Comments on: Apple History: Newton – the first iPhone

By: Derp

Derp — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 16:27:03 +0000

Ever heard of an iPad?

By: Still waiting ...

Still waiting ... — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:14:21 +0000

What kept the Newton from having success, was not the handwriting recognition which was nearly flawless, but its high price point and its weight, it was heavy, real heavy.
It would have been a good product 2 generations after it got canceled. A really good device, but Apple didn’t like it, so it got canceled.
A further problem was its connectivity or rather non connectivity with Windows and Linux. Windows was doable, Linux was almost impossible, but none of them were easy. And revolutionary as the AppleScript was, the documentation for it was lacking for a long time. And since revolutionary means radically different, it was hard to get stuff done on it. And there wasn’t a lot of software for the Newton, since open source still was a niche thing, getting applications was near to impossible for a student like me.
I got my 2100 in 1990, when I finished high school. I used it through college, but in the end it was just too heavy and too limited. Which reminds me, since I got internet halfway through college and even was an early internet adopter, maybe the lack of internet was a problem too. No information, no blogs, no tech gossip and no software were available for a long time, except the pricey business solutions, which were sold at the Apple stores.
I am still looking for my next device, Windows PDAs didn’t cut it, no real battery life, screen too small. I am looking at a Nokia N800 now. I just want to read stuff with it. Somehow nobody manages to get that right. Light, long battery, big screen, no keyboard, can read pdf, no funny DRM or special tie-ins and the deal breaker, can be bought in Europe.
If I can put some addresses in it and manage my calendar I am happy. Oh and I don’t want it to be able to phone. Sometimes I need my small mobile (fits into the tinniest pocket), sometimes I want to read (without any phone near me) and sometimes I want to be able to read, while I phone.
So still waiting …

By: Jesse

Jesse — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 02:49:21 +0000

I agree the Touch or Iphone as the next Apple Newton
Or am I wrong…. If someone could get that thing to run ClarisWorks Spreedsheet, word prossesor and DataBase Plus do all the other great things it does… I would have bought have ordered one the day it came out… Or have it run Palm Os 5.0
Its an Idea.

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 19:07:10 +0000

@ ob

AWESOME! Let us know how it works out for you! Glad to hear you were sold once you got your hands on the real deal.

By: ob

ob — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 19:04:02 +0000

OT:

@Michael

I just wanted to let you know that I managed to go to
a Gravis Shop (a german Mac reseller) and get some hands-on a Mac mini.
What shall I say … it looked flawlessly, and I ordered the 1.66 GHz version
with RAM bumped up to 1GB. Hopefully it will arrive this week,
and I can start my “switchers adventure”.

Feels a little bit like back in the days when I was awaiting my
first Atari800, or the Amiga later on

By: Geekboy

Geekboy — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 17:46:58 +0000

Excellent post. I’m glad I’m not the only one who noticed the similarities between the two devices. Strange that I collect old computers (including Macs) and I still haven’t gotten my hands on a Newton, though.

To eBay!