Apple Newton to Be Reborn?
Interesting story on AppleInsider today about a new iteration of the Apple Newton rumored to be in the works. The Newton, of course, was ahead of its time--when it came out in 1993, it was still too big and bulky to be true handheld, and consumers weren't quite looking for such a device.
The AppleInsider piece cites insider sources, and provides some specs, too--the fabled Newton device would be 1.5 times the size of the iPhone, and would have a 720x480 display that fills much of the surface (I'm thinking along the lines of how the iPod Touch and iPhone are laid out). And, of course, it would use the multi-touch screen technology we've all become so familiar with since the iPhone's introduction this past summer.
Interesting theory--but I'm not convinced yet that Apple will bring such a device to the mainstream market just yet. The device seems to be intended to compete with both UMPCs and PDAs. However, technically speaking, neither category has burning up the pavement with significant interest from consumers. If anything, strict PDAs are on their way out--replaced by cell phone/hybrid PDAs that combine the organizer and productivity capabilities of the straight-on PDA with a cell phone. Or, they're being replaced by multimedia devices like the iPod Touch, which lacks the iPhone's note-taking application, but does have a calendar (oddly, you can't edit entries or add new events as you can on the iPhone).
Perhaps such a Newton handheld device would try competing with the still-niche UMPCs, but without a physical keyboard, that seems unlikely. Only two other potential competitors come to mind, then--the Archos 704 WiFi, which offers wireless access with a touch-screen multimedia, and Nokia's multimedia and Web browsing-friendly N800 Internet Tablet.
Nokia's efforts, in particular, underscore the positioning and design challenge that lies ahead for Apple. The N800 has an 800 by 400 pixel resolution screen, and was deemed a "neither a PDA nor a cell phone nor a UMPC," by our reviewer, who went on to call "the device is ultimately just a $400 toy for technology enthusiasts."
Presumably, any reborn Newton from Apple would feature the iPhone-esque modified Mac OSX interface and the iPhone/iPod Touch's best-iPod-ever features. Right there, that would help the case for any such device from Apple. But don't call it a PDA. At that point, aren't we really just making the case for an iPod Touch with a bigger screen and broader functionality? Or, maybe a full-bore, miniature computer, a keyboardless, miniature MacBook, if you will?
For your consideration: At what point does the convergence of features among all of these devices--mitigate the need for labels describing what they do? I envision a world where all devices--be they phone, audio player, video player, portable PC--will do more. Wi-Fi, e-mail, Web browsing, music, video, and photo playback, calendaring and productivity applications (such as reading and writing to Microsoft Office documents, and viewing .PDF files) will be standard issue, across all devices. Already, we see this happening with multipurpose cell phones. As the technology evolves, and battery life is improved, we'll only see this trend continue.
PC World's Marketplace
PC World's Free Whitepapers
tech news tech blogs community & forums laptop prices software reviews downloads
I am in total agreement with you, Melissa.
The end of the PDA/UMPC/Cell Phone labeling is drawing near. I feel that sooner rather than later, the majority of our computer systems will be in an ultramobile format, and simply attached to docking mechanisms at home, work, or wherever you happen to be.
I could be wrong, of course, but with high speed offerings like cell tower based connections that will, inside ten years, work in most areas of most countries, the home PC and internet connection will be a near moot point.