 | |
 Apple NewtonMessagePad 100, with its stylus | |
| Developer | Apple Computer, Inc. |
|---|---|
| Type | BarPDA |
| Released | August 2, 1993 (1993-08-02)[1][2] |
| Discontinued | February 27, 1998 (1998-02-27) |
| Operating system | Newton OS |
| Input | Touch screen |
TheNewton is a specified standard and series ofpersonal digital assistants (PDAs) developed and marketed byApple Computer, Inc. from 1993 to 1998. An early device in the PDA category – the term itself originating with the Newton[3] – it was the first to featurehandwriting recognition. Newton devices run on a proprietaryoperating system,Newton OS; unlike the company'sMacintosh computers, Apple licensed the software to third-parties, who released Newton devices alongside Apple's ownMessagePad line.[4]
Apple started developing the platform in 1987; conceptualized bySteve Sakoman as atablet-like device with handwriting capabilities, he worked withAT&T Corporation to develop a low-power processor,Hobbit, for the project. However, slow progress and other issues led to Sakoman leaving Apple in 1990 to formBe Computer, Inc.[5] The Newton project would be revitalized by Michael Tchao andSteve Capps who pitched the idea directly to CEOJohn Sculley;[3][6] Apple invested inAcorn Computers who developed a specificARM6-basedRISC processor for the device.[5] Apple introduced the Newton on May 29, 1992 (1992-05-29),[7] and shipments began on August 2,[1][2]1993.[8]
The Newton was marred with issues before its public release; bugs and software instability played a part in a series of continuous delays of its shipment date,[3] while post-release problems with its handwriting recognition feature led to negative publicity and became a source ofmockery.[9] Sales of the Newton were well below Apple's expectations, and despite significant improvements in later hardware and version 2.0 of Newton OS,[5] the platform was discontinued in 1998 at the direction of CEOSteve Jobs. Despite its commercial failure, the Newton was considered technologically innovative for its time and influenced many ideas for Apple's later popular products, theiPhone andiPad.[5]
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Most Newton devices were pre-loaded with a variety of software to aid in personal data organization and management. This included such applications as Notes, Names, and Dates, as well as a variety of productivity tools such as a calculator, conversion calculators (metric conversions, currency conversions, etc.), time-zone maps, etc.[10][11][12] In later/2.x versions of theNewton OS these applications were refined, and new ones were added, such as the Works word processor and the Newton Internet Enabler, as well as the inclusion of bundled3rd party applications, such as the QuickFigure Works spreadsheet (a "lite" version of Pelicanware's QuickFigure Pro), PocketQuicken, the NetHopper web browser, and the Netstrategy EnRoute email client. Various Newton applications had full import/export capabilities with popular desktop office suite andPIM (Personal Information Manager) application file formats, primarily by making use of Apple's bundledNewton Connection Utilities and also theNewton Connection Kit, which was sold separately and only worked for Newton devices that used the 1.x versions of the Newton OS.[13][14][15][16][17][18]
The Notes application allowed users to create small documents that could contain text that had been typed, or that had been recognized from handwriting, as well as free-hand sketches,"Shapes", and "ink text".[19][11][20][21]
In version 2.0 of theNewton OS, the Notes application (as well as Names) could accept what Apple termed "stationery", 3rd-party created plug-in modules that could extend the functionality of the basic applications.[19]
One of the new types of Notes stationery added to Newton OS 2.0 was ahierarchical,bullet-ed, collapsible, multi-line "Checklist", an implementation ofoutliner software.[22][23] This could be used for organizing tasks,"to do" lists, sub-tasks, etc. Each bullet point could contain as many lines of text as desired. A bullet point could be dragged and placed underneath another bullet point, thus forming a hierarchicaloutline/tree. When a bullet point was dragged, the entire sub-tree of child bullet points underneath it (if any) would be dragged along as well. If a bullet point had child bullet points, tapping the parent's bullet point once would "roll up" all the children ("windowshade" effect). Tapping the parent bullet point again would make the children re-appear.[18] Because this functionality arrived in Newton OS 2.0, several third parties made similar software before for OS 1.x Newton machines, the most notable of which was Dyno Notepad, released in 1993.[22]
