I've got a Newton 2100, and I've had various Palm devices over the years (original Pilot 5000, Handspring Visor Deluxe, now a Tungsten T3). The T3 is the only one that even comes close to the Newton in terms of usefulness -- and the only way it tops the Newton is in its color screen and small form factor.
The Newton OS is intuitive and well-designed, and for 1997 the hardware was outstanding. The two PC card slots on the 2000/2100 make it possible to have a large flash memory card in one slot and a modem card, Ethernet card, or even wireless card in the other slot. I could dial up my ISP or connect to an Ethernet network (via cable or 802.11) and check my email on my Newton long before it was practical to do so with a Palm. (And actually, it's only just recently that a wireless card came out that works with my T3.)
I've been saying for years that I wish Apple would revive the Newton -- or even sell off the technology for someone else to revive. A modernized Newton with a smaller form factor, higher-res color display, Bluetooth, and say one PC card slot and one SD slot or something would easily be the best PDA on the market.
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I've got a Newton 2100, and I've had various Palm devices over the years (original Pilot 5000, Handspring Visor Deluxe, now a Tungsten T3). The T3 is the only one that even comes close to the Newton in terms of usefulness -- and the only way it tops the Newton is in its color screen and small form factor.
The Newton OS is intuitive and well-designed, and for 1997 the hardware was outstanding. The two PC card slots on the 2000/2100 make it possible to have a large flash memory card in one slot and a modem card, Ethernet card, or even wireless card in the other slot. I could dial up my ISP or connect to an Ethernet network (via cable or 802.11) and check my email on my Newton long before it was practical to do so with a Palm. (And actually, it's only just recently that a wireless card came out that works with my T3.)
I've been saying for years that I wish Apple would revive the Newton -- or even sell off the technology for someone else to revive. A modernized Newton with a smaller form factor, higher-res color display, Bluetooth, and say one PC card slot and one SD slot or something would easily be the best PDA on the market.