How far we've come
By Ryan Block 
posted Jun 29th 2007 9:55PM
posted Jun 29th 2007 9:55PM
[Thanks, Bob]
Please note: If you're a current Engadget commenter, you do not need to re-register. Simply login and you will be prompted to select a username.
where can i get a newton
eBay?
They're all over ebay. You'll want a 130 if you want on in that form factor. Newt OS 2 I think, and backlit!!! WOOO!
newton ftw.
The entire iPhone appears as if it could fit inside the screen of the Newt.
Look, the Newton didn't have a keyboard either.
actually yes it did. It plugged in to the serial port on the side. I should know, i'm typing this on my newton Messagepad 2000 over a wifi card. Woot for old skool tech.
iPhone clone... Oh wait...
Without people like Mile there would never be a second post. Think about that. Really mull that one the fuck over.
That's the one you get if you show up at the Apple store tomorrow.
We've Come a Long Way, Baby
Man! look at the size of that screen on the Newton. Someday, PDA's will have screens that big. And WOW! The batteries still work on that thing? You'd think they'd be dead and not able to hold a charge any more. I bet that newton wishes it could be operated by finger(nail) touch like the iPhone, that the screen could be switched from portrait to landscape, and that it could do WiFi and browse the web...
Oh wait! It has dirt-cheap user replaceable batteries, you don't have to use a stylus, and it _can_ do WiFi, and rotate the screen? And you can use a full-size (ADB) keyboard with it! Damn. I bet it had a durable, built-in screen protector AND it could recognize handwriting too. That sucker was way the hell ahead of its time.
When did those Newton things come out, anyway?
1993
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Newton
pwnt
We have came so far, and still over-priced and over-hyped...
History does indeed repeat it self...
"note my comment under "Engadget is giving away a free Iphone" *cough* *cough*"
Oh yeah, lemme search through the 75 pages worth...
Amazing.
not that far really
Hey Ryan, take a memo on your Newton: beat up Martin.
Newton: Eat up Martha
glad I can adblock the "iphone at Engadget" icon....geez enough already
It's the same handheld computer that the Newton was, even down to those home shortcuts along the bottom. It really proves that most new tech is just shoehorning the latest and greatest in a smaller chassis: Phones, TVs, PVP/music players, laptops (although the original PowerBook 100 was the slim, trim JesusBook of its time).
What a difference betweent the two.
Magic!
Engadget... please, for the love of God, settle down with the iPhone posts that aren't even news. It was one thing to post a lot about it when information was new or there were some unknowns that became known, but now we're getting posts like this? Please don't turn into an iPhone worship site. You guys are crossing that line.
the newton was a fiasco, let the tradition continue
Eat up Martha
LOL!
atttha sisi awhda djoswj dadsgha (sorry, was using handwriting recognition on my newton) ;)
Hey look, another pointless iPhone post!
I understand posting REAL information about the iPhone, but this is getting absurd... Surely something has happened in the tech world today that's not related to the iPhone. I never thought I would see the day that so much noise was made over a cellphone. But I guess Apple fanboys are used to overpaying for average technology to look "cool".
Are there any real posts coming sometime soon?
Nothing else much happened in the news today. A couple of car bombs discovered in London, a few dozen bodies turned up in Baghdad, Lebanon army soldiers kill protestors in street. Boring, boring, boring.
Let's see some more iPhone unboxing videos and splayed iPhones stripped down to their nakedness. Now that's some interesting stuff. Anyone out there gonna do a unboxing in 3D? I never knew there were so many ways you can unbox an iPhone. Some use keys to remove the plastic, some use razors, some just rip it open with their fingernails. Awesome stuff.
Wow no wonder there is so much iPhone news. I didn't even realise today was such a slow news day. Forgive me Apple fans around the world.
hey! look!, you read and commented on "another pointless iPhone post!"
I'm confused. How do I install software on the one on the right?
Jobsy said it's insecure to be able to install apps on iPhones saying that it may take down the AT&T network or something. Just web-based apps.
Shouldn't it instead be "new school meet old school"?
At least the Newton could copy/paste text.
I love the iPhone. I'm calling it - the iPhone will sell 100,000,000 units too!
all i know is that, with the exception of EDGE, the iPhone is freaking sweet... I'm using it right now to post this. It makes every other phone on the market look archaic. Something tells me that this is not going to be another Newton.. Personally, im typing better on this than i did on my blackjack.
And it has a stylus!
Why doesn't the iPhone have one of those?
Hold your hands up in front of you. Focus on the sausage like appendages.
man, that makes the iPhone look extra tiny!
And yet the screen isn't much smaller...wonderful times
Guys, this was a joke. And a damned good one. Don't give it the "-"
Guest what, Newton can Beam!
(Actually newton is smarter than iPhone.)
That's not so nice
a meaningful picture!
What's that black whip on the iPhone?
WOW! :-D
Like Pismo vs. Macbook Pro!
The Newton did things the iPhone can't, like Copy and Paste text.
whatever. the iPhone doesn't deserve to hold the Newton's jock strap...if it had one that is. In terms of overall functionality it runs rings around the planet around the iPhone.
On the left, the first Apple product designed by Jonathon Ive, on the right, the latest. It look like the only thing that carried over (in spirit at least) is the Notes application.
The way you guys act is like the thousands of PDAs and PDA phones has never existed between the Iphone and Newton's release.
But I am sure to you guys Steve Jobs created the touchscreen phone so all's fair for you guys.
oh, i didn't know the newton (which i absolutely love btw, no hate on the old guy, been trying to save a box of 20 of them from certain death) was a cell phone too. that's pretty amazing. oh, it also has 8gb of storage for mp3 playback? wow, that's pretty amazing. it can play movies and view photos? it's in color! wow.
etc etc etc... you ihaters are pretty smart and extremely fair and rational when arguing your points. thanks for the comments.
Yeah. One is a PDA - the other isn't.
It would've been great if they used Inkwell as a text input alternative but alas no stylus. During the end of the Newton's run it got much more reliable, but it was still easy to make some Newton Poetry if need be! I think even text-to-speech should be added down the line with Apple's basic expertise in that area.
*speech-to-text
I've been carrying the item on the left for about 10 years.
Please say a prayer for my pants' pockets.
Although the Newt handles both WiFi and gravity very well.
The Newton is so Sexy. What the heck is that disgusting thing next to it?
eat up martha?
Write me a memo about it on the iphone, Oh I can't? Really? Oops, sometimes the old dog can teach the new one new tricks.
security cable at the apple store
If ONLY iPhone were more like Newton! How about the Notes from Newton? I LOVED Apple's insanely great Newton Notes with it's drag-able checklist/outliner feature (see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Newton#Notes)
Please, really, follow that link, see the 1 paragraph description and the screenshot, it's really a terrific bit of software.
iPhone isn't even a PDA
:( Can't even cut & paste. How can you get anything useful done if you can't org/re-org lists & tasks? We need cut & paste...or a drag-able checklist like Newton's Notes.