Newton Revival?

[boobers]

When i think of Zaurus..

the 860 makes my mouth water..
http://www.ezaurus.com/
and then i realize they don't sell this thing in North America and the manual would be some language i couldn't understand.
Here is a review..
http://www.brighthand.com/article/Sharp_SL-C760_Review

 

[ingenious]

me too!

Bring it...I am over Palm

Best PDA interface?!?! Ya RIGHT! As much as i hate MS, the PPC is starting to look better than Palm. I mean, I don't know. But Palm Source's nonmac os 6 was the last straw! That and reseting and HotSync freezing my PB every single time!

 

[aswitcher]

SNIP

A smaller computer is what we need. Stick it in a pda, and I'd buy it in a second.

Yep, for me PDA form factor, like the Tungsten I have is a good size for jackets and short pockets, which means it gets taken. iPod sized or indeed mini iPod sized would be excellent.

 

[TubaMuffins]

are there any PDAs out there that sync perfectly with OSX? By perfectly i mean with the address book, ical, and maybe even mail.

 

[cubist]

If Apple couldn't support two operating systems in 1997, they can't support two today either. Their resources are, if anything, even less than what they had then. NewtonOS won't come back.

Siemens made a really neat phone with a Newton integrated in it. I've only seen photos of it. A much neater piece of gear than the bloated eMate (BTW, was that the first Apple product with an initial small letter?).

The iPod is a collection of third-party components. There's nothing particularly Mac-specific there, nor is there any capability to add significant new features. The iPod, as it is, is a dead-end design. I think Apple will simply license it and let it go.

Now, the shrunken Powerbook is something I'd really like. Sony and IBM make tiny laptops that sell like mad in Japan. I don't know why they don't sell them in the US. Imagine a 6" or 8" diagonal Powerbook with most of the features of the 12"! I think they'd sell like hotcakes, even at $1000 or so with no optical drive.

 

[doogle]

VOIP

I trawled thru most of the thread - apologies if it has been mentioned already.
If Apple do make phone based PDA thing it would be great if they included Voice Over Internet Protocol and sidestepped any phone networks. Apple could offer the service itself, incorporate all sorts of cool functions (isync, tunes, disk etc) and make it truly international (take anywhere, work anywhere).

 

[bensisko]

are there any PDAs out there that sync perfectly with OSX? By perfectly i mean with the address book, ical, and maybe even mail.

By Default? I don't think so (unless you count the iPod, which DOES sync with address book and iCal). Palm might.

However, with The Missing Sync, even a Pocket PC can sync 'perfectly' with address book iCal and mail (BTW- The Missing Sync author HAS said that he would be developing The Missing Sync for Palm OS 6 based handhelds).

 

[bensisko]

Siemens made a really neat phone with a Newton integrated in it.

Actually, the phone I was talking about allowed the Newton to be used as a GSM phone: http://newton.guhl.net/newton/fifo/.

The iPod, as it is, is a dead-end design. I think Apple will simply license it and let it go.

Hehe, you're funny! I think you need to read a bit more about the iPod before you make such comments.

 

[funkywhat2]

If Apple couldn't support two operating systems in 1997, they can't support two today either. Their resources are, if anything, even less than what they had then.

Apple has supported two operating systems before - OS9 and OSX.

And wasn't Apple in a downward spiral in 1997, whit people foretelling Apple's demise all the time? Only Rob Enderle does that now.

 

[e2interactive]

The other day I was at my friends house and he showed me his new PDA/Phone. It took pictures, he could surf the net, call with it and he used it for writing notes at school. I thought man I want one, but I want an Apple version, that:

• Can talk to my Apple via Bluetooth or over my Airport network.
• Hold somewhere between 15 and even up to 40 or 60gig.
• Is an iPod/PDA that you can attach a phone, camera, audio recorder, maybe even take video.

Basically an iPod supersized with a killer PDA kick. I could use at work, for meetings, take with me on vacations, school, or just when it's incovienent to take my PowerBook with me.

I can store my photos on it, my music, my videos, notes, calendar, address book, and games. Just a kick the trash out of any other PDA that is out there today. That would be so much better than my friends Windows operating system PDA.

I say bring on the Newton II.

 

[Analog Kid]

Ok, I just managed to read through the thread and now I think I understand why Apple won't be going into the PDA market any time soon-- no sweet spot.

Read through the comments in this thread and they're all over the map. There's various takes on "all the power of a laptop, but with a battery that lasts all day and fits on my belt for $500 or less", and "simpler is better, just give me a few more features in my iPod", and "must have a phone" and "must not have a phone", and "must be OS X in a smaller package", and "must be a custom OS for portable devices"...

