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Up Next for Apple: Newton Multi-Touch PDA

appleinsider.com — Apple plans to give the concept another go with a modern day reincarnation of the old fan favorite based on the company's new mutli-touch technology, AppleInsider has learned.

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  • jdm7, on 10/10/2007, -1/+40Hopefully it'll have copy and paste functionality.
    • centerblack, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4 I talked to Steve Jobs three months ago. His words were "Less than 10% of users want to put data into a device, they want to get information out of it".
      • systemghost, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Sure, makes complete and total sense... I mean seriously, output comes before input, right?
  • chawkie, on 10/10/2007, -6/+33Eat up Martha
    • Avian00, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4I'm glad I wasn't the only one remember the Simpson's reference! That was great!
    • pinchies, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2It never gets old... I hope they learn their lesson.
  • FreakyD, on 10/10/2007, -10/+2Apple flavored iNewton?
  • xoineg, on 10/10/2007, -0/+64They can just update the iphone and ipod touch to support the 3rd part apps and create a few new ones themselves.
    • bromac, on 10/10/2007, -5/+5Apple needs to sell more hardware.
    • habbofresh, on 10/10/2007, -2/+18They can extend their reach into the PDA market by adding Numbers, copy and paste and some goddamn file management on the iPhone or Touch. ***** carrying around another device, i thought one of the main selling points of the iPhone was to NOT carry around so much *****.
    • GreenAlien, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1It looks like they're suggesting more of a fully fledged PC with a larger form factor and much larger screen. That's if the mockup shown on that appleinsider page is anything to go by. Worth keeping an eye on what they do for the keyboard too...
    • theprez, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1I can see Apple releasing their new PDA: An iPod Touch with only 4GB for your documents (who has so many documents anyway) with the iPhone's email client, the notes app, the freakin' "add" button in calendar enabled, and... yes! bluetooth! woop-dee-*****-doo

      At least now everybody would understand why Apple didn't include these features in the iPod Touch.
  • flipmeat, on 10/10/2007, -18/+5Hey, I love science fiction. Buried for stupid.
    • CraigJ, on 10/10/2007, -2/+6Well, you got the buried for stupid part right.
  • BigGrant, on 10/10/2007, -3/+39Isn't this what the iPod touch / iPhone does?
    • crackedplastic, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Exactly. Just slap the "add events" functionality to the calendar (instead of making it handicapped), and the iPod Touch becomes a PDA.

      A separate PDA device from Apple seems needless at this time, unless it's the rumored ultraslim MBP.
    • PointAndClick, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4It's what they should do. That's the only reason I was excited about the iPod touch. I already have a 30g video, I'm not going to buy it for a different screen. I want to take it to class and write down my assignments without needing two separate devices.

      The only reasoning I keep seeing is that "it's a media player, not a pda". I thought Apple was all about innovation.... that mindset seems to be a step backwards.

      /rant
    • Cyber_Akuma, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Not if Apple has anything to say about 3rd party apps.
  • boomshakalaka, on 10/10/2007, -8/+8isn't this called the iPhone?
    • geminitojanus, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2No. The iPhone/Touch is the new Apple PDA. This device would sit between laptops and the PDA, think UMPC. Could very well explain the reason for the price slashing in the iPhone arena.
    • Cyber_Akuma, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Technically, an uncrippled iPhone.
    • tracydanger, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1If it's the size of the original Newton, then that would be in the UMPC range.
  • bromac, on 10/10/2007, -5/+60So, instead of convergence, we now how THREE different versions of pretty much the same device?

    Way to miss the point of an all-in-one device, Apple.
    • SirBotchness, on 10/10/2007, -5/+5well, why not just own a new ipod, iphone and the iwhatever else? thats what they're banking on. Blind following from their fanfare to push their products no matter what the price or features.
    • bravehumans, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2I can see why Apple would do this. I don't need or want an iPhone, particularly so long as it is chained to ATT. I have a phone. I also don't need a fancy touch interface on my iPod, just to play music. But a larger screen PDA I could use. Sure, the iPhone COULD do what the PDA does, but the PDA doesn't need to be as compact.
    • bromac, on 10/10/2007, -3/+3now how?

