Poll: Would you be interested in buying a relaunched Apple Newton PDA?

[MacRumors]

Vote: Poll: Would you be interested in buying a relaunched Apple Newton PDA? (http://www.macpolls.com/?poll_id=387)

[wordmunger]

No way. Not unless it was integrated into a phone w/the size factor of a handspring treo.

[~Shard~]

I'm not much for PDAs as it is, so no, I doubt it. Unless it was some big integration of a PDA, cell phone and iPod.... :cool:

[wdlove]

I'm sorry, but I had to vote not likely. Personally have no interest. My wife just purchased a new Palm which she uses for work. The old ones card slot was broken and it no longer enough HD space for her programs. If it is not released for 2 - 3 years, then, I'm sure that she would be interested.

[gerlitzappel]

Most definitely. I hate the Palm app I have to use on my Mac. I guess I'm lucky that I have an older Palm that actually is recognized by OS X. I would love to have a device that not only allows syncing with iCal & Address Book in a hand held device, but also allows me to make changes (iPod sync is okay for reference). Cell phone integration would be an added bonus. I don't think I would care if it was able to play music though.

[Nermal]

Depends on the price really. Judging by Apple's history, it'll be too expensive :(

[macridah]

If the newton comes with most of these features:

40-60 GB harddrive
no bigger than a deck of cards (preferably smaller)
ical, address book, etc sync
wireless
j2me
developer to create games for it
mp3 player of couse (sync with iTunes)
not too expensive ... <- the tough one (under 400. 500, would have to think twice

then 90% chance of getting it

[jxyama]

If the newton comes with most of these features:

40-60 GB harddrive
no bigger than a deck of cards (preferably smaller)
ical, address book, etc sync
wireless
j2me
developer to create games for it
mp3 player of couse (sync with iTunes)
not too expensive ... <- the tough one (under 400. 500, would have to think twice

then 90% chance of getting it

considering 40 GB iPod is $500, there's no way a device that is physically smaller, potentially larger capacity and has much more features would be priced lower.

it's ok to dream up cool stuff, but let's be a little realistic too?

i, for one, wouldn't buy a PDA any more. i'm quickly growing out of using one and the only way i'd go back is if it would replace my cell phone.

[jkojima]

It would have to be more than a PDA. i.e. I'd want Apple to surprise me with the "next big thing" in PDA goodies.

[Nermal]

The old Newtons were in the $500-$1000 range.

[bennetsaysargh]

i don't really know. i would if it was affordable and a good size, but then again, I'm not really a PDA person.

[nagromme]

Yes--but only if it runs full OS X when desired!

Inkwell?

[howard]

possibly to yes depending on how good it is...

macs don't really have any good integration with pocket pcs do they? it would be cool to sync up addressbook ical and other various things to a pocketpc..take it on the road and add things, and then have those added back...

i'd certainly use ical to organzie my life if that were the case..as of now i use it minimally but would like to use it more if only i had that digital medium on the go

[ALoLA]

If it were integrated into a cell phone with bluetooth, and it was reasonably priced, I'd be all over it. :) I need one that works with my Prius. :D

[transistor]

Like many others, I would not be interested on a Newton if it weren't integrated into a cell phone.

[jrv3034]

No way. Not unless it was integrated into a phone w/the size factor of a handspring treo.

You took the words right out of my mouth. I don't want to carry more than one device. Right now I have a Treo 300, and I love it. Phone, PDA, email, games, all in one.

I won't upgrade until this one dies, but when I do, it will definitely be to another Smartphone. Maybe the Samsung i500.

http://www1.sprintpcs.com/explore/PhonesAccessories/PhoneDetails.jsp?navLocator=%7Cshop%7CphonesAccessories%7CallPhones%7C&selectSkuId=samsungi500&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1476015&CURRENT_USER%3C%3EATR_SCID=ECOMM&CURRENT_USER%3C%3EATR_PCode=None&CURRENT_USER%3C%3EATR_cartState=group&bmUID=1079482203070

If Apple came out with something like this, I'd buy it in an instant!

If it's just a PDA, like the original Newton, however advanced it may be, it would mean having to carry many things at once, so no thanks.

[Bear]

Possibly. It depends on how big it was and what features it offered. Price? Well I expect it be somewhere between $500 and $1000 with the features I want.

Take a Newton, marry it to an iPod. Stir in 802.11b/g and bluetooth.

I don't mind carrying a Phone and a second device. The iPod currently can display conatct information and calendar stuff, so not having a PDA isn't really bothering me right now.

I think taking a new genertaion Newton and adding all the above would be too large to carry around when I'm just carrying my phone.

[slowtreme]

Probably: I want a PDA, I think I could really use one since I'm so forgetful... but I got a Palm and a WinCE and they were both useless to me. I forget to put stuff in them.

