Apple’s PDA offering from the 1990s. The machine had a large display that utilized natural handwriting recognition (HWR) for the input mechanism. Early models took a lot of flak for the relatively poor performance of the HWR, which spawned some aftermarket input software, including the original version of the now-infamous Graffiti.
Models that shipped with the Newton OS 2.0 and later were much better in both speed and accuracy with HWR, and were actually quite usable, but the devices were not cheap, and considerably heavier and larger than the Palm devices that were appearing at the same time.
I myself have owned several Newtons, an MP130, an MP2000, and an MP2100. As personal digital assistants (one-time Apple CEO John Scully actually coined the term), the MP2K and later were damn-near perfect. Software like MoreInfo, the finest PIM application I’ve ever used, and the built-in Notes app made recording and maintaining information easy and enjoyable.
The Newton is also the device I most wish was still made. When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, Apple was in the midst of spinning off the Newton project into Newton, Inc. Jobs nixed that idea, then nixed the Newton. Bad Steve, BAD!
I’m only slightly bitter. Paper ends up being an acceptable substitute for my Newton, though I’m tempted every now and again to fire the MP2100 back up and see how well it fits into my current life.
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