The Names application was used for storing contacts. Contacts created either on the Newton device or on a Windows or Macintosh desktopPIM could be synchronized to each other.[24][25][26] Entering a date in Names for fields such as birthday or anniversary automatically created corresponding repeating events in the Dates application.[14][27][17] Each contact had an attached free-form notes field available to it, that could contain any mix of interleaved text, ink text, Shapes, or Sketches.[19] Like Notes, Names could be extended by developers, to create special new categories of contacts with specialized pre-defined fields. Names shipped with three types of contacts, "people", "companies", and "groups", but a developer could define new types, for instance "client", "patient", etc.[18] Stand Alone Software created the Stationery Construction Kit, a Newton software package, which allowed users to make stationery themselves without aid of any other tools.[28]
Dates supplied calendar, events, meeting, and alarms functions, including an integrated"to do" list manager. It offered many different display and navigation styles, including a list view, graphical day "time blocking" view, or a week, month, or year grid. As with Names and Notes, Dates items created either on the Newton or on a Windows or Macintosh desktopPIM could be synchronized to each other.[24][18]
NewtonScript is an advancedobject-oriented programming language, developed by Apple employeeWalter Smith.[37] Some programmers[who?] complained about the $1000 cost of the Toolbox programming environment. Additionally, it required learning a new way of programming.[clarification needed]
Newton OS had afile system,Soup, that enabled flexible ways of storing and retrieving data.[38]
The Newton project was apersonal digital assistant platform. The PDA category did not exist for most of Newton's genesis, and the phrase "personal digital assistant" was coined relatively late in the development cycle by Apple's CEOJohn Sculley,[3] the driving force behind the project.Larry Tesler determined that an advanced, low-power processor was needed for sophisticated graphics manipulation. He foundHermann Hauser, co-founder ofAcorn Computers which had developed the Acorn RISC Machine as firstARM architecture device, and put together Advanced RISC Machines, nowArm Ltd.[39]
A smaller device was then designed byJonathan Ive.[40][41]
AlthoughPDAs had been developing since the originalPsion Organiser in 1984,[42][43] the Newton has left one particular lasting impression: the termpersonal digital assistant was coined to refer to the Newton.[43]
According to former Apple CEOJohn Sculley, the company invested approximately $100 million to develop Newton.[44]
The Newton was considered innovative at its debut, but it suffered from its high price and problems with the handwriting recognition element, its most anticipated feature. The handwriting software was not ready by 1993 and its tendency to misread characters was widely derided in the media. This was parodied inThe Simpsons episode "Lisa on Ice", where a scene makes fun of the Newton's handwriting recognition turning "Beat up Martin" into "Eat up Martha".[45]Garry Trudeau also mocked the Newton in a weeklong arc of his comic stripDoonesbury, portraying it as a costly toy that served the same function as a cheap notepad, and using its accuracy problems to humorous effect. In one panel,Michael Doonesbury's Newton misreads the words "Catching on?" as "Egg Freckles", a phrase that became widely repeated as symbolic of the Newton's problems. This phrase was subsequently included as a trigger for anEaster egg in later editions of the MessagePad, producing a panel from the strip when it was entered on the device. In acknowledgement of the strip, Apple subsequently gifted a MessagePad to Trudeau.[46]
Although the software improved substantially in Newton OS 2.0, it was not enough to inspire strong sales.[47]
The Newton became popular in some industries, notably the medical field. However, the debut of the competingPalm Pilot substantially reduced its market share. Apple struggled to find a new direction for the Newton, and whenSteve Jobs returned to the company in 1997, he killed the product line. He was critical of the device's weak performance, the management of the development team, and the stylus, which he disliked as it prevented the use of the fingers. Furthermore, with Apple already suffering heavy losses which jeopardized its survival, this made the unprofitable Newton a tempting target to axe. Jobs was likely also motivated by the fact that the Newton was the pet project of his old adversary Sculley.[47][9][48] However, Jobs saw potential in the technology and concept, if not the execution, and eventually led Apple to create itsmulti-touch devices inspired byFingerWorks, theiPhone andiPad.[47][9]
