Is Apple working on a multi-touch-based Newton successor?
By Donald Melanson 
posted September 26th 2007 1:28PM
posted September 26th 2007 1:28PM
This one is purely in the realm of rumor, folks, but AppleInsider is now reporting the tantalizing detail that Apple is currently working on a multi-touch-based successor to its Newton handheld. As the story goes, Apple has actually had a "small team of engineers" working on the project for the past 18 months, during which time they were occasionally forced to put the project on hold in order to help get the iPhone out the door on time. Now, with the iPhone out of the way, AppleInsider says it's "full steam ahead" on the "modern day Newton." Delving even further into the rumor mill, AppleInsider says the device will about 1.5 times the size of the iPhone, and sport a 720x480 display that fills nearly the entire surface of the unit (no surprise there). What's more, it seems that the device is intended to compete as much with UMPCs as with PDAs (something the original Newton's already taken a shot at) and, if the rumors are to be believed, it could be released "sometime in the first half of 2008," with a possible announcement as soon as MacWorld in January.
[Image courtesy of audiopollution/AppleInsider]
[Image courtesy of audiopollution/AppleInsider]
If this is legit, it looks to me like Apple is kind of adrift here. Nobody wants this. Too big, presumably expensive, presumably no phone. People want their iPhones to do all this stuff - which is quite reasonable, considering what's running under the hood of the iPhone. They don't want to carry an iPhone and an iPDA (or Newton or whatever they end up calling it.) Only Apple's attempt to artificially differentiate their lineup of OSX-based handhelds stands in the way. I would expect these things to gather dust on store shelves next to the AppleTV.
The one thing we can be sure of though - if this ever sees production, it will look pretty.
Wow if apple truly delivers a multi touch UMPC that would be amazing. I bet it will carry a hefty price tag too. However, I would def take a look at it. As the article above stated its going to compete with UMPC's and PDA's. So, I do think they would allow for installation of 3rd party apps and the likes. I think its a step forward for Apple. Now the next venture will be an Apple Video Game Console!
they did. and it sucked.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandai_Pippin
Hmm, as cool as this could be they should use touch for a tablet laptop. Since their making the MacBooks into aluminum mini-Pros, they should take the plastic 13" casings, add touch and tablet writing, and allow the screen to swivel. Now that would be better than a Newton.
It must support 3rd party apps! No PDA experience is complete without figuring out which app just crashed your PDA or which combination of apps brought it to its knees!
Bah, unless it can REPLACE your laptop what good is it? I have a cellphone to make calls/text messaging and a laptop to do all my other computing. This sounds like an oversized PDA and probably won't be able to replace my laptop. So why would I haul yet another gadget through the airport? At least with an iPhone I have the option of consolidating my phone with my mp3 player (although I haven't).
Does your laptop fit in your pocket?
There's your answer.
Does this device replace my laptop, phone and/or mp3 player, while consolidating the functionality of at least two of those devices into one? No, then there's your answer.
This would be great. The thing that keeps me on a Treo is the apps. Even though the iPhone is more elegant and has a nicer browser, it still doesn't have all the functionality of a Treo. If Apple would make a PDA that could run third party apps, I'd get it. If it had a phone in it, that would be even better. But hell, they are so slim that you could stack two devices and it would still be slimmer than a treo! If they could talk with Bluetooth, I'd use an Apple PDA, plus a separate cell phone.
Isn't this an e-reader, among other things? If I can download .pdf versions of books onto it and read in bed with the backlight (unlike the new Sony reader, which is not backlit, I understand) + plus do a lot of i-Phoneish things with it that I now do on my iPhone but with a bigger screen, then I will buy it, sure. Just for the e-reader. Or I-reader, I suppose, in this case.
yeah unless its literally a "mac in your pocket", it wouldnt stand a chance, not without a phone function.
Steve will finally drag M$ into the 21st century!!!
It's for real alright. The evidence: a) A year or so ago, it was reported that Apple were buying the rights to re-sell a huge number of books. b) The iPhone screen is too small for lengthy reading sessions. c) No company (not even Sony) has yet produced a useable 'eBook' that matches the form factor and intuitive convenience of a typical paperback. d) Apple's multi-touch interface is perfect for navigating 'pages'. Drag across the screen to the right or left to 'turn' the page in the appropriate direction. Want to zoom into a word or illustration? Just spread your fingers apart. Want to look up a word? Hold your finger down on the word and select 'Dictionary' or 'Thesaurus' from the menu. Oh, and where do you get your book from? Well, iTunes of course! £4.99 a pop single user, or £7.99 to share with all those people who you loaned your real paper books to years ago in the tactile age. (I actually designed at conceptual level a device like this years ago for Bitstream Corp, before the Newton was even conceived. But Apple will delivery it. Because they can.) Want to see a Hypercard simulation of my idea? Drop me a line to 'alexblok AT owonder.com'. (Sadly, only runs on OS9 unless someone has a Hypercard simulator for OSX!)
Two corrections to my posting, sorry! a) That should read 'But Apple will DELIVER it.' b) My email is 'alex.blok AT owonder.com' (Note the dot.)
