What wasn't so great about the Newton?
Before I move on to other topics for a while (next week is Siggraph, the coolest trade show of the year as far as I'm concerned), I want to describe some of the ways in which the Apple Newton fell short. I'll also explain how these deficiencies relate to today's similar devices-- PDAs, smartphones, and tablets.
As with my post yesterday, these comments are drawn from notes I made during the seven years I used a Newton MessagePad 2100.
Peter's MessagePad 2100
(Credit: Peter N. Glaskowsky)• Very early on in my Newton experience, I made a simple comment: "Yes, it's too large." The MP2100 was huge, nearly the size of a VHS videotape cartridge. (I wonder if it isn't already too late to be using that reference...) It was much too large for any ordinary pocket and even for most fanny packs. A big overcoat pocket would work. Normally, if I wasn't taking my briefcase somewhere, I didn't take the Newton. The Treo 650 I carry today is more effective for short notes because I'm basically never without it.
On the other hand, I don't think I'd find much use for a PDA-like device much smaller than the Treo. I think the Treo is just about the perfect size for this kind of device (the iPhone, probably not by coincidence, is almost exactly the same size).
• As good as the recognizer was for whole words, it was very poor on single letters. The context of a whole word really helped the recognizer figure out what each letter was meant to be. For example, a capital "H" was frequently mis-recognized as "It" or "tl". A lower-case "s" almost always turned into a capital "S" instead. Symbol characters were even worse. The "%" and "/" symbols were virtually impossible for me to enter.
Fortunately, the Newton recognizer could be programmed to replace one string with another. Although meant for purposes such as replacing "sinc" with "Sincerely Yours," it could also be used to override these inappropriate recognizer behaviors. I had "o/o", "°/0", and "°/O" programmed to result in "%". This feature didn't solve the problems but caught the most common problems.
Even these minor problems sometimes took the fun out of handwriting recognition. I could write a page of straight text with few if any errors, but trying to write down anything more complicated was a pain.
My Tablet PC has a similar problem even today, and indeed, this may not be a solved problem in any current handwriting recognizer. URLs are commonly transcribed by hand, and many people have to write HTML (I have to type HTML code into this blog, for example). The difficulty of recognizing isolated symbols may be a small factor in discouraging wider use of handwriting recognition.
• At first, the MP2100 had only the standard serial port for input and output. The port supported AppleTalk, a 240-kbps networking mode, but that was very slow for synchronizing the Newton with my desktop Mac. Eventually Apple added software support for Ethernet PC Cards, which helped a lot, but what this device really needed was USB. It was just a few years too early for that.
Today, the comparable requirement is for WiFi, although I think the new Wireless USB standard may become necessary as well. Unfortunately, neither of these provides the secondary function of USB-- that of providing power.
USB doesn't provide enough power to run a hard disk or fast-charge a large lithium battery, so I think we really need a new wired interface-- maybe Gigabit Ethernet with a 12V, 1A power supply? Something for device designers to think about, anyway.
• Apple offered a separate keyboard for users who wanted to do a lot of typing on the Newton. It was basically a laptop-style keyboard, but with fewer keys than most. Still it was much bigger than the Newton, and couldn't fold or roll up to save space. Unlike a PC or Mac keyboard, the Newton keyboard output straight serial ASCII characters, so you couldn't just borrow a keyboard at your destination; if you needed one, you had to bring it with you. (Oddly, Newton keyboards briefly found another life during the heyday of the Palm PDA, which also supported a serial ASCII keyboard.)
If I was going to turn the iPhone into a Newton-like PDA, even with greatly improved handwriting recognition, I'd still want to have a small keyboard available... either built in (fold-out, slide-out, whatever) or separate but attachable.
• The MP2100 had a folding cover over the screen, but somehow Apple missed the notion of using the cover as a stand to prop the unit up. It almost worked anyway. Even today, hardly any PDAs, smartphones, or slate-style tablet PCs will support themselves on a tabletop. It seems like a curious omission, since this is so easy to do.
• Apple gave the MP2100 the ability to record and play back audio, but there was never any MP3 support, the speaker was weak, and Apple never supported the audio in/out connections it designed into the serial-port connector. Even just a headset-jack dongle would have been really useful.
Lesson: if you go to the trouble of designing in a hardware feature, do it right, and support it with software.
• Generally, Apple made it really difficult for third parties to support the Newton with hardware add-ons. The company really learned that lesson with the iPod, though...
• Synchronization with a desktop Mac or PC was always a pain, and just got worse and worse during the lifespan of the MP2100.
In fact, I don't know of a PDA or smartphone that does a really great job of synchronization. Some are good enough, but that's about it.
