Rumor Mill: Apple Developing Newton II

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Rumor Mill: Apple Developing Newton II

Officials at Apple, Inc., have a habit of being very close-lipped about potential future products or product updates. At the same time, Apple’s products—like the very popular iPod line of music players—are extremely cutting-edge and user-friendly, making them very sought-after. These two factors, tight control over press and popular products, are excellent ingredients for a robust rumor mill.
 
That rumor mill is in full swing again after a post yesterday morning on the AppleInsider blog regarding Apple’s plans to have a go at reinventing the personal digital assistant (PDA). To understand the significance of this requires a short history lesson.
 
In the early 1990s, Apple Computer (now Apple, Inc.) introduced a product called the Apple MessagePad, otherwise known as the Newton (name for the software that ran on it). This was a handheld device for taking notes, storing addresses/phone numbers, and keeping track of events with a digital calendar. In other words, it was PDA before that concept existed in the mainstream market.
 
Arguably, Newton’s biggest claim to fame was its software recognition software that, as the Wikipedia entry for the device succinctly puts it, “could be fairly inaccurate.” Newton was a cutting edge product, but for various reasons—perhaps most of all because it was a bit too far ahead of its time—never took off and was retired in 1998.
 
Now that iPhone has successfully launched, AppleInsider said in the Wednesday post, Apple is forging full steam ahead with another project the company has been working on for the past 18 months: an Apple PDA. The product reportedly will run an embedded version of OS X, aka “Leopard.”
 
Citing information from “well-respected sources,” AppleInsider painted the following picture of the Newton II: an ultra-thin, handheld device about 1.5 times the size of the iPhone and iPod Touch, with a roughly 720x480 resolution screen and more advanced use of Apple’s multi-touch technology (e.g. drag-and-drop, copy-and-paste).
 
“More broadly characterized as Apple's answer to the ultra-mobile PC, the next-gen device is believed to be tracking for a release sometime in the first half of 2008,” AppleInsider reported. “Assuming the project remains clear of roadblocks, sources believe it could make an inaugural appearance during Jobs' Macworld keynote in January alongside some new Mac offerings. Still, manufacturing ramp and availability would seem unlikely until closer to mid-year, those same sources say.”
 
Hmm… seems like I’ve seen this movie before: rumors fly in September about a new and cool Apple product. The rumors reach fever pitch approaching Macworld in January. At Macworld, Steve Jobs wows the crowd with a fantastic presentation of the new product, which is slated for a June release. Will history repeat itself? Stay tuned.


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