      Now have. It's early, I need my caffeine.
    • toetagger, on 10/10/2007, -4/+4YOU are missing the point.
      • bromac, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3They want to sell more hardware, I get it.

        I'm talking about convergence. All in one data devices that do PDA, phone (conventional and/or voip), wifi, and still be a decent media player. Being a decent media player means having enough storage to make playing videos on that nice widescreen viable. It's like there's an inch away from the finish line, damn it!
    • zeejay, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I think it needs to be even bigger than that (10"-12"), have an optional stylus, higher-res screen, and pressure sensitivty would be a killer bonus. It should aim a little more squarely at the Tablet PC, which to date is pretty much a too-bulky hack with minimal appeal outside of specific vertical apps. I also believe such a device could kick ass with an eBook reader that has a back-end store like iTunes.

      What will make or break the thing are the apps - third party or otherwise. If it just has the same stuff as the iPod Touch or the iPhone, it's kinda passé.
    • Cyber_Akuma, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Remember when people were going crazy stating the iPhone will do everything?
  • totorototoro, on 10/10/2007, -4/+6Sounds more like a UMPC than a PDA. I like the bigger screen size idea though.
    • CrankyMcGuy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I tend to think this is their direction as well. Haven't we heard more rumors over the past year of an upcoming pocket-sized Mac than an Apple PDA? I think this is just a new spin on an old rumor. Don't expect a PDA. That's what the Touch and (mostly) iPhone are for. Expect a portable Mac with full OS X support. However, the interface will not be what we have on desktops. There's no way that they'll make us use the current Finger by finger point. Can you imagine what a nightmare that would be?
  • danielrh9, on 10/10/2007, -3/+11Watch out. They'll be resurrecting the Pippin next.
    • LLLSecretChimp, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2I'm betting on the iLisa.
    • directive0, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Ha! Apple console. That'd be awesome! Launch titles would be all the best Mac games, redone! Marathon: Parabola, Escape from Zork, Radical Castle 2, Myst 10, Danger Inc. 3, and so on.
  • TheZorch, on 10/10/2007, -3/+15This is great, the Apple Newton was one of the greatest PDAs ever made.
    • Balanced, on 10/10/2007, -3/+1From the article, what do you think this will share from the Newton besides a name, if even that?
    • FredFredrickson, on 10/10/2007, -3/+1Greatest PDA ever made, huh? I guess that's why they discontinued it?
      • MacParrot, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2They discontinued it because in 1997-9, something had to give. Apple was losing money hand over fist and had to make some hard choices. Continue to innovate with a product that was out of touch (price-wise) with the rest of the market and watch more money go down the tubes, or cancel it and put that back into the core of what Apple's business was at the time, the Mac. Love or hate Apple, the Newton was an mazing device with many features that didn't appear in other PDAs until much later.

        in 2007 and beyond, Apple is in an entirely different situation. The company has a high recognition factor for new tech gear. They have not had a money losing quarter for a number of years, the Mac is in a solid product cycle, the iPod continues to be a huge money generator, and the iPhone has the potential to not only make them a lot of money from hardware sales, but from revenue sharing from the telcoms. If not now, then when?

        Apple can afford to take some chances. It seems worthless at the moment, but the AppleTV is one of those things they're doing to test the waters of different product areas. It's a solution in search of a problem. The Newton (or whatever they might call it if it even exists) is another area where they can see what the market may want. Instead of trying to shoehorn a MacBook into an even smaller package, release a touch screen PDA with a 7 to 8-inch screen, handwriting recognition, touch screen/ stylas, flip-out keyboard, whatever. Give it 32gb of flash-ram and mini-apps with office (iWork and MS Office) compatibility and see what happens.
  • sabarsky, on 10/10/2007, -1/+21screw Newton 2.0, give me a Macbook Tablet so I don't have to lust after the 21" Wacom.
  • diggAddict, on 10/10/2007, -2/+5I used the first Newton back in the 90's when I worked in an Australian collaborative research lab working with Bell Labs on advanced shared electronic Apple-backed rear projection whiteboards.
    It was a fun toy at the time. But this new one has more promise.
    For the first time ever - I am considering buying a Mac!!!!
    This could be the lightweight tablet device with wireless that Ihave been waiting for - cool.
    Cant wait to see it. This could be the new IPOD style device if they put WIMAX/GSM Data/ and WIFI in it so its truly mobile!

