Whipped out the Newton the other day
I dusted off one of my MP2100s the other day, popped in some fresh AAs and FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER had to acutally do some maintenance – namely install a patch for the 2010 bug (Thank you Eckhart Köppen!). A process which I completed by downloading the pkg file to my phone and consequently pushing it to the Newton via Bluetooth (yes, indeed) as I had all but forgotten how to properly set up the WLAN. Not that it would not work without the patch but a working calendar is a good thing.
Onwards to the real point: I instantly remembered why I loved working with this device back in the day, with some very importand aspects being
• the interface: it is 100% pen-based
• you can write on the resistive touchscreen without worries about where to put your hand
So unless Apple changes the whole iPad interface the whole thing just smells of fail. A pen can never be an afterthought. Which is why you see so few people using one with their iPads for the task of actual writing. If it wasn't for the horror of Android, I would have picked up a Samsung Note of some sort by now.
But go ahead, Apple – surprise me. It's been a while!
Biting the hand that feeds IT
