi-Fi hot spots to be able to go online, like the touch...?)



    But it still seems to get real fuzzy when you think about what purpose it would serve. It's too big to be used as a music player or phone (though it'd be an fantastic video player or e-reader), and too limited to be used wholly as a laptop replacement. Unless Apple is counting on a large group of people who just want to watch videos and check e-mail on trips but (a) don't want to bring laptops (b) for some reason don't want an iPhone which does almost exactly what this device does plus is a phone, and (c) and are willing to spend hundreds of dollars for yet another device, I don't quite get it.
  • Reply 33 of 313
    wut, apple will stick to the product previous name? Wow, if Apple is going to produce back PDA's, it would be soo cool to own one although I dont think I will ever need a PDA
  • Reply 34 of 313
    This is what I'm waiting to happen with the iPhone. I don't to risk bricking it. I'll just wait to see what happens.

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by aegisdesign View Post


    Hey, they could call it the Foleo now that Palm has seen sense. Really Apple, don't be so stupid - big ass PDA? WTF? Nobody wants them anymore. You've been listening to Intel and their silly MID device mockups again haven't you?





    Just add the missing applications to the iPhone and iPod Touch and you've got the best PDA out there going, which also happen to be the best iPod and the best phone. Then let 3rd party developers fill the voids left. Done. Rebirth of the Newton completed.



  • Reply 35 of 313
    screedscreed Posts: 1,077member
    Yeah, this product has the potential to really confuse consumers.



    I have questions regarding what it is or isn't or could be or won't be:
    • Could we still consider it a successor to the Newton if it only has multi-touch and not handwriting recognition (Inkwell)?

    • Should or shouldn't it have cellular network access (implying voice and data applications)?

    • How should consumers see this (and how should Steve sell this as): a keyboardless Macbook? a really, really big iPhone? (Apple has gained a lot of new users. Telling them "The Newton is back!" may not mean anything to them).

  • Reply 36 of 313
    Makes no sense whatsoever as a PDA, ergo it's not a PDA. it's a full blown mac.



    Anyone remember KORMAC?
  • Reply 37 of 313
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Apple Inc, which helped spawn the PDA market with its Newton MessagePad line in the early '90s, plans to give the concept another go with a modern day reincarnation of the old fan favorite based on the company's new mutli-touch technology, AppleInsider has learned.







    I'm paying attention! Apple has needed the functions of a PDA for a long time - and my Palm Tungsten T is getting a bit long in the tooth. But why not just add the PDA functionality to the iTouch? I'd say iPhone, but I'm not ready to pay off Verizon quite yet. So lay it on the iTouch, or maybe the iTouch 2, with more memory and an even faster engine able to handle the apps. Oh, and while you're at it, a voice recorder and/or voice command input would be welcome.
  • Reply 38 of 313
    Another interesting answer to a question Steve gave during All Things D in '04 along side the PDA comment during the Q&A session:



    Quote:

    During a Q&A session, one individual pleaded with Jobs (as he clenched his Treo), begging for Apple to produce a PDA/Phone hybrid. Jobs told the audience member it would be best to remain happy with his Treo.



    Apple was well on their way in developing the iPhone at that time, right?! Sneeky Jobs..
  • Reply 39 of 313
    It'd be nice if Apple included a GPS chip in it as well, even if the mapping software had to be obtained separately.



    The only real similar product right now is the Nokia N800, which is getting a small but fervent following. It's definitely a productised research platform, with some nice uses.



    I think iWork would be usable on an 800x480 display, so I would hope that was some of the software available. Then again I think it should be on the iPhone as well, but maybe it will make it there in due course as Apple can't do everything simultaneously.



    Also eBooks should be quite nice to view on such a device, flicking the screen to switch pages, etc. Here's hoping that iTunes gets eBooks in the store to go alongside it, with free Project Gutenberg downloads as well.



    And a Frotz emulator for those old Infocom text adventures!



    And a small portable external keyboard, bluetooth of course!
  • Reply 40 of 313
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