No, I don't see Apple getting into the PDA market at this point-- even their core market (us) is too divided. Tablets maybe, but given the utter failure of Windows in that market even after the huge marketing push it probably isn't likely. Phone standards around the world are too diverse for a small manufacturer like Apple to support, so a smart phone is unlikely.

The closest thing I can see is expanding the "home on your iPod" idea a bit so you can carry and perform small manipulations on, you data. iPod is probably good enough for that already though.

All of this does beg the question-- what else could the survey be for? I guess it's reasonable to think that even if the survey was for Apple the results may just confirm that this isn't a market to go into.

Anyway, off to Ebay-- I think I've been convinced to pick up a second hand Newton.

 

[sinanakay]

Newton or not to be ..

Well, i have to say i couldn't read all of the thread but jumping in to see if you guys think (as) different about this matter as i do !

I think the whole issue comes down to the operating system and the stylus (pen interface, if you like). Not the form factor PDA / Cell phone / iPod / emate you name it ! Now that we have the best operating system of all times there should be a subset of X on all of these devices. The only thing material is missing from the whole picture is PEN ! I see a lot of opportunities to replcae that mouse with a pen (and dreaming of it since the first time I put my hands on a Lisa back in 84) If you feel like reading here is a link

http://www.oreillynet.com/cs/user/view/cs_msg/33584

I tried to convince (you know who ;-) that it's time that Apple enters the arena.

What do you think ?
I want to replace my Palm/ipod with X driven small tablet in my pocket (no, i don't need a Word/xcel capability or a keyboard) but synching the data/scribbles collected to the base (be it a desktop or PB or whatever) I want to be able to detach the screen of an iMac from its base go to a meeting, comeback with annotations to the documents I took with me (be it picture, blueprints-pdfs, sketches)..

Well, I don't want to repeat myself, if you intend to read that post.
Just tell me what you think ?
Regards

 

[aswitcher]

SNIP

I tried to convince (you know who ;-) that it's time that Apple enters the arena.

What do you think ?
I want to replace my Palm/ipod with X driven small tablet in my pocket (no, i don't need a Word/xcel capability or a keyboard) but synching the data/scribbles collected to the base (be it a desktop or PB or whatever) I want to be able to detach the screen of an iMac from its base go to a meeting, comeback with annotations to the documents I took with me (be it picture, blueprints-pdfs, sketches)..

Well, I don't want to repeat myself, if you intend to read that post.
Just tell me what you think ?
Regards

I for one use my Palm to carry around word and excel docs for reference, so I would want that.

Looking at the new Office, its seems far more meeting and note orientated, which raises the ugly head of tablet powerbooks

A screen with its own battery that used Wifi to access the power of the base of the PB for anythign more than limited on board memory work might allow for that. Not sure the tech or market is their for this yet.

 

[rdowns]

If one wanted to buy a Newton....

what would you recommend? Accessories? Software? What are they worth?

If I got one, I would want the best model available and to work with Panther.

 

[Cheezy13]

Roughly the same size as the old Newton, it could have the added benefits of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and infra-red capability - all now industry standards.

Hey kiwi… Looks like you're talking about the Newton that we all know and which already supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and infra-red !

 

[jero]

if the newton makes its way on the market again, i might have to get one. even though i dont think id really need one.

 

[aswitcher]

if the newton makes its way on the market again, i might have to get one. even though i dont think id really need one.

Many would, because you can never underestimate the Geekfactor

 

[jedi180]

stay out of the PDA market

Apple needs to concentrate on what they USED to concentrate on: desktops and laptops. Palm OS is good enough and syncable enough for anyone. Who needs Mac OS Mobile? Although I think that a new Apple PDA would be nice, I think it would not be a moneymaker for Apple. I agree with those that say that Apple should just improve on the iPod. Some ideas:

-higher res color screen (with horizontal or vertical viewing also)
-Play any MOV, MPEG, etc. movie files without having to reencode them
-huge hard drive (40+ gigs, like the top iPod)
-Read .txt or ebook files with ease

Just an entertainment thing, not an organizer...

But then they should start updating the desktops and laptops faster...

 

[aswitcher]

Apple needs to concentrate on what they USED to concentrate on: desktops and laptops. Palm OS is good enough and syncable enough for anyone. Who needs Mac OS Mobile? Although I think that a new Apple PDA would be nice, I think it would not be a moneymaker for Apple. I agree with those that say that Apple should just improve on the iPod. Some ideas:

-higher res color screen (with horizontal or vertical viewing also)
-Play any MOV, MPEG, etc. movie files without having to reencode them
-huge hard drive (40+ gigs, like the top iPod)
-Read .txt or ebook files with ease

Just an entertainment thing, not an organizer...

But then they should start updating the desktops and laptops faster...

Yep, colour should and will come, and likely colour features will come to enhance the experience. Maybe 2005 I think, but I wonder what price impact and perfomance impact it will have.