• The MP2100 would have made a fine eBook reader, but Apple never gave that application more than cursory support. It's such a useful feature that it ought to be regarded as absolutely necessary. And once that feature is present, every machine ought to come with a complete, easy-to-read user manual for itself, every available accessory, and as many compatible peripherals as possible. All this documentation may require another few dollars worth of flash memory to hold it, but it would probably pay for itself by encouraging accessory purchases.
• Any time I brought out the Newton in company, there was a pretty good chance that someone would ask to try the handwriting recognition. There was a Guest mode in the recognizer, but what the machine really needed was a Demo mode. The iPhone could use this today-- a mode in which all the real user data would be hidden, making the system look like a brand-new machine. Then, when exiting Demo mode, everything the guest did can be erased.
• At one point, I broke the surface glass on my MP2100's LCD. The LCD itself was cracked but most of the screen was still visible. I wanted to do a backup before sending the unit off to be repaired, but the broken glass under the digitizer film kept that from working properly, the Newton keyboard couldn't do much, and there was never any such thing as a Newton mouse. I was able to perform the backup by swapping logic boards with a borrowed Newton, but that's not going to be an option for most people.
It seems to me that complex devices need simple backup methods for these situations. One solution that occurred to me at the time would be a PC Card (these days, an SD card or USB thumb drive would be a better solution) that is pre-authorized to perform backups. Just insert the card and boot the machine; as long as the machine can boot far enough to see the card, it would then proceed to back up as much recent data as possible.
Well, that's enough about the Newton for now.
I strongly, strongly recommend that anyone developing a handheld device with PDA-like functionality buy a MessagePad 2100 (they're readily available on eBay, usually for $150 or less) and study it. Use it enough that you come to understand why it works the way it does, and what's both good and bad about it. It distresses me to see new devices being introduced that don't have some of the good features from the Newton... and don't solve some of the Newton's problems. That's just a shame.
Peter N. Glaskowsky is a computer architect in Silicon Valley and a technology analyst for the Envisioneering Group. He has designed chip- and board-level products in the defense and computer industries, managed design teams, and served as editor in chief of the industry newsletter "Microprocessor Report." He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. 
requested, though I don't have the reference handy. Once you set it up, you
just insert the PCMCIA card into the Newton and it does a backup.
A large archive of Newton software and other documents is still available at the
United Network of Newton Archives <http://www.unna.org/>.
I had a Newton for 2 years back in the pre-Internet Bubble days of the mid-90's. It worked well until it was dropped one too many times. I kept contacts, calendar, notes, and crucial info needed on the go (I was an IT mgr. and kept IP addresses, PWs, and other vitals on it to aid in troubleshooting/configuration on-the-go). Handwriting, while not perfect, was so good and useful that the few times it needed correction were overlooked.
The handwriting recognition feature worked quite well if your handwriting was clear. I fully agree with the article above in that there were still improvements to be made. However, I later tried using a Palm and never was happy with having to learn a new "language" to write in (which still work all the time either). Future PDAs never did the PDA justice like a Newton. Even though there is much to loathe about Apples original PDA, in many ways it is superior in design thinking than current units. Apple always does out think their competitors and certainly outdoes everyone for desirability. Even if they do get a few key features wrong, you just want their stuff so badly and are willing to overlook a few shortcomings for the whole experience.
After many years of trying various incarnations of PDAs I have finally succumb to the Blackberry's charm. It does everything I need a pocket device to do and it has some design appeal in the guise of the Pearl.
I finally gave up trying to find a device that would do handwriting well. Why can't anyone figure that out?
- by HUNGSO August 13, 2008 12:40 PM PDT
- Hi Peter, thanks for writing such a well rounded though sometimes not fully researched article on the Newton. I appreciate every word penned good or bad because it tells others what was already available back in the hey day when PDAs surfaced.
- Like this Reply to this comment
-
(3 Comments)A few comments on your second half about the bad side of the Newton.
? Today, the comparable requirement is for WiFi
The Newton is able to do WiFi :)
http://www.ff.iij4u.or.jp/~ngc/eng/newtwave.htm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonnyhung/sets/72057594059413570/
In addition there has been BlueTooth connectivity
http://www.notwen.com/bluetooth/
Nokia Card Phone - pre iPhone cellular function
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonnyhung/sets/72157602213525074/
? Unfortunately, neither of these provides the secondary function of USB-- that of providing power.
There is a USB option now available for the Newton
http://www.notwen.com/sync/
Regarding power, the Newton can be charged via USB too!
http://www.notwen.com/power/
? Apple offered a separate keyboard for users who wanted to do a lot of typing on the Newton. It was basically a laptop-style keyboard, but with fewer keys than most. Still it was much bigger than the Newton, and couldn't fold or roll up to save space. Unlike a PC or Mac keyboard, the Newton keyboard output straight serial ASCII characters, so you couldn't just borrow a keyboard at your destination; if you needed one, you had to bring it with you. (Oddly, Newton keyboards briefly found another life during the heyday of the Palm PDA, which also supported a serial ASCII keyboard.)
