Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware
I already have an Ultra-Mobile PC: It's called a Newton
Yes,
everyone's going crazy over the Ultra-Mobile PC
(UMPC), the new class of handheld devices that run Windows XP and are supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread
(sliced bread with two and a
half hours of battery life, but that's a different story). I don't know what all the hype is about, really. My
Apple Newton 2100, which was discontinued about a decade ago, does just about everything else a UMPC does, and has a
similar form factor. Let's do a modest feature comparison. According to Microsoft, a UMPC boasts:- A touch screen. My Newton does as well. Check.
- WiFi connectivity. Using the drivers written by Hiroshi Noguchi and any 5 volt Lucent/Orinoco/Agere WaveLAN, I can connect to an 802.11b access point for internet (using either the NewtScape or Net Hopper browsers), email (with SimpleMail), IM (over jabber with NewtJabber), blogging (with nBlog) and web hosting (with NPDS. Go here to check out a few live Newton web servers). Check.
- Bluetooth connectivity. With a compatible card and the Blunt driver, I'm exchanging/synchronizing data with my desktop Mac and enjoying wireless printing from my Newt. Check.
- A good sized hard drive. Ok, the UMPC has me beat, but with Paul Guyot's ATA Harddisk/Flashcard drivers, I can have a few gigs of storage space available to me. Check.
- Digital music. MAD Newton lets me store and play Mp3's. Heck, I
can even stream internet radio and download music directly to my Newt from
iTunes 3. Check.
- Movies on the go. Well, I can watch The Simpsons and South Park on my Newt. Check.
- Customizable wallpaper. Thanks to Avi's Backdrop, I have a picture of my daughter as my Newton's "wallpaper," and there's a slew of other images I can choose from. Check.
- Word Processing/Spreadsheet apps. Newtonworks. Check.
- An optional,
external keyboard. Check.
In fact, I'll say "good luck" to anyone trying to enter information onto a UMPC without the keyboard, while
the 2100's handwriting recognition is great.
- A weight of about two pounds. Check.
- A 7" diagonal display. Actually, the Newt's display can rotate to either landscape or portrait. Double check.
- Entertainment. Well, I can play games and read books, plus all of the other stuff I mentioned. So, check.
- Plays nice with both Windows and Apple desktops. Ooh, sorry! This one appears to be Newton only. Now how did that get on the list?
Note: This is all a bit of tongue-in-cheek fun, folks.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Spwarf said 7:14AM on 3-10-2006
Huh... Are you serious about this?!? And what do the movies look like???
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sidetrack said 7:20AM on 3-10-2006
You've just compared a computer to a pda?!?
What about UMPC being able to run normal software? Oh, and like Spwarf asked you see movies in colours right?
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James said 7:20AM on 3-10-2006
I'm as big a macfag as the next turtleneck-wearing smartwater drinker. but this post still strikes me as hilariously lopsided. I note there's no mention of such small niceties as "colour screen" "web browsers that can do flash" or "works with USB peripherals."
Really Dave, it's another 22 days before you're supposed to make posts like this one.
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Targuman said 7:33AM on 3-10-2006
I think Dave might be trying to point out to folks just how advanced the Newton was. It is a shame it was killed rather than developed further.
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Tom said 7:34AM on 3-10-2006
I'm with you on this one. I have a Newton 2100 as well. Sure, I have a MacBook, PowerBook, iMac and a Cube as well but none of them are as portable as my Newton. And btw, Newton even plays nice with OS X. It is still my primary PDA, and the apps for it are still good.
So when would you really use the features that the UMPC is offering? 7" Screen? Watch Movies? So what, buy a PSP and you can do that with much better battery life and better games. And it has WiFi and a proper web browser!
Or go and buy what many consider to be a 'real' PDA, a Palm T | X.
Or a 12" PowerBook? You would still need a pretty big bag for the UMPC (and my Newton as a matter of fact) so why not go the whole hog and have a PROPER computer?
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D said 7:36AM on 3-10-2006
Stop wasting everyone's time with this stupid post. The UMPC is a pretty cool product, and if apple ever came out with one you would be shi**ing bricks.
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matt said 7:40AM on 3-10-2006
yeah the UMPC is microsofts second version of the tablet. nothing majorly special here. and at 2 and a half hours of battery life(if what i have heard is correct) no thanks!
