It may have only been in jest, but Larry Dignan’s suggestion that the rumored Apple tablet be called a Newton seems a bit far-fetched.
But ZDNet’s editor isn’t the only one mentioning both devices, one true and one maybe true, in the run-up to some Apple product that has more possible release dates than Smile.
I haven’t dipped in to the Apple Tablet pool because, just like the iPhone before it, we have little way of knowing what it will include, how much it will cost, when it will be unleashed, and what groundbreaking new whiz-bang feature it will release upon the world. There’s just no way.
And frankly, Apple isn’t going to release another “Newton”-named product in this lifetime. This is not a company who relishes in the past, and certainly not one who would want to revive a questionably-successful product’s name when another would do just dandy.
[Via NewtonTalk.]
I would love an article on the iPod touch (or iPhone) as a PDA replacement. There’s much difference between an information device like the Newton (or palm) and an entertainment device like the iPod. The slate style iPods seem to be bridging that divide some, but I wonder how well. Is the iPhone still an entertainment device that you could write a note on if you had to, or is it a real information device?
Posted by Jesse on August 26th, 2009.
Jesse, I use my iPhone as a PDA every single day – everything from entering dates in the Calendar to new contacts in my Address Book.
One thing that I haven’t gotten used to, and something that was so much easier on the Newton, was managing and creating notes. If I had to remember something, it seemed like no effort at all to scribble something in Newton’s Notes. There’s something awkward about typing one out in the iPhone’s Notes app.
Maybe that’s something I’ll tackle – a point-by-point comparison for folks who are interested in using their iPhone/iPod Touch as a PDA.
Posted by davelawrence8 on August 26th, 2009.
[…] Apparently Barylick doesn’t agree with me or any other Newton fan who realizes that the rumored Apple tablet will not, in fact, be called a […]
Posted by Newton Poetry — Newton Web Tablet on August 28th, 2009.
“One thing that I haven’t gotten used to, and something that was so much easier on the Newton, was managing and creating notes.”
That’s my fear because note taking is my primary use of Newton, Psion, and Palm over the years. Two things that interest me most about iPhone: first, it has mind mapping software, which the Newton should have had; second, it’s easier to get information off the thing. Without syncing with Claris Organizer notes were a problem to get off the Newton. Even with Organizer you couldn’t get images to transfer. Anyway, you might want to look at alternate input methods for the iPhone and iPod Touch, and different applications for taking notes. Regardless, being as small as it is, I don’t think I’ll ever curl up on the couch with my iPod Touch and work on a project they way I did with the Newton.
Posted by Jesse on August 28th, 2009.