Before the Newton project was canceled, it was spun off into an Apple wholly owned subsidiary company,Newton, Inc.[49][50]
Speculation continued for several years that Apple might release a new PDA with some Newton technology or collaborate withPalm. Feeding a bit of speculation, Apple put the "Print Recognizer" part of the Newton 2.1 handwriting recognition system intoMac OS X 10.2 Jaguar. It can be used with graphics tablets to seamlessly input handwritten printed text anywhere there was an insertion point on the screen. This technology, known asInkwell, appears in the System Preferences whenever a tablet input device is plugged in.Larry Yaeger was the author of the original Rosetta recognizer on the Newton, and he was also responsible for porting it to Mac OS X.[51] Patent applications were issued for a tablet based Macintosh.[52] At anAll Things Digital conference in 2004, Steve Jobs made reference to a new "Apple PDA" which the company had developed but had decided not to bring to market.[53]
In September 2009, Michael Tchao, who pitched the original Newton concept to John Sculley,[54] returned to Apple.[55][a]
Since 2004, the Einstein Project[57] has been working on emulating the Newton for use as an alternative OS on other platforms. It is currently available for the SharpZaurus, Apple'sMac OS X,NokiaMaemo,Microsoft Windows, and thePepper Pad 3. The emulator is an open source project, but requires an original Newton ROM to be installed in order to function.iPhones andiPads run Einstein since September 2010. TheAndroid operating system runs Einstein since March 2011.[58]
Programs have been written for the Newton since its cancellation,[59] including an RSS reader.[60]
The Apple Newton and its poor handwriting recognition was lampooned on season sixSimpsons episode "Lisa on Ice", when Kearney (one of the three teenaged thugs/school bullies) tells Dolph to take a memo on his Newton to "Beat up Martin," and the message comes up as "Eat up Martha", to which a frustrated Kearny throws the Newton away in disgust, hitting Martin Prince.[61]
In the 1995 anime seriesNeon Genesis Evangelion, handheld devices modeled on the Newton can be seen multiple times, serving various internal functions within NERV.[62][better source needed]
In the 1995 filmUnder Siege 2: Dark Territory, the main character Casey Ryback (Steven Seagal) connects an Apple Newton PDA to the telephone network of the hijacked train on which the film is set, and sends a fax to his workplace, which is then forwarded to Admiral Bates, Ryback's contact at the Pentagon. The hijackers subsequently discover and hack the Newton, thus learning of Ryback's presence on the train.[63][64]
In the 1998 interactive video gameThe X-Files Game, the main character uses an Apple Newton to make notes, read e-mail and navigate the different locations of the game.[65]
During Apple's March 21, 2016, keynote conference, a celebration video called "40 Years in 40 Seconds" was unveiled. The video featured flashing text of names from Apple's most notable products and taglines in their forty-year history, including Newton. However, in Newton's case, it was the only name depicted in the video being explicitly scratched out, mimicking how users deleted text on the device, and referencing the full cancellation of the product line.[66]
In the TV seriesFor All Mankind season 3, episode 1, an alternative 1992 history Newton MessagePad with backlit (possibly color) display is shown at a briefing scene.[67]
When Sculley launched the Newton on May 29, 1993, it didn't work. Literally. The first prototype demonstrated on stage wouldn't switch on. Fortunately the second did. Even so, Sculley should not have caved in to pressure to announce it yet. Ultimately, the Newton wouldn't actually ship for another 14 months. It came out on August 2, 1993.
The Newton was nowhere near ready. Apple held another unveiling fourteen months later at Macworld Expo in Boston, when the product which it officially called the MessagePad finally went on sale on August 2, 1993.
[...] Larry [Tesler] realized that if you're going to do very sophisticated graphics manipulation on a handheld product, that no processor existed at that time that was both powerful and low powered enough to be able to even attempt that. Larry Tesler found a man in the UK named Hermann Hauser who had founded the Acorn computer company. [...] a new company that we had to put together that was 47 percent owned by Apple, it was 47 percent owned by Olivetti, a name from the past, and the rest of it was owned by Hermann Hauser. And this company we called ARM.
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