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Quicksilver said 7:44AM on 3-10-2006
I have been reading this blog for a few months now and it seems that the posts are getting worse and worse. Yes i know this is an Apple blog but this one just made me laugh. How can u honestly do that comparison? I almost feel like never reading this blog again due to this post.
Im a mac fan and pc fan. Let's see I give the UMPC to my mother and spend ten minutes exlpaining how to use it she jumps on my wifi and away she goes. If I give her the Newton and ask her to do the same thing what is she supposed to do ? Follow your guidelines and add all that stuff to the it? PPPPPPuuuuuuuuhhhhhhllllease.
THe UMPC is an exciting project for all computer users. Not just PC people. If Apple had this prototype project on the go you would be wetting yourself. I just wish people could look at things from a consumer standpoint sometimes without blind fanboyism.
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Matt Grover said 7:54AM on 3-10-2006
Seems theres some people here who take things a little too seriously :/
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Edsel said 7:54AM on 3-10-2006
Great summary, Dave! That's exactly the attitude that almost annihilated Apple ten years ago. Microsoft threw down the gauntlet and drew the proverbial line in the sand with this announcement. Do you realize what this device will do for home multi-media besides business applications?
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djones said 7:57AM on 3-10-2006
"I almost feel like never reading this blog again due to this post."
Why is this phrase getting more and more common? I think we're ready to see some fresh faces at TUAW. Your RSS feed has been removed from my bookmarks, I now only visit when my buddy sends me a link with some comments that you wouldn't want to see here, along with a hearty ROFL. Sorry, but it's the truth. As journalists go, the entire staff is horrible; as bloggers go, a couple are bearable, the rest belong on myspace - not on the most prominent Apple blog that exists. In some respects, this blog represents "us" the Mac user, and you're letting us down, and giving fodder to our PC-using brethren.
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James said 8:03AM on 3-10-2006
I guess I've given TUAW readers to much credit in the past. You'd think they would be able to recognize when a tongue is firmly in cheek.
That aside, I wish Apple would answer my prayers already and give me a Newton that runs OS X. Can you imagine the possibilities full OS X functionality in the palm of your hand? Yes, performance might have to be a little slower than a full-fledge laptop or desktop, but I'd gladly live with that as long as I can take OS X on the go. Plus, I think Apple could at least make the thing attractive.
BTW, I used Newtons 120, 130, 2000, and 2100. I'm not as hardcore so I don't still use my 2100 today. My utility belt as a Sidekick II (while good, I'd surely love an Apple version of it), a PSP, and a 5G iPod.
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James Donevan said 8:04AM on 3-10-2006
"THe UMPC is an exciting project for all computer users. Not just PC people. If Apple had this prototype project on the go you would be wetting yourself."
The flaw in that observation is fairly obvious: While a tablet device is unquestionably an exciting project, if Apple had produced a prototype tablet it could reasonably be expected to be innovative and cleverly designed. The UMPC design looks like something left over from the 1980s and offers little by way of real innovation. Microsoft had a real opportunity here to lead the way and show their capabilities both in design and innovation... but they have sadly failed.
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JonathanW said 8:07AM on 3-10-2006
Blimey! I thought the post was rather good and well written. Indeed, I've been _expecting_ someone to write such a (fairly light-hearted) "comparison" with the Newton.
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iPod ? said 8:15AM on 3-10-2006
@ #11
Couldn't agree more.
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s'fen said 8:15AM on 3-10-2006
hey tuaw, you can't post things meant to be funny, no way, you are supposed to have straight news all the time thats it...durrr
guess who i am ?
70% of the people posting here
a joke is a joke people, get a sense of humor. honestly.
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Forthy said 8:19AM on 3-10-2006
Just image where the Newton would be today? 10 yrs. later!
Still can't image why Steve dumped it! :-((
And if there where tools to iSync my Newton I still would use it...
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zqfm said 8:27AM on 3-10-2006
"Note: This is all a bit of tongue-in-cheek fun, folks."
did no one notice this? it's called humour (or humor, you burk).
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JT said 8:34AM on 3-10-2006
If this is not a joke it's stupid, and if it's meant to be a joke, it's not funny. It's below monkeys throwing poop.
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Aaron said 8:40AM on 3-10-2006
I like the post, though it seems interestingly similiar to something I posted on MacUser at http://www.macuser.com/newton/time_for_the_newton_to_return.php. Even though my post was not about UMPC, it was one of the very first posts about a Newton doingt modern, cool things in a very long time.
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