The way I see it the Newton pretty much was a failure, could a new version fix whatever were the main problems (price?). And would I find a way to use it effectivly? So as much as I'd like to blindly say yet like most people did, I think I'd wait to see.

[neutrino23]

Yes--but only if it runs full OS X when desired!

Inkwell?

At this point I don't think I'd get something with the Newton interface. I'd like to have a thin LCD screen the size of a checkbook that runs OS X. Kind of like tearing off a piece of my desktop and taking it along. Addressbook, Safari, Mail, Tex-Edit Plus, FileMaker Pro, iTunes, etc. would all be available. No learning curve, only one set of files to maintain.

When Newton came out it would not have been possible to shoehorn Mac OS into something that size. Now it should be possible. Get a lower power G3 running about 600MHz. Maybe today's color LCDs use too much power. An OLED display might help.

I do agree with the others. If I could replace the firmware in my phone with Newton firmware to manage the phone book, calendar, notes, etc. that would be really coo.

[bennetsaysargh]

if you want it to run os x, it's going to need to be bigger and more expensive. no doubt about it., but if it could be a mini os x, then i imagine the home on the iPod feature could tie into this somehow.

[deejemon]

I still love my MP2100. It's less useful than I wish it was, but it's a very cool device. I mean, what can you say about a handheld device that can run a web server and a Nintendo emulator?

http://home.earthlink.net/~eagix/index.html

But if someone can relaunch the Newt, bring it into the 21st century, particularly in terms of the hardware (USB, use of regular flash memory cards, modern networking, etc), and make it play nice with Mac OS X (Windows, meh...), I'd definitely get one.

Newton OS 2.1 still seems more advanced than Palm in many ways, and doesn't try to be a mini version of your desktop computer like PocketPC. The Newton OS was designed around the principle that you use a handheld device differently than you use a desktop (or laptop) computer, and was specifically designed around supporting hardware suitable for a portable device. All you who are asking for an OSX-based device, are you asking for it to operate the same way OSX does now? Take Mac OS X and shrink it down onto a screen 480x320 display at a single-digit-inch x single-digit-inch size. Still want it? Or are you asking for a new interface built on top of the OSX technologies (remembering that the minimum system requirements are G3+ and 128MB)?

Oh, yeah, and the question is a bit wonky, since it's not Apple who wants to relaunch the platform, it's a whole other company. Asking about a relaunched Apple Newton PDA doesn't really reflect what may potentially be going to occur. Some people might only buy such a product if it came from Apple, not from a third-party. Other people might expect different things from an Apple version compared to a third-party version (eg: some people are talking about an iPod/Newton fusion).

[cr2sh]

Vote: Poll: Would you be interested in buying a relaunched Apple Newton PDA? (http://www.macpolls.com/?poll_id=387)
I can't type "YES" big enough... although I'm expecting a mini-tablet type device.. bluetooth and all. Yum.

[ingenious]

Like many others, I would not be interested on a Newton if it weren't integrated into a cell phone.


I dont think id even consider buying one unless it was an intergration between an iPod, cell phone and PDA that ran a thin client of Mac OS X.

[shamino]

It would depend on what the device's capabilities are.

I've been a big fan of PalmOS devices for quite some time. I used a Palm III for four years until it finally broke, and I've been using a Palm m515 for a few years now. I like the Palm platform and I would like to stick with it.

But PalmSource has made all kinds of ominous statements about future versions of PalmOS (the "Cobalt" architecture) not supporting MacOS. If this actually happens and I can no longer buy a Mac compatible PalmOS device, I will have to look for another vendor.

Apple would be a perfect replacement. If this device supports the same kind of core applets (calendar, notepad, address book, etc.), allows me to upgrade the system software (flash or hard drive), install third-party apps, and hits the same price point ($100 for cheap models, $300 for mid-line models, $500 for high-end models), I'll be interested in buying one.

And if they jump in before Palm gives us the finger, even better.

[0 and A ai]

If it has at least a 20 gig HD connects via firewire color display roughly the size of ipaq or smaller and has cellphone built in and cost 500 dollars 1 year from now and syncs seemlessly with my mac. YES

[bennetsaysargh]

i think it's given that this device if it ever comes out, will have seamless connectivity with your mac. no question about it.

[Doctor Q]

I'd admire it from afar, but I wouldn't be likely to need one.

[pimentoLoaf]

I'll stick with Palm until the company goes under -- which, of course, it never will.

[Savage Henry]

I must admit that the positive leanings towards whether people will buy, does surprise me.

But not as much as the surprise will be if Apple actually release a PDA.

I am still 100% certain that they won't because there's no money in that market available for Apple to make it all worthwhile.