Hardrive, yep they will continue to go up, possibly get smaller.

Reading, I thought they did that now...

 

[Doctor Q]

Many would, because you can never underestimate the Geekfactor

Not to mention all the collectors who get one of each Apple product, no matter what it is. If there were enough of those people around, Apple could stay in business simply by bringing out new products for no other reason.

 

[Analog Kid]

Apple needs to concentrate on what they USED to concentrate on: desktops and laptops. Palm OS is good enough and syncable enough for anyone. Who needs Mac OS Mobile? Although I think that a new Apple PDA would be nice, I think it would not be a moneymaker for Apple. I agree with those that say that Apple should just improve on the iPod. Some ideas:

-higher res color screen (with horizontal or vertical viewing also)
-Play any MOV, MPEG, etc. movie files without having to reencode them
-huge hard drive (40+ gigs, like the top iPod)
-Read .txt or ebook files with ease

Just an entertainment thing, not an organizer...

But then they should start updating the desktops and laptops faster...

I really don't want a color screen on my iPod. In fact, this is one of the reasons I hope they don't put video playback into them. I have yet to see a portable color screen that looks as crisp as black and white. They look freaky when they're backlit, and they look like crap outdoors.

The ultra bright backlight they need to get through all the filter layers burns way too much power. They need at least three times as many pixels, so writing to the display takes more power and the grid is too obvious on such a small display.

No, keep the audio iPod black and white, and if there ever is a NewtonII, keep it black and white as well. I don't need text and line drawings in color... Greyscale is fine.

 

[L2GX]

I might not be the right person to give my opinion here, seeing as I use the mac as an artistic tool rather than a lifestyle accessory, but I have up to 2000 euros waiting for a working tablet pc with a solid os.

Pocket book size would be handy, they could put i-life on there, but basically its the tablet functions that interest me: painting, drawing, a digital sketchbook I can carry around.
If the new newton is going to be a pda/phone first, mac have to go up against every cell phone maker in a market where- pardon my french- they have zero experience, no contacts and no expertise.
If it is a tablet first they have a technology that is already mac compatible (wacom), and loads of artist that are itching to get their fingers on a 2year old technology that has not yet had a stable incarnation.

Then again maybe Apple wants to go with sunglasses for that complete lifestyle experience.

 

[SiliconAddict]

I know many of you remember the rumor not too long back about IBM revamping the current G3 processor to make it low powered and Altivec compliant (I believe the name of the chip was 750FX?). My bet is that if Apple releases this mobile device using a scaled down version of OS X, they will use this chip because if any of the iApps appear on it, or even Quicktime for sure, they will need the advanced instructions of the Velocity Engine to run smoothly.

Otherwise, it's likely to be a revamped NewtonOS with iApp-compatible applications. Any ideas?

Not to quash your idea but. NO on multiple levels. The PPC CPU is low powered when compared to desktops/laptops but for a PDA it can't compete to an ARM CPU. Slapping a heat sink on a PDA is not my idea of innovation and that's pretty much what you'd have to do on any PPC CPU. ARM or MIPS are the only two CPU's types that will give any PDA or handheld system a performance edge while still obtaining a battery life that isn't laughable and before anyone points me to the likes of Sony's picture book check what the typical battery life is before you state anything. My Newton gets at least a week off of a set of AA's. Admittedly this is because of the monochrome screen and slow CPU but its also because it’s a well designed system.

 

[Zaren]

New technology on a Newton

Ah the Newton.

It still lives on today. It has a cult following.

I would buy a new Newton if Apple developed one. I'd be willing to pay up to $300 for goodies like AirPort WiFi, Inkwell, and Bluetooth along with a huge storage device and decent battery life. It could be done.

So go get a Newton off of Ebay, and then get the shareware that's out there that lets you do WiFi, Bluetooth, iCal syncing, mp3 playback, CompactFlash memory for storage, and more. That might put you up around $300 - the CF memory software's a bit pricey, the last time I looked. The Orinoco Silver card to do wireless shouldn't be too expensive - I know it wasn't when I got one for my Newton.

And speaking of living on today, I was using my Newton 2000 today to take notes in my first MCSA class. Started the day with a 20% battery alert, and by the end of the day, I was down to... 16%.

 

[doogle]

So go get a Newton off of Ebay, and then get the shareware that's out there that lets you do WiFi, Bluetooth, iCal syncing, mp3 playback, CompactFlash memory for storage, and more. That might put you up around $300 - the CF memory software's a bit pricey, the last time I looked. The Orinoco Silver card to do wireless shouldn't be too expensive - I know it wasn't when I got one for my Newton.

And speaking of living on today, I was using my Newton 2000 today to take notes in my first MCSA class. Started the day with a 20% battery alert, and by the end of the day, I was down to... 16%.

any links to make finding stuff easy would be appreciated