Will the Newton Ever Come Back?

[MacBytes]

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Category: Apple Hardware
Link: Will the Newton Ever Come Back? (http://www.macbytes.com/link.php?sid=20050909103855)

Posted on MacBytes.com (http://www.macbytes.com)
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[iJed]

A PDA or small laptop is the one Apple device that I really really want. Either a laptop with a <=10.4 inch screen or something in a PDA form factor. If it was a PDA then I'd want to be able to easily plug in a keyboard (or it could include one). It would also need built in WiFi and bluetooth and a reasonable size of HD.

[Stella]

No, not as a PDA. PDAs are dying, and being replaced by smartphones.

Will there be a Newton based smartphone?

[mkubal]

No, not as a PDA. PDAs are dying, and being replaced by smartphones.

Will there be a Newton based smartphone?

I'm really not keen on holding a PDA to my face to make a phone call. I've been wanting a PDA for a while, but the offerings seem kind of thrown together and pricey. I wouldn't mind a PDA/Phone if it was an acceptable size.

[mrgreen4242]

I still think that the future lies in a tablet/pda hybrid machine. PDAs, as mentioned, are dying a slow death. Tablets never really took off for mass market use, mostly due to price. Both devices are pretty useful in their own way, but I think that something in between the two is where we will end up.

Something nano thin (or, more likely just a bit thicker than a USB port) and about the size of a largish paperback book (8" corner to corner) would be about right in my book. Touch screen, built in display cover that doubles as a stand so you can prop it up and use a wireless keyb/mouse with it, running a trimmed down version of OS X with some cutomizations for a touch based interface.

The iPad? Something equivalent to an 800-1000mhz G4, 512mb RAM, 20-40gb HDD (1.8" models when Toshiba starts selling them... or is it Hitatchi who announced those?), BT2, AE, 2xUSB2, 1xFW400. 6-8 hours of battery life would be about right, wieghing in around 2 pounds. :)

[Gasu E.]

I'd really like a handheld Apple PC/PDA as well, as long as it has a 20" screen.

[nagromme]

I want the smallest possible device that has OS X on it. I can think of lots of ways to do it and I'm sure Apple could think of more.

My current favorite idea: a slightly oversized iPod with a faster CPU, VGA port and two USB ports (and misc. other ports on the charging dock).

I'd carry it to anybody's (recent) computer, plug in their display, keyboard and mouse, and have MY apps and MY files and MY OS. Maybe no speed demon, but they'd work.

But I'd also find it useful to have a tiny keyboard and screen a la OQO.

The whole point for me would be to have SOME kind of Mac in my pocket--doesn't have to be ideal--instead of NONE. That's enough to allow me to leave my laptop behind and not worry when a client needs some quick task done.

I hope the market is ready one day.

[2GMario]

"dont want to hold a pda to my face to make a phone call"...

Allow me to introduce the Nokia 9500 (i have one)

on the outside, its a regular, everyday cell phone.

open it side ways (like a laptop) and its a mini laptop including:
word, excel, powerpoint, pdf, instant messaging, web, etc...

wifi, bluetooth, infrared, built in camera, etc...

http://www.expansys-usa.com/product.asp?code=9500

and it takes a mmc card, up to 512mb i think

huck up a bluetooth gps receiver to it also

Symbian 80 is the OS.

no, i dont work for them. sure id love one, but this phone serves me very well (minding the high price tag)

i've even hucked it up to my iBook via bluetooth for T-Mobile internet access.

note: they dont sell this in the USA yet. expansys imports it from the UK and it works on T-Mobile USA, and im use others also.

-Mario

[balamw]

As others have already mentioned, I don't actually want my phone and PIM combined. I want to be able to look at my calendar or look up an address while on the phone.

So, I've actually been using my iPod as a PIM calendar/contacts/notes synced with my Outlook at work with iPodSync. Works fine, except for the fact that I can't actually input anything while on the go.

So, what I'd like to see is a T9 or QWERTY keypad that can connect to the dock connector to allow for basic input on the go. This would be especially useful with an iPod nano. This would fill 90% of my PDA needs, and could also be used for editing metadata on music or pictures on the go as well.