    • toetagger, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2"This could be the lightweight tablet device...." Right. This is what has been spurring rumors of a tablet. This is why Jobs keeps saying the iPhone is not a computer. This is the target for the advanced multi-touch patents we've seen that people speculated could be on a Macbook mouse pad... AAPL $250.00 spring '08.
    • zydeco, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Man, did my browser just jump to Yahoo Finance?
  • KevenM, on 10/10/2007, -8/+3Now it'll suck in full colour!
    • MacParrot, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1You're too stupid to even bothering arguing with
  • bjbollinger, on 10/10/2007, -4/+6it seems silly that apple would further confuse things by adding a 3rd handheld with itouch...I'd rather them just stick to improving the iphone or the ipod touch, giving it more PDA-like functionality...instead of semi-bricking them in order to sell yet another device...
  • slayerab, on 10/10/2007, -2/+7If they put a text editor on the ipod touch, wouldn't it serve the same functionality of a pda?
  • norman619, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3I'm half expecting Apple to make an iGame console.
    • DeFex, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3but you can only play apples own games on it and the warranty is void if you try a third party one.
    • thcobbs, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1That's what the AppleTV is for...
    • norman619, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2What about the iGotGame console?
  • KevenM, on 10/10/2007, -7/+4iPhone, now available in size Large.
  • arbulus, on 10/10/2007, -14/+10Buried for rumour-mongering and just all around asshattery. AppleInsider has absoutely no credibility nor do they deserve anyone's respect.
  • ScornForSega, on 10/10/2007, -10/+7Shark = jumped?
  • digjam, on 10/10/2007, -7/+5that sux.. one things out, already rumours floating about the next thing...gosh you ppl have no work...
  • deviouskoopa, on 10/10/2007, -6/+6Please have microSD slot...
  • plizard, on 10/10/2007, -7/+1apple is taking over the world!
  • izzajoker, on 10/10/2007, -2/+6No where in this article does it quote Jobs as saying that this is still in development. The way I read it, he is proud that they DIDN'T ship it.
    • centerblack, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3AppleInsider making up headlines for ad revenue.
  • TheFinaleofSeem, on 10/10/2007, -9/+4Apple already has this. It's called the iPhone. A new Newton would be pointless with two touch-screen quasi-PDAs in Apple's lineup.

    Buried as lame.
  • dafragsta, on 10/10/2007, -3/+1http://www.thinginabag.com/content/apple-developme ...

