CNET editors miss the Newton

I have three Newtons: a 100, a 110, and a UMP2000. All great machines. To this day I still use both the 100 and the UMP2000 everday, not just as a PDA, but as a replacement for scrap paper and a replacement for a spiral notebook. Digital Ink rules! I never got why people complain about Newton Connectivity. Both my Newtons connect to my older G3 Wallstreet perfectly. I used to be bothered by having to swtich Appletalk to a different port, but I realized that by syncing over Appletalk I never have to deal with connection problems! If I'm browsing the web and find something interesting for the Newton, I download it, drag it to my Powerbook over the wireless network and connect the Newton. Simple. The battery life on the MP100 doesn't 'suck', but it's no where near as great as the UMP2000. I get, on average, 2 months out of the 4 AA batteries (with Heavy keyboard and backlight use.... I often forget to turn it off)! Even if Apple came out with another Newton, I think I would probably stick with my current Newtons.

I had an MP100, followed by the MP130 around 1996. I used to put Gutenberg texts on it using the Newton e-book software and read on the commute to work. The battery life sucked, so I used some PVC tubing to make a 4xD-cell battery pack using rechargable alkalines. The pack was a bit heavy, so it stayed in my backpack and attached to the Newton using a long wire. I also had a keyboard for the serial port (I have Newton-proof handwriting) that allowed me to take all my office meeting notes with it. Besides the battery life, the screen contrast was my only complaint. You really had to have perfect lighting. When my MP130 died after a couple of years, I shifted to the original Palm Pilot. The Palm's screen had slightly better contrast, but I found it too small to be a really useful e-book reader. Nonetheless, I've persevered. My Tungsten, and the Treo 650 that followed it, have much better screen quality. While they're both pretty small, I now carry the Treo everywhere I go, which I could never do with the Newton. I can see a use for a Newton-sized handheld as a laptop replacement for travelling, or for things like inventory control or hospitals, but unless it was a stellar performer for MS Office documents, I'm unlikely to ever buy one.

I bought a MP100 back in 1995. I think that was the year. And I still have it in the original box with all documentation and the instructional videotape. The videotape is very funny to watch as it shows a world where everybody, young and old, is walking around with a Newton. Alas it was not to be. I recently got it out to show it to some gadget geeks at my office. It still works perfectly. When I bought it Apple was running a promotion. If you bought a Newton they sent you an expansion pack which included a 4MB PCMCIA card with some software (Graffiti was one) and a 2400 baud external modem. The modem is the size of a pack of cigarettes and runs on two AA batteries. It would allow you to fax from the Newton, I did this a few times just for a goof, and to connect to an email service (never did that). I used it for a few years but since I took my Apple Powerbook 230 (the one with the Duo Dock) everywhere it was kind of superfluous. I really like the slightly spongy black material that was used to cover it. It has a really quality feel and allows you to keep a good grip on the unit. Now that black is starting to come back into vogue for consumer electronics (I see that Motorola has a black razr now) I think somebody should resurrect it. My PowerBook G4 scratches and dents too easily unlike my old Lombard G3. Hey Apple, what about the next gen of Intel PowerBooks? I can see the ad now with ACDCs Back in Black.

I bought a MP100 back in 1995. I think that was the year. And I still have it in the original box with all documentation and the instructional videotape. The videotape is very funny to watch as it shows a world where everybody, young and old, is walking around with a Newton. Alas it was not to be. I recently got it out to show it to some gadget geeks at my office. It still works perfectly. When I bought it Apple was running a promotion. If you bought a Newton they sent you an expansion pack which included a 4MB PCMCIA card with some software (Graffiti was one) and a 2400 baud external modem. The modem is the size of a pack of cigarettes and runs on two AA batteries. It would allow you to fax from the Newton, I did this a few times just for a goof, and to connect to an email service (never did that). I used it for a few years but since I took my Apple Powerbook 230 (the one with the Duo Dock) everywhere it was kind of superfluous. I really like the slightly spongy black material that was used to cover it. It has a really quality feel and allows you to keep a good grip on the unit. Now that black is starting to come back into vogue for consumer electronics (I see that Motorola has a black razr now) I think somebody should resurrect it. My PowerBook G4 scratches and dents too easily unlike my old Lombard G3. Hey Apple, what about the next gen of Intel PowerBooks? I can see the ad now with ACDCs Back in Black.

There's still a pretty active Newton community out there. Doom and Quake have both been ported to the newton. There's even a Nintendo emulator called Newtendo: http://www.capsgetpeeled.com/blog/archives/000282.html -KRS Juan-

I have been a handheld freak for many years. I have quite a collection. I have a poquet PC even. I either still have, or used for a while all of the newton models. I have an emate and an upgraded 2000 on my desk right now. I loved them, but always had sync issues. I think that connectivity to the desktop is where Apple really fell down with the newton. I used to take notes on my 130 and then my 2000 in class at Long Beach State. I had no problems with HR and everyone was always in awe of how well it worked. I have used many different models since, but none of them were as nice to use as the newton. If I could have only gotten it to sync better at the time I would still be using it today I bet. (and would have saved lots of money buying handhelds i ended up not liking anywways) i'm looking forward to the Nokia 770. check it out. http://www.nokia.com/770 I hope it turns out as good as they say it is. -Faentur

Dude, you definitely were REALLY late to the party... at least the Apple party...

I had a Newton 120 or 130, I can't exactly remember. I bought it used while still in High School, saved up tons of money (at least in student's terms it was a lot), bought it and loved it, especially since it recognized my impossible handwriting... I sold it a few months later though, but I don't exactly recall the circumstances: money? size? battery life? and i do know that connectivity was very poor, especially at that time I was running the DOS/WIndows combination... But I stayed in love with the Newton, still to date browsing Newton lover's websites and checking out new software they've written.... If Apple decided to come back with a new updated Newton, I'd jump right onto the bandwagon and buy it. My quick affair with a spanking new Handpspring Visor (remember, the Palm, just cheaper and with add-on card slot) ended after a few months, first due to the Graffiti stype writing and second it just lacked the style of a Newton!

I had one of the second generation Newtons - the one where you could remove the cover (remember, the original cover was mounted on). I used it for about 2 years as a gadget and toy, but it never got above that point for me. It's not that it wasn't good, it's more that I carried a laptop with me everywhere anyway and the Newton didn't offer enough distinguishing features at that time (that I knew of). I never liked PalmOS and I certainly am no Windows Mobile (PocketPC/CE/whatever-they're-calling-it-this-week) fan. I thought the NewtonOS was pretty good, but when I sold it to a friend for $400 I was glad to get the money and run. I think Apple learned a lot of lessons about being 1st in a product space with the Newton and they're much more careful about that these days.

My old boss in the mid-90's was a big Apple freak, and he had a Newton. When he went to jail and the newspaper went under, his wife left a box of stuff anyone could take. A Newton was in there along with (if I remember correctly) some sort of telephone base/docking system that the Newton plugs into. I could have got all of that for free, but I was a "minimalist" then and didn't need the excess clutter. Dumb move, but the old magazines from the 80's and 90's featuring Steve Jobs on the cover made up for it. Fishes, narco.