B

[arkmannj]

I would like to see a PDA...but really a nice Tablet would be very handy.
a Tablet loaded with everything a decent ibook or Powerbook has
but in tablet form with a stylus.
(iTablet PowerTablet :-) )

I work full time, go-to school full time, and have religious activities, married, family schedules, freelance networking, etc etc having something I could carry around, make nice notes on and keep a schedule, give presentations with play games on, a little itunes action, some video editing, browse the internet, email, connect to network resources etc... would come in very handy. the size of the tablet wouldn't bother me as I always have my Laptop-backpack with me. (I'm assuming it would be in similar sizes as the laptops, having never seen a tablet PC in person I'm guessing the size.)

[speleoterra]

isnt this already been hashed in March of this year?

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=114373&highlight=palmtop

" Remember Apple's eMate 300 from the early nineties? (nicknamed "Eat Me" by developers). It was a kind of Batman green and a fab little flat lap Newton. The PowerPage EU bureau has been beamed some details of a secret development team planning specifications for the release of a new mini laptop. (It goes well with their current mini theme. -Ed). Deep in the Apple cave these slim little mini pocketops are doing the rounds and getting a lot of great feedback. Sources who claim to have see one have commented that an internal planning spec details that the new machine runs a stripped-down flavour of Mac OS X. We're told that it will finally utilize Apple's Inkwell technology to "write anywhere" and neatly fold into your pocket - rather like an enlarged Motorola RAZR V3 mobile phone with a keyboard. "

[SiliconAddict]

No, not as a PDA. PDAs are dying, and being replaced by smartphones.

Will there be a Newton based smartphone?


*sighs* PDA = Smartphones

What do you think a Palm Treo is?

[pubwvj]

I hope that Apple brings out something small and MacOS compatible. It should be useable for most software in a limited basis in the palm of your hand and then when you are at your desk it should slip into a slot in yoru desktop or laptop to integrate with your system, sync, etc. This is my idea of a real Home folder.

This iPal should do low processor intensive MacOS X (and Classic!) software, MP3, Cellphone, Wi-Fi phone, internet access, mail, GPS, etc. I'm not looking to make movies on it, write novels or play CPU crunching games. It is for reading ebooks, doing email, web browsing, to-do list, addresses, calendar, music, videos, etc.

RealWorld Ruggedness is critical. It should be waterproof, drop proof, sit-on proof, idiot proof, etc.

Battery life is critical and the batteries should be field changeable for off the shelf AAA batteries. SolarSkin charging capacity would be a huge plus.

Oh, and it should be black. :)

PDAs are not dead. The market just got saturated with the low capacity machines that were being produced. The newer phones are PDAs with something extra. iPods are PDAs of a sort. The market has become fractured into too many specialized devices. I want one general PDA that is a highly portable Mac.

[andrewm]

I'm known for being somewhat of a dreamer (in my dreams, at least), but I'd like some new paradigms. I agree:

Treo, Blackberry, any Apple device with music + telephone + calendar + et cetera capabilities-- that qualifies as a PDA with wireless capabilities.

No one wants a large box up to their ear. That was in the eighties and nineties.

Why not do something delightful? Take a small PDA--which isn't dead: no one is likely to want a paper address book, note pad, et alii in ten years, I suspect--and have a detachable headset. You use the stylus/your fingers/buttons to dial your destination and put a thin slab into your pocket, then clip the mini-receiver over your ear.

[Stella]

Yeaahhh.. but that where the market is going, however.

Nokia are going to merge Series 90 into Series 60 phones... so.. that is Symbian with touch screen phone.

Nokia want to make Series 60 phones into Medium range, instead of high end market.

At the moment, if you want a smartphone, get Symbian.. its the best there is.. nothing can touch it.. with over 50% of the market... twice that of microsooft and even more than Palm.


I'm really not keen on holding a PDA to my face to make a phone call. I've been wanting a PDA for a while, but the offerings seem kind of thrown together and pricey. I wouldn't mind a PDA/Phone if it was an acceptable size.