    They've hit the third stage. Identifying buzz.
    • crackedplastic, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Yeah, Digg's been truncating URLs lately. Hopefully this will be relieved when the new (old) comments system comes in.
  • Trax91, on 10/10/2007, -3/+1In other words, a large iPhone with higher processing power. Not exactly portable from the rendition...
  • AronT, on 10/10/2007, -9/+4But will it blend?
  • tomis, on 10/10/2007, -3/+3They already have two of these mystery devices, they're called the iPhone and the iPod touch and they're crippled to all heck. Now, maybe, just maybe, Apple is working on a tablet/laptop with a touch screen and someone saw one in the lab who shouldn't have. But then I'm sure Apple has all sorts of working product designs they try out and scrap which we never see.
  • minivanmegafun, on 10/10/2007, -5/+17lol. Not a snowball's chance in hell this is real. The PDA market is LOOOOOOONG dead.
    • sremick, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5Far from it, actually. Of course, it's a common Digg user trait to base the entire "market" on that single user's preferences.
      No one's making you use a PDA if you prefer to not do so or would rather have it in a smartphone. However, don't claim to preach the market to the tons of us who DO use PDAs every day.
    • Ireland, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1AppleInsider are calling it a PDA, Apple will not. Apple may call it Mac tablet, or Mac slate, it will be an ultra-portable, and may have a 10" screen. We're talking a full computer here (well as close as you can get), not a PDA, in an very small form-factor.
  • DeFex, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3They could let other developers write programs for it! or not.
  • MobiusPrime, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4Ridiculous, there are almost no PDA's left. they are all called smartphones or Windows Mobile Phones now. What the iPhone doesnt have contacts and calendar already? am i missing something. Buried as lame
    • mrraven200, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Not everyone want to pay for a cell contract. PDA + skype + mp3/movie player + 160 gig HD slightly bigger than a deck of cards equals gold for me and think many others who don't want to be tied into multi year multi thousand dollar cell phone contract.
  • serpicolugnut, on 10/10/2007, -2/+6Yeah, right. Apple already has its modern day version of the Newton - it's called the iPhone, have you heard of it? The Newton was a handheld device, slightly larger than a phone. What this rumor predicts is more akin to small form factor subnotebook with touch screen abilities. I don't think that product is too far fetched, but it would be more of a Mac than a PDA.
  • toetagger, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2This is why Jobs keeps saying the iPhone is not a computer and why the rest of us are say, why not?
    AAPL: 250.00
  • mikehill33, on 10/10/2007, -4/+5Will it be compatible with the Palm Foleo?
  • miletwo, on 10/10/2007, -3/+3Buried as senseless *****. The only difference would be a larger form factor and perhaps a resurrection of Graffiti both of which the markets have already soundly rejected. We already have an Apple PDA... it's called the iPhone.

    Lame.
  • sonycam, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4Great, an Apple PDA. I always wanted a PDA where I couldn't run what I wanted, with no third party apps.
  • Nickdotnet, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1hahaha...riiiiight.

    Such would be the downfall of Apple - NO ONE uses PDA's anymore....smartphones.....iPhone.
    • sremick, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Maybe you don't, but countless other people do. HP keeps coming out with new models. Too bad Palm is dragging it's ass, they used to own the market. Plenty of Palm users are STILL waiting on Palm to make a decent new non-smartphone PDA.
  • camaroz06, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Shouldn't the iPhone or iPod touch have the capability to be a PDA? How powerful does a PDA need to be. To me it seems like the new touch products would be good enough. It just seems like so much product overlap if a PDA were to be released.
  • macslut, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Apple's PDA is the iPhone, no doubt about it. It's what the Newton would've become. But...

    I do believe that there's a market for a UMPC that Apple could come up with, and that's what this sounds like.
    • bradleyland, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I think you're right:

      "Speaking at the _2004_ edition of the Wall Street Journal's D..."
      "When asked by an audience member to elaborate, Jobs said simply, 'an Apple PDA.'"

      He was speaking of the iPhone.
  • insomniac8400, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3There you have it, the reason they don't want 3rd party apps on the iphone.
  • llsethj, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3I kinda think this is just speculation.
  • Chris1974, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2i miss my 2100. bring on the new Newton.
  • ChayD, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Aaaand just as I thought, it'll look just like an iPhone but larger* C'mon Apple, surely you can come up with something more unique. Are the new iMacs going to be an even larger iPhone-alike with a keyboard and mouse, or what?

    *or maybe it won't, but I bet It will be.
  • grapesofbaath, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I agree it sounds implausible, but it would explain why the iPhone is so crippled compared to the other smartphones on the market.
  • MadOgre, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2ABOUT DAMN TIME!
  • JohnnyXmas, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1yeah, we'll see. We hear this rumor once a freakin' month on Digg.

    In Cupertino we don't have Newton PDA's like in your country. We don't have that like in your country. ... In Cupertino we do not have this phenomenon. I don't know who's told you that we have this.

  • basye, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Sorry fan boys, but this is hooey.
  • Josephtech, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2yay! Another device Apple will lock up and make hard for us to put apps on.
    • Kitsune818, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Yay! Then don't buy one, jackass.
  • mollerade, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I would hope that Apple had learned from its past mistake of launching too many products all of which are good, none of which are great. I would be surprised if this was true.
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