[jsw]

I'd love to say I'd buy a new Newton, and I'm sure that I'd drool over it, but I'm guessing that, because of where it would have to fall in terms of cost (likely $600-$1000, I'd think), I'd probably use a cheaper PDA/cell and save to get whatever Apple's smallest laptop was at time.

I think the Newtons were great but, nowadays, I can't seem to justify the compromises that would be bound to occur. No matter how nice the screen was, it'd be too small/lo-res to use as a computer (for me - I like hi-res). No matter how how small the form factor was, it'd be too bulky. I tend to either want it "all" - implying latop/tablet - or "just enough" - implying smart phone.

But, when in the Apple store, I tend to ignore logic and buy anyway, so who knows?

[shamino]

I'll stick with Palm until the company goes under -- which, of course, it never will.
Famous last words. I seem to recall similar things being said about Ashton Tate, Atari and Commodore.

All it takes is one high-budget flop or an unexpected swing in the market to kill a company. Nobody is immune to this. Not even big boys like Microsoft, Apple and IBM are immune. Definitely not a small(er) player like Palm.

[shamino]

I'd love to say I'd buy a new Newton, and I'm sure that I'd drool over it, but I'm guessing that, because of where it would have to fall in terms of cost (likely $600-$1000, I'd think), I'd probably use a cheaper PDA/cell and save to get whatever Apple's smallest laptop was at time.

I think the Newtons were great but, nowadays, I can't seem to justify the compromises that would be bound to occur. No matter how nice the screen was, it'd be too small/lo-res to use as a computer (for me - I like hi-res). No matter how how small the form factor was, it'd be too bulky. I tend to either want it "all" - implying latop/tablet - or "just enough" - implying smart phone.
You seem to be thinking about a PDA as if it was just a cheap laptop, since you're asking for laptop-style capabilities (big screen, fast processor, large storage, etc.) This is the direction the PocketPC makers have all taken (mostly because of the requirements of Windows CE).

But this isn't the only possible direction. Palm's design philosophy (at least until recently) has been "less is more". Palm devices have always had smaller screens and slower processors, but their software is streamlined enough so that the device still does a great job at the things it was designed for - carrying databases of information around and allowing the user to quickly enter new data.

If Apple tries to follow the PocketPC route, then they will have to meet the requirements you posted. They will effectively have to design a sub-notebook, not a PDA. IMO, this is a recipe for failure. If you want to make an "iBook mini" that's one thing, but you can't sell it as if it was a PDA. If they go the PDA route, I think they can see a lot of success - especially if they integrate iPod-like features into it. But I don't think the Newton system software will fit well into this kind of device.

Then again, there's no reason why Apple has to use Newton system software in some hypothetical future PDA. They could just as easily license PalmOS and develop some custom extensions to better-integrate it with a Mac environment. Or they could develop something new, possibly based on Darwin.

[dhns]

mini os x
A "Mini OS X" in a Handheld with 320x240 display and WiFi at a reasonable price is not really unrealistic. Take a look at http://www.handheld-linux.com/wiki.php?page=DigitalCompanion

And what I always wonder in these discussion on an Apple PDA:

There are two aspects to discuss. One is the format (i.e. PDA, 320x240, touch, WiFi vs. Smartphone 200x200, 0-9+*, Cellular). And the other the functionality (PIM, Speech recognition, Internet Browser, etc.). This is essentially the same for both. So, the discussion should be separated into the format and the software.

And therefore I think, most of us would agree if a New Newton would be a PDA (Personal Digital Assistent) *with* cellular access *and* personal information management in a format that fits to the palm like a modern phone. And that seems to be not too far in the future when large color displays, fast processors and large memory gets integrated into a standard phone.

-- hns

[Raid]

I had to vote not likely. Carrying around an iPod, cellphone and pda is a lot of junk to handle when going out for the day. Mind you if you combined two or more of these together I'd be really tempted.

[mrsebastian]

like others have said, i would only purchase one if it was integrated with a phone and look/feel more like a phone. which kinda makes me wonder how long the pda form factor will hang around. considering phones are doing many of things you can on a pda. back to my original reply, if you consider phones are becoming more pda like and in general are almost considered disposable -- it could be very hard for apple to break into that market.

[achmafooma]

Give the iPod a bigger screen, data entry, and a couple more features then I'd be happy.

I'm likely getting an iPod for my college graduation later this year, and I would use it to entirely replace my aging and increasingly-flakey Handspring if there were a way to enter new contacts, enter new calendar events, and some type of memo program (integrated with Stickies or something on the Mac).

Just some basic PDA functions -- most importantly, data entry -- would make the iPod immensely more valuable to me. Phone integration would only make it even better (if implemented correctly, which Apple would surely do).

An iPod with full PDA features and integrated cellular phone? Now that would be a dream come true. I just hope it would work with Verizon. About the only iSyncable phone they have now is the Motorola C343, and it only works through a USB data cable (although I do quite like the phone).