[mduser63]

I used to think a Mac tablet wasn't a very good idea, but I've changed my mine. Such a device would be perfect for students. Nearly all of my professors now post notes and assignments in PDF format. A tablet along with (an improved) Acrobat type application that had a really high resolution touch screen and good handwriting recognition would be the perfect note taking machine. Make it full featured as far as ports go, so that it could be used with an external keyboard, mouse and display, and I would buy one.

I realize this is basically what a Tablet PC is, but of course it runs Windows, so it's out of the question for me.

[AoWolf]

I used to think a Mac tablet wasn't a very good idea, but I've changed my mine. Such a device would be perfect for students. Nearly all of my professors now post notes and assignments in PDF format. A tablet along with (an improved) Acrobat type application that had a really high resolution touch screen and good handwriting recognition would be the perfect note taking machine. Make it full featured as far as ports go, so that it could be used with an external keyboard, mouse and display, and I would buy one.

I realize this is basically what a Tablet PC is, but of course it runs Windows, so it's out of the question for me.

I agree the problem with using my iBook in school is when I get to math and tech classes where I have to draw a picture or write a complex equation out.

[blouis79]

I still think that the future lies in a tablet/pda hybrid machine. PDAs, as mentioned, are dying a slow death. Tablets never really took off for mass market use, mostly due to price. Both devices are pretty useful in their own way, but I think that something in between the two is where we will end up.

Something nano thin (or, more likely just a bit thicker than a USB port) and about the size of a largish paperback book (8" corner to corner) would be about right in my book. Touch screen, built in display cover that doubles as a stand so you can prop it up and use a wireless keyb/mouse with it, running a trimmed down version of OS X with some cutomizations for a touch based interface.

The iPad? Something equivalent to an 800-1000mhz G4, 512mb RAM, 20-40gb HDD (1.8" models when Toshiba starts selling them... or is it Hitatchi who announced those?), BT2, AE, 2xUSB2, 1xFW400. 6-8 hours of battery life would be about right, wieghing in around 2 pounds. :)

Squash the mac mini - motherboard is about the right size?
Ditch the hard drive in favour of flash ram like the iPod nano?
Find space for a lithium battery and a slot loading optical drive?
8inch 1024x768 touch screens are available (eg http://www.ebigchina.com/ebcps/4/pd/1246140.html)
Does it need an Intel chip to run cool enough???
Can run a full OS X. Touch based interface is done already.

Already got mature handwriting recognition with Inkwell - amazingly good at recognising printed scrawl without too much training and really fast too on an old iMac. Must be Apple's hidden secret - just that not many people have a graphics tablet.

Not sure I need a hard screen cover if they can make the screen robust enough to survive in a case.

I'd like something with a power of an iBook 12inch at about 1/3 the weight, half the screen size. The pieces are all there....

iBook nano? And will I pay as much as an iBook for it - yes!

[arkmannj]

I agree the problem with using my iBook in school is when I get to math and tech classes where I have to draw a picture or write a complex equation out.

I have that same problem, also it makes it hard for classes where I need to scribble in a quick chart or something.

I'd be VERY excited if a ibook/powerbook could even somehow just turn into a tablet, so you still have same form factor, but depending on what you are doing, maybe the screen could turn-over and lay on-top of the keyboard/track-pad. and you can use the touch screen (I'm assuming there would likely be some sort of stylus).

To me this kind of flexibility would be very beneficial, from the student in the classroom, to the businessman on the plane.

Also, then Apple wouldn't have to worry about keeping up an additional product, because it would just be an added feature of the current lineup.
maybe they would add one model that's a bit smaller than the 12" models though.
I personally think that a 14"-15" would be perfect for this.

just my thoughts :D

[pubwvj]

Agreed, tablet/PDA hybrid. This would fill in a hole in Apple's lineup. Just a Newton doesn't cut it though. Here is my lineup for Apple, from the bottom:

iPod Suffle - just plays music, no display. Simple. Cheap.