Hmmm, an eBook reader combined with music/video, wireless web browsing might actually get my attention. But yeah, it needs to support 3rd party apps. A microphone/speaker & bluetooth would be welcome for internet calls, chat, etc. and it should come with USB ports for wireless keyboard/mouse, etc.
Lame! What can it do that the iphone or any other smartphone can't do? At the end, will you carry this AND an iphone around? And I know Stevie wants to get rid of the keyboard and all peripherals, but come on, can you imagine typing a report on the screen? ebook readers and tablet PCs ARE SOOOOOO popular, NOT. I am sure there are enough people out there who have drunk the apple koolaid to make this thing profitable, but it would be a fad. Nothing more, nothing less.
that would explain crippling the touch and locking down the software on the Iphone, if they were planning to release a real PDA type piece of hardware, that you can install apps on and develop for, as to not have its market cannibalized by the smaller pocket able itouch or iphone.
egg freckles?
Why on earth is anyone talking like this is actually true? "Leaks" out of Apple like this are just mock-ups and jokes, and many of you are acting like it could even be a possibility.
There will never be another PDA from Apple. Any PDA features will exist within the smart phone category. Please, let it die already.
the other day i was asking a friend of mine if he thought Apple would be getting in to the UMPC market any time in the next couple of years. Apparently i'm a prophet.
If you were really a prophet you wouldn't be asking your friend what he thinks....and you would also have known I was going to point out how stupid your comment was.
they just need to add the features to the existing ipod touch... like where's my google maps, mail app (those for when connected to internet), a notepad, and ability to add/edit calender dates.
A release of newton II is still a lame excuse for crippling the iPhone and iPod Touch. We already have laptops and a large PDA is as useful as the Foleo was...give us what we want Jobsy and open up the iPhone/Touch!
Maybe this is why Apple is keeping the iron fist de' chill on the iPod touch... as to keep the products separate.
ANYthing that I would even consider putting in my pocket must make phone calls. Anything else is a consideration for laptop replacement, and I sincerely doubt this does the job.
oh pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaase let this be true. :crosses all fingers and limbs::
If Apple made a real Smartphone, that is a Newton with 3G & 3.5G communications (and A2DP please and in-built GPS) then I would consider buying one. But the software will need to really good, I mean much better than Palm and WM6 apps and a lot better then the basic apps on the iPhone.
We answer these posts because we want manufactuers like Apple to know what we as customers want. I want on of these. The iPhone lack a Notepad and sketching abilities - both areas the Netwon handled very well and without them, I am unlikely to buy an iPhone and retire my Palm.
I certainly want an open system where I can launch a CAD program as on my Palm and, like so many users, think that Apple should have a way for third party apps. I don't want to run software over the net; why should I have to worry about a connection, connection costs, and data control when a simple application on my machine suffices.
For those who don't need/want these features, buy one of the other products. For me, I'd love a machine like this. Please include the handwriting recognition from the Newton and an expansion slot. A swapable battery would be a luxury and easier to carry than a charger.
Would be nice if it had a higher res display than 720 x 480, but maybe it's to help keep the cost down.
I'm not sure what the big deal is. I've installed JAS MacOS X 10.4.8 on my Samsung Q1U-V UMPC to get a 7" 1024x600 Intel Mac system - and other people have installed it on the Sony UX to get the same resolution in a 4.8" screen. It works reasonably well, although you have to dig up some drivers.
All Apple has to do is get build something close to the Q1U-V and they're done. Not even difficult.
This device is suspect at best, though I do believe that it will see the light of day. Why? One reason: Mobile Mac OS X. Surely they didn't develop a mobile version of Mac OS X purely for the iPhone and its widget-based Web2.0 apps, right? I feel that if this product is true (and I can see it being as such), it will run on a more complete version of Mobile Mac OS X and will have actual PROGRAMS instead of widgets.
However, in order for this to happen, 3G is a MINIMUM requirement. Didn't someone say that 3G energy consumption would drop by sometime in mid-2008? What a coincidence that rumors have this releasing at around this same time. And in addition to that, there is that OPEN WIRELESS SPECTRUM being auctioned. Hmm...
As for the phone part, I would bet my right arm that it won't have one, if only to ensure that the iPhone isn't pushed to the backburner here. Instead, I figure that the iPhone and i-whatever-you-wanna-call-it will sync via Bluetooth or what have you.
So, that's my two cents.
It's a Nokia N800 on a diet!
I'd love this to be true, for several reasons. For those that have never tried it, the last Newton (the 2000/2100 models) were quite amazing as far as features, speed and battery life. They were just too much, too soon.
And forget "egg freckles" - with Apple's proprietary Inkwell algorithms I would handwrite a note to "Tom Dellenbach" and the Newton would read my horrible lefty-handwriting.
The signs all point to it, the limits on the iPhone, the inclusion of Inkwell in OSX, etc. Keep in mind this would be a replacement for a mid-power laptop that you could attach a monitor and keyboard to; the screen is the trackpad itself.
I will buy one.
