The Apple Newton is one of the first lines of personal digital assistants (PDA) developed and marketed by Apple from 1993 to 1998. Designed as an all-in-one business tool, the original Newton was based on the ARM 610 RISC processor, which has many power saving features and became the dominant processor in the mobile electronics market, where saving battery is an important consideration in design.
The original intent of the Newton project was not to produce a PDA, but to reinvent personal computing. The term “personal digital assistant” was coined by former Apple CEO John Sculley in the late stages of the Apple Newton’s development.
Apple’s official name for the device was “MessagePad,” but Newton was the name of the device’s operating system, and quickly became the popular term for the device and its software. Apple also embraced the name as it is an allusion to Isaac Newton’s apple and fit nicely into their branding efforts.
The Newton allowed users to type in notes, capture calendar data, create an address book and included handwriting recognition software. Users could also check the time in several time zones, calculate and check messages.
The Newton failed to make a big splash in the marketplace during its five-year lifespan. Its high price, large size and short battery lifetime contributed to its discontinuation in 1998.
A special accessory to the Apple Newton was the fax modem specifically designed to meet the needs of the Newton. It used a short serial cable powered by two AA batteries.
The Newton is still used to this day by Disneyland cast members as a survey taking device, was satirized in the popular TV cartoon The Simpsons.
The MuMoH physical collection includes an early Apple Newton, serial number unknown.
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Newton
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/messagepad/stats/newton_mp_omp.html
http://www.aviators.com/newton/
