During this week of PDA-centric discussion, have we
really stopped to ask where these great little devices came from? Well, I'd
like to be the first to say that Apple was the first to come out with what is
now called a personal digital assistant. Around 1993, Apple's Advanced
Technology Group was messing around with the concept of hand-sized devices to
store data, play games, and most importantly, read handwriting. Apple released
the Newton in 1993, but due to bad marketing and a faulty first-generation
handwriting recognition system, the Newton never really took off and was
discontinued in 1998.
The Newton-user community is still very active, which is the main reason the
Newton is still a viable PDA platform. Besides being high-quality
hardware, Newtons are constantly being updated and upgraded by the users.
Users have come up with hardware and software "hacks" that do everything from
store and play Mp3's to surfing the Internet using the popular WiFi wireless
networking standard. Even though the hardware hasn't been upgraded for five
years, the Newton is still comparable to brand-new PDA's. The more popular
Newtons have
processors around 200 MHz, 8 MB of R.A.M., a 16-bit grayscale screen with a
backlight, 480 x 320 resolution, an infrared IrDA port, and 2 PMCIA Slots; not
to mention that the screen is physically bigger than most PDA's, which
although slightly larger, is much easer to read. This modern hardware can all
be had for around $150 on e-bay, too, which speaks for itself.
All these features make Newton a very cool and useful PDA, but the one thing
that really separates it from the crowd is the user. Unlike buying a new
device that comes with maybe one year of support, when you buy a
Newton you are automatically admitted into a family of users. Being a part of
this family also happens to be the best way to get help with a Newton and is
much more friendly than waiting on the phone for some snot-nosed kid to try
and help you. The Internet is covered with pages and posts devoted to Newton
software with questions covering everything from fixing hardware to connecting
a Newton to a Windows or Linux box. And the best part about all of this family- style support is this: it's all free as is almost ALL of the software for the
Newton.
So if you're interested in getting a Newton, you should stop by eBay.
And while it's in the mail you can check out some of these Newton-related
sites:
Newton Source, Newton Reference, Planet Newton
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Name: Kevin
Comments:
Thanks for the reminder Brice of a device i wish to forget :)
The newton was a great gizmo for it's day, but it's demise ultimately was because of a handful of reasons:
First, it's way too large.
Second, it's battery life sucked.
Third, compatibility with non-apple was rough
Fourth, it was very heavy!!!
One of my geek friends bought a top-end model that was light and powerful by Newton standards, and though I had no where near the capacity he did, he coveted my Pilot 5000 for it's size and weight.
I'm hoping Apple does something with I-Pod.... Apple's ability to innovate will keep the WinCE and Palm OS companies honest ;)
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