“People want to know what I think about the iPad. I think I’ll keep using my Newton. I also think I’ll pour myself a scotch.”
– Grant Hutchinson, who has posted some great prototype Newton photos over the week.
Screw you, Wired.com:
Arguably the most famous Apple flop of all, the Newton (which was actually the name of the OS and not the device) started out as a top-secret project with a lofty goal: to reinvent personal computing. During its development, the Newton took on many forms, such as the tabletlike “Cadillac” prototype, before its eventual release in 1993 as a smaller and considerably less revolutionary PDA. Although the Newton was available for six years (longer than most other Apple flops), it was a prime example of an idea that was simply ahead of its time, and sales never lived up to Apple’s expectations. When Steve Jobs resumed his stewardship of Apple in 1997, one of the first things he did was to axe the subsidiary Newton Systems Group. By the following February, the Newton was dead.
From their “Learning from Failure: Apple’s Most Notorious Flops” lineup.
It’s interesting to imagine what the Newton could’ve become.
Wikiwikinewt gives us some food for though, including some early prototypes before the Newton came of age. Or how about the “Cadillac?” There’s a whole set of Flickr photos dedicated to it:
The web is just full of this stuff. The Apple Museum has a list of prototypes and codenames. The Newton’s codename? The all-too fitting “Batman.”
Here’s what it could’ve looked like:
Sleek and stylish!
The ol’ slab-black, flip-cover look never really went away on the actualy production models, with the obvious exception of the eMate.
And what a shame. To think that we could be debating Newton styles like we do now with Blackberries or Blackjacks or whatever.
If only…