iPod nano - plays music, couple of games, calendar, address book, text notes, system backup on it's 4GB, 6GB, 32GB, 60GB of internal flashRAM - the latter two were made possible by recent announcements and will soon make their way into a player near you. :) Can act as a backup device for your home directory or even a mobile home which can be inserted into the new PowerBooks or PowerMacs or a FireWire dock (for older Macs and iBooks) to provide mobile homing. Apple announces iPod developer SDK so other people can develop software to run on the iPod series. This replaces the rest of the iPod lineup except for...

iPod phone - adds cellphone and Wi-Fi. Can connect and do telephony over either type of network. Use as a remote control as well. MP3, calendar, address book, games, text files, email, web, etc. Bluetooth headphone and mic. Folds closed and has Apple styling rather than Motorola's boxy iTunes phone. Does mobile homing. Serious storage capacity.


iNote - about the same size as the iPod nano when closed but it opens like a little address book to give a full screen display that cover the entire surface of one side. New paradym of two parrallel screens that work together rather than one continuous screen. Many people already use two screens on their desktop or laptop machines when at a desk with a second monitor. Opening it turns it instant on. Closing it or not using it turns it off. Think: my little black book. Full MacOSX but limited processor capacity (25MHz? 100MHz? 300MHz? Variable speed!) - you don't need to do power applications on this baby but you can access all your Home data and any basic applications. Sorry, no Halo or X-Plane. Solid state storage (flash chips rather than harddrives). Bluetooth for earphones/mike, keyboard with trackpad, full-size keyboard, mouse, etc. Input is otherwise via touch screen. This is for music, ebooks, calendar, address book, lower demand applications, etc. It is your home folder - plugs into slot in PowerMacs and Powerbooks to dock. Optical data path for connecting to dock/PowerBook/PowerMac. Dockable with Macs or PCs. No USB, FireWire or other connectors. Rugged, waterproof, sealed unit, induction charger, battery good for 10 years of recharging, SolarSkin. Apple's PDA for the masses. Business card sized when closed - small enough to fit in a small shirt pocket. Doubles as a remote control via BlueTooth and infrared to all known devices in the universe.

iNote Phone - Everything an iNote is but with a bigger display, more storage (still flash), video in the hand capabilities, more processor power, larger battery, more connectivity. The size of a typical paperback novel when open and about the size of a PDA when closed. Still small enough to still barely fit in a shirt pocket. Wi-Fi for VOIP telephony plus cellphone, web browsing, email, etc in addition to all the iNote functions. This is Apple's solution to the tablet for the masses. Later Apple brings out a digital camera version that has the 10x optical zoom lense barrel in the hinge. Camera version lets one side twist 180 degrees.


iBooks - Minimized. Lighter, thinner, longer battery life. Hard drive replaced with flash memory and no CD/DVD drive. More powerful processor and bigger screen than an iNote plus the keyboard and trackpad built in. Ruggedized. 12" and 14" models.

PowerBooks - Dual-cores are a'commin' along with better battery life. Retains harddrive architechure but gets bumped up to 100GB to 250GB. Sales surge and it becomes the primary computer for people who want more than an iNote. Slot in the side for an iNote docking for mobile homing. 15", 17" and 20" models.


PowerMacs - Dual-Dual-core, Quad-quad-core, etc. Supercomputers for people who still want to chain themselves to a desk. :) Slot in the front for iNote docking for mobile homing.


Apple needs a longer life, more mobile solution. The iNote which fits between the iBook and the iPod is a logical extension, especially if it can act as a mobile home and uses flash memory to avoid the problems with buring out the little iPod harddrives which are almost capable of all this. What Apple has been doing with iPods are stepping stones to an iNote type device. Xmas perhaps?

[Cloudgazer]

"dont want to hold a pda to my face to make a phone call"...

Allow me to introduce the Nokia 9500 (i have one)


And allow me to introduce the 9300....

http://www.nokia.com/nokia/0,,60764,00.html

Its not the size of a brick, and has a nice design with all the important features of the 9500....

[mrgreen4242]

This old thread came up in a search I was doing for 'waterproof headphones' for some reason, but I noticed that I had posted in it, so I thought I would check it out.

Anyways, Apple is halfway there with the touch, imo. I really hope the sub-laptop everyone has been talking about ends up being a cross between the touch and the MacBook.