There were other options such as the Palm Stow-Away-Keyboard. All you needed was an adapter :)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonnyhung/sets/72157594316756775/
Khyber Technologies Corporation (made for an earlier Newton) which one user modified for use with the MP2000
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonnyhung/sets/72157594303273379/
FreeKey (which would have allowed you to use a regular PC or Mac Keyboard wherever you were located)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonnyhung/sets/72157594469875671/
? Apple gave the MP2100 the ability to record and play back audio, but there was never any MP3 support, the speaker was weak, and Apple never supported the audio in/out connections it designed into the serial-port connector. Even just a headset-jack dongle would have been really useful.
Actually there was MP3 support eventually :)
http://40hz.org/MADNewton/
Audio In/Out was out:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonnyhung/sets/72157594477688779/
But there were some new developments recently
http://www.notwen.com/newtcast/
http://www.notwen.com/audio/bluetooth/
http://www.notwen.com/ipod/
http://www.notwen.com/ledlight/
http://www.notwen.com/labo/
? Lesson: if you go to the trouble of designing in a hardware feature, do it right, and support it with software.
Well that's a possibility if they had not axed the Newton of course.
Apple in house development
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonnyhung/sets/72157594303233982/
Of course the prior listed items above address some of the weaknesses of the Newton.
? Generally, Apple made it really difficult for third parties to support the Newton with hardware add-ons.
Maybe, but there were a lot of third party licensees whom were developing things in the pipeline also that got canned after the Newton got axed. I am only able to list the few that I've discovered. Of course in addition to these the US Army was using them for purposes that were never fully disclosed to the public though I do own two cases which were used by them which I acquired.
SIEMENS
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonnyhung/sets/72057594059547504/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonnyhung/sets/72057594061321300/
Schlumberger
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonnyhung/sets/72057594061117289/
Digital Ocean
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonnyhung/sets/72157594302155471/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonnyhung/sets/72157594303238800/
Harris
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonnyhung/sets/72057594059400967/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonnyhung/sets/72057594059402659/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonnyhung/sets/72157594484703781/
Petrosains Project - this was a project in the works during the cancellation of the Newton. Due to the lack of available units they placed an ad which I answered to purchase Newton for up to $1000/Newton . I sold two units to them and some how ended up with a copy of a check for the amount of the shortage they left out in their original payment to me.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonnyhung/sets/72157594495244546/
? Synchronization with a desktop Mac or PC was always a pain, and just got worse and worse during the lifespan of the MP2100.
This has been address in part by new developers writing new Sync Applications but would have been a simple fix possibly if a driver been developed that corrected for the communication issues between the Newton and Desktop if they were investigated and properly developed in the first place - as I recall NCU was given out to Newton MP200 users in beta not as a full release version when you purchased the MP200.
? The MP2100 would have made a fine eBook reader, but Apple never gave that application more than cursory support. It's such a useful feature that it ought to be regarded as absolutely necessary. And once that feature is present, every machine ought to come with a complete, easy-to-read user manual for itself, every available accessory, and as many compatible peripherals as possible. All this documentation may require another few dollars worth of flash memory to hold it, but it would probably pay for itself by encouraging accessory purchases.
There was a third party book creator for the Newton written by one of their developers.
PaperBack by David Fedor who I believe entually moved on to Palm like many of the Newton Team.
http://web.archive.org/web/20071015034553/www.thefedors.com/pobox/
A version of this has also been implemented online so you can produce books on the fly through the weblink. (unsure if this is up and running at this time)
http://misato.chuma.org/paperback/
Newt's Cape - this web browser can also make books from web pages IIRC.
http://saweyer.freehostia.com/newton/newtscape.htm
? At one point, I broke the surface glass on my MP2100's LCD. The LCD itself was cracked but most of the screen was still visible. I wanted to do a backup before sending the unit off to be repaired, but the broken glass under the digitizer film kept that from working properly, the Newton keyboard couldn't do much, and there was never any such thing as a Newton mouse. I was able to perform the backup by swapping logic boards with a borrowed Newton, but that's not going to be an option for most people.
Data Rescue 2.0 - this is the application you would need for this situation.
Installed nd configured properly it will allow for your Newton to connect to your PC or Mac when the communications cable is installed and an automatic backup would be initiated.
http://www.unna.org/view.php?/utilites/DataRescue
Well, that's enough about the Newton for now.
And remember some of these solutions were developed by people who did not know about the intricacies of the Newton and often way after it's cancellation. Also some of these new features include technologies developed way after it's demise.
Of course this posted reply is way late but now that I've got time I'm posting it so others who read this will be aware of where the Newton is even after it's cancellation.
Enjoy!