Newton Revisted...
I originally posted this in response to another post on comp.sys.newton.misc back in October/November when the the iPod was announced. I even sent it to Steve Jobs for what good it would do... 8^)! I thought you might be interested.
Wasn't it fun to watch Apple's stock gain over a dollar on Tuesday morning as it climbed in anticipation of a hypathetical device called the "iWalk"? Wasn't it equally disheartening to watch as the stock dropped by almost a full dollar after the announcement of the actual device called the "iPod"? What's my point?
Apple NEEDS to re-enter the PDA marketplace and regain its position as leader and innovator in a sector originally thier own! So many of us were eagerly expecting something so much more than an MP3 player with Firewire and a hard drive. So many of us were disappointed when that product didn't come to fruition. So many of us are now asking, "what's next?" and so many of us are sticking with our MessagePads once again because after almost four years, there's still nothing on the market to replace our trusted companions.
The iWalk was an obvious hoax but look at the attention it garnered in the 24 hours before Apple's announcement. It wasn't an MP3 player that drove Apple's stock up over $19.00 on Tuesday morning... It was heightened speculation that Apple would be announcing a new PDA; one that was/is to be a worthy successor to the Newton's heritage!
In hindsight, almost everyone now agrees that the last incarnations of Newton were astounding to say the least. Apple's "legendary industrial design", fast processors, lots of RAM, expandibility, the best backlit screen in the industry (the list goes on...), are all responsible for making the Newton the best PDA there was/is. And let's not forget the best part of the Newton experience... The Newton OS! Newton OS 2.1 was/is mature. Newton OS 2.1 was/is friendly and easy to use. Newton OS 2.1 has the best damn handwriting recognition in the industry!
In the last four years, NOTHING has replaced it! My MessagePad is STILL just as useful to me today as it was back in 1997 when I first purchased it! It STILL surfs the web, grabs my email, takes my notes, and does my finances. In fact in 2001, very few modern PDA's, even the one's that are now coming to market, are as fast as the Newton was in 1997.
So what happened?
In my opinion, the myths of Steve Jobs not liking the Newton are hearsay and irrelevant. The Newton was ultimately shelved despite being the BEST for a number of reasons. First, IT NEVER MADE MONEY! Actually, truth be told, this is the ONLY reason the Newton was canned, period. Bottom line. Naturally, there were other factors; before Gil came on board as CEO and restructured things, Apple was in dire financial and organizational straights. The Newton was never marketed successfully; it was physically too big (not to my mind but as evidenced by the Palm Pilot's quick rise to fame and fortune), it was priced too high (a lesson that Apple still hasn't learned or fully grasped as evidenced recently by the now defunct Cube and now the iPod), Apple never did get synchronization with a desktop system to work properly, and perhaps (though I don't necessarily agree), it tried to be or do too much when all people really wanted was something to stick in their pockets and go.
Let's face some facts. The Newton was/is a FULL BLOWN COMPUTER capable of standing on its own without having to rely on a desktop system at all. Most every other PDA (modern or otherwise, with the possible exception of Psion) ISN'T. Today, modern PDA's rely heavily on synergy and synchronization with a desktop system to be a complete solution. I have no problem with that whatsoever but I prefer the Newton approach. I don't want to have to rely on a desktop system but I DO want the ability to have my PDA successfully communicate with other computers to transfer data and information. That, I think is of paramount importance!
Give the people what they want already! I think Apple knows that they had a winning product in the Newton, they simply made too many mistakes in too many areas to see it through. Image if Apple had released a Palm sized Newton instead of the eMate or the MessagePad 2000? Imagine if they had priced it reasonably from the get-go, imagine if that damned Doonsbury cartoon had never been published. Imagine if, imagine if... They pioneered an entirely new industry and pioneers make mistakes in uncharted territories.
Here's what I suspect most people really want(ed) to see as heir to the venerable Newton:
- a smaller device with all of the capabilities the Newton possessed four years ago plus...
- based on a handheld version of OS X,
- fast, low-powered G3 processor,
- at least 64MB of RAM built-in (with the option to exand),
- improved handwriting recognition engine (Rosetta?),
- voice recognition (Newton had it with Dragon Dictate!),
- a colour screen,
- a long-life Lithium-polymer battery,
- a headphone jack,
- some kind of control pad (scroll wheel or some such thing),
- SM and CF card support,
- iPod functionality built-in (including the hard drive and Firewire),
- USB and Firewire connectivity,
- WIRELESS internet (ala Airport, Bluetooth and or GSM Cellular),
- seamless connectivity to a desktop system (notice I didn't specify Mac),
- affordable ($899. US? Pipedream? Perhaps then $999. US)
There's probably more and I'm sure many of you will look at the list and say, "Hey! he forgot this or that..." but you get the picture.
Well, I've said my piece and until Apple comes around and produces something worthy of the Newton's legacy, I'll keep on using my MessagePad thanks very much.
Cheers,
Goggles