Plus that explains why the Newton 2000/2100 can't track dates beyond 2010!!
Apple don't like to left behind in Intel Linux MID bandwagon. In December, we will see in market probably that the Linux MID.
http://www.umpcportal.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=906
Apple know is the friend of Intel. For sure, Apple has now the Intel prototype running Mac OS.
Apple are really loving touch screen atm, maybe the Leopard Macs (incl laptop and desktop) will be touch screen. I hope so, that would be cool.
The age of the PDA is dead. Nowadays, you only have smartphones (iPhone) or you have UMPCs or proper tablet notebooks, and the UMPC is pretty much a dead end for all but the 7 people in its niche market. Frankly, I'd love an Apple Tablet PC, seeing as how proper Tablet PCs are infinitely better for students like me and Apple would be able to create a kick-butt tablet that would compete with the likes of the Thinkpad X60 tablet and the Fujitsu tablets. After all, the only thing really that Apple can't do on OS X anymore is proper PC gaming and nobody expects to game on a tablet! So a full-size OS X tablet PC would be best, not a Newton successor.
Of course this is absolute crap. If apple were doing a PDA, it would look exactly like the ipod touch. We would have seen it months ago.
Apple have proven their disinterest in this area with the iPhone and iPod Touch. Where are all the extra Apple endorsed apps? File browser? Nope, thought so. Not happening.
LOL I just stumbled on to my old newton yesterday.
I think it would be great to have it come back.
Though I do think a tablet mac would be even better
Better more a tougher form of laptop.
Either way they are all tools, only survive if they are useful.
Once again, Apple ALMOST gets me excited, it's like dating a hot chick who has bad breath. Ring, ring -- Apple, the 1980s are calling and want their PDA back. I mean really. In 2002 I bought the (at the time) awesome Dell Axim X5 PDA and had to wait an excruciating 5 YEARS till HTC finally and properly cell-phonified a Windows Mobile PDA (the PPC-6600/6700 don't count, they were feeble attempts).
So how is Apple's 25-years too late PDA supposed to help anyone now ?! Nope, Apple, this is what your iPhone should've been. Now THAT (along with 3G/HSDPA) would've been worth my $200 term fee from Sprint.
Yeah, and Radio Shack is bringing back the Zoomer.
If that stuff about Apple buying into the book distribution business is true... then this product is starting to make a lot more sense.
They need to sort the frigin flash memory out first, you need to head towards at least the 30gig range to make this useful.
I still say the virtual keyboard will be complete crap on a PDA type device. It ain't to bad on the iPod touch but it's hardly like the old Psion Series 5 keyboard which was the perfect tiny fully usable keyboard, god that thing was total genius.
I love the multi-touch screen, it feels like magic but please Apple don't get blind to the fact there are better solutions in other types of products.
My Apple 'fan-ness' died the day Steve-o Killed Newton. If instead of killing it, Steve-o had utilized the talent and drive of the people working on that platform to improve/innovate on it, I'd bet that today, the 'N-Phone' (newton-phone) would be even more ubiquitous than the iPod, and likely far more functional than either the iphone/ipod.
Of course this is real. How else can they make the $400/$600 iPhone obsolete in 18 months or less?
it makes no sense.
the only real difference between a newton-ish device and a touch/iphone is the lack of apps. And you don't need a new form-factor for that. The only UMPC killer they need is an ipod touch with a HDD, bluetooth and apps.
If they were doing another form factor, it'd make far more sense to do a sub-notebook tablet than a slightly-larger touch.
As long as I can load VLC Player on it, which means I can finally play Ogg files on an apple device, I all for it. If I can not, then SCREW IT.
I always assumed that the iPhone was the successor to the Newton...who's going to buy a non-connected PDA that doesn't fit in your pocket these days?
When someone tells you that Apple is going to revise the Newton PDA with an iPhone/iPod Touch form factor the resulting comments are what we've seen. Now if someone comes along and says that Apple is going to launch a device that fits in their product lineup between the iPhone and the Mac Mini which can run everything both the iPhone and Mac run including iLife apps in addition to the ability to cut, paste, edit and save documents through the Multi Touch UI and is compatible with 4G/WiMax networks is that something that would interest you? My answer would be yes.
The WiMax conference was this week. Sprint & Clearwire will begin to blanket 100 Million people with 4G WiMax beginning next April. Now if Jobs is launching in January (like the iPhone) for a product mid-year delivery then it stands to reason that this is the device that he's planning for that network. It's not an iPhone so he doesn't have to worry about AT&T's exclusivity deal. If it's WiMax it will negate the issues with 2G data and WiFi's range. Google is already on board with Sprint/Xohm so wouldn't it make sense that Apple is somewhere to be found? The true benefit of this WiMax arrangement is that the network provider is going to be very hands off - no 2 year commitments. You'll be able to pay for the service by the day, month or year. It will provide for total access to the web not the mobile web or what the carrier wants you to have access to. And companies can dream up services to offer on their own without asking for permission. Sounds to me like Apple could have a field day in this environment with the this New Newton or iMac Touch or whatever you want to call it.