Brandon Miniman
08-27-2008, 01:48 PM
Before continuing the video series on the Apple Newton (http://pocketnow.com/index.php?a=portal_detail&t=news&id=5766), I wanted to share a bit of history on the Newton so that you can have a better appreciation for the vintage handheld device. I've also unearthed some TV commercials that aired in the 90s for the Newton, plus a fascinating Getting Started video for earlier Newton models. Read on for more...
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The Name
Why the "Newton"? Remember Isaac Newton and the story of the apple? Apple…Newton…get it? Newton was actually the term used to describe the operating system, not the hardware. Apple used the name "MessagePad" to describe the actual hardware. Over time, people began to refer to the device as the “Apple Newton” – and the MessagePad branding almost became secondary.
The Concept
When Apple began development on the Newton, they never intended to create a PDA-like device. They wanted to redefine the personal computing experience by making it more mobile, and more natural via handwriting recognition. Instead of doing that, they really started a new category…that of the Personal Digital Assistant….which was redefined by Palm in 1997 when they released the first true palm-sized mobile computing device, the Palm Pilot, which could easily fit in a pocket and still perform PIM-related tasks.
I believe that the Newton was actually the precursor to the Tablet PC. The rhetoric used in some of Apple’s early promotional videos echo what Bill Gates has been touting about the Tablet PC platform since its introduction: this idea of natural interaction with a device that is as intuitive as a pen and piece of paper. The Newton has dozens of little technologies that make interacting with the device quite natural: scribble a word to delete it, highlight someone’s name to send them a fax, and so on. What's interesting is that many of the basic functions that made the Newton so great still haven't made their way into mobile devices of today, though that's probably a matter of intellectual property.
Models
Between 1993 and 1997, there were 8 iterations of the Newton released. The earliest model, known as the H1000, had a 20MHz CPU with 4MB of ROM, 640KB of RAM, a 336x240 monochrome display, and 1 PCMCIA slot for expansion. The final Newton, called the MessagePad 2100 which I have in my possession for this article series, packed a 162MHz CPU, 8MB ROM, 4MB RAM, 4MB of flash memory, and 2 PCMCIA slots.
http://pocketnow.com/images/brandon/emate.jpg
A model called the eMate 300 was Apple’s attempt at making the Newton into a laptop-like device with a full keyboard, that they hoped would be used in educational environments.
The Newton's Discontinuation
So why did the Newton never succeed in a big way, thus leading Apple to discontinue the project? Well, coming from an Apple press release in 1998 (http://www.apple.com/ca/press/1998/02/NewtonDisco.html), Steve Jobs (then interim CEO) put it this way: "The decision [to discontinue the Newton] is consistent with our strategy to focus all of our software development resources on extending the Macintosh operating system." In other words, they weren't selling enough Newtons.
TV Commercials
As you'll see in the videos below - Apple's marketing strategy for the Newton is much like that of the iPhone. The ads are scenario-based that present a problem, and show the different ways that the device could be of assistance. The slogan for the Newton at the end of the commercials was "Newton Communicates" - which was appropriate for a time when there needed to be a bridge between being connected (at the office/home) and being out and about with no access to electronic communication devices. The Newton could do wireless data via a PCMCIA slot such as the Motorola 100D card.
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Getting Started Video
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If you have the time, watch this 8 minute Getting Started video which goes through the major functionality of an earlier Newton model.
See also:
Unboxing of the Newton MessagePad 2100 (http://pocketnow.com/index.php?a=portal_detail&t=news&id=5766)
Apple Newton on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Newton)
--------
The Name
Why the "Newton"? Remember Isaac Newton and the story of the apple? Apple…Newton…get it? Newton was actually the term used to describe the operating system, not the hardware. Apple used the name "MessagePad" to describe the actual hardware. Over time, people began to refer to the device as the “Apple Newton” – and the MessagePad branding almost became secondary.
The Concept
When Apple began development on the Newton, they never intended to create a PDA-like device. They wanted to redefine the personal computing experience by making it more mobile, and more natural via handwriting recognition. Instead of doing that, they really started a new category…that of the Personal Digital Assistant….which was redefined by Palm in 1997 when they released the first true palm-sized mobile computing device, the Palm Pilot, which could easily fit in a pocket and still perform PIM-related tasks.
I believe that the Newton was actually the precursor to the Tablet PC. The rhetoric used in some of Apple’s early promotional videos echo what Bill Gates has been touting about the Tablet PC platform since its introduction: this idea of natural interaction with a device that is as intuitive as a pen and piece of paper. The Newton has dozens of little technologies that make interacting with the device quite natural: scribble a word to delete it, highlight someone’s name to send them a fax, and so on. What's interesting is that many of the basic functions that made the Newton so great still haven't made their way into mobile devices of today, though that's probably a matter of intellectual property.
Models
Between 1993 and 1997, there were 8 iterations of the Newton released. The earliest model, known as the H1000, had a 20MHz CPU with 4MB of ROM, 640KB of RAM, a 336x240 monochrome display, and 1 PCMCIA slot for expansion. The final Newton, called the MessagePad 2100 which I have in my possession for this article series, packed a 162MHz CPU, 8MB ROM, 4MB RAM, 4MB of flash memory, and 2 PCMCIA slots.
http://pocketnow.com/images/brandon/emate.jpg
A model called the eMate 300 was Apple’s attempt at making the Newton into a laptop-like device with a full keyboard, that they hoped would be used in educational environments.
The Newton's Discontinuation
So why did the Newton never succeed in a big way, thus leading Apple to discontinue the project? Well, coming from an Apple press release in 1998 (http://www.apple.com/ca/press/1998/02/NewtonDisco.html), Steve Jobs (then interim CEO) put it this way: "The decision [to discontinue the Newton] is consistent with our strategy to focus all of our software development resources on extending the Macintosh operating system." In other words, they weren't selling enough Newtons.
TV Commercials
As you'll see in the videos below - Apple's marketing strategy for the Newton is much like that of the iPhone. The ads are scenario-based that present a problem, and show the different ways that the device could be of assistance. The slogan for the Newton at the end of the commercials was "Newton Communicates" - which was appropriate for a time when there needed to be a bridge between being connected (at the office/home) and being out and about with no access to electronic communication devices. The Newton could do wireless data via a PCMCIA slot such as the Motorola 100D card.
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1xro3yEqPK0&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1xro3yEqPK0&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OvCiORVFWSk&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OvCiORVFWSk&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
Getting Started Video
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If you have the time, watch this 8 minute Getting Started video which goes through the major functionality of an earlier Newton model.
See also:
Unboxing of the Newton MessagePad 2100 (http://pocketnow.com/index.php?a=portal_detail&t=news&id=5766)
Apple Newton on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Newton)