Tech News Vermont

The Apple tech blogs are a buzz with tablet rumors yet again.  For those former Newton enthusiasts, this is nothing new.  Every year or two there are rumors about Apple patents or new product offerings that fan the flames of our smoldering Newton passion.  There’s always proof positive that a new Newton is coming because Apple’s developing Inkwell; or they’ve put in an order for some special part from a supplier, or because  they’ve added stock numbers to their supply chain system.

Apple Newton Messagepad 2000

Each WWDC or Macworld is a chance for the Newton to come back and for all of us who’ve loved these machines to see our favorite devices return to production.  After the show and the keynote there’s always a bit of disappointment. The new device turns out to be an iPod or the iPhone or the Macbook Air.  We never hear about what happened with the new guy they hired to work on Inkwell and the rumor mill quiets down until the next time something semi-Newtonish hits the blogs.

Here we are again.  Rumors of a mac tablet at an $800 price point that will run the iPhone OS and support stylus input.  There’s the speculation about the parts that Apple has allegedly ordered: a larger 10 inch touch screen.  There are rumors that Apple is in talks with Verizon to seal some kind of of mobile connectivity deal.  Could this be a tablet sized iPhone?  Can it be that the Newton may see a quasi-resurrection?  Maybe we’re just looking at a touch screen Air and a migration of the iPhone away from an AT&T only device.  Perhaps I’ve spent one too many WWDC waiting for the new Newton and I’m jaded…

The bigger questions is: Is the market ready for the return of the Newton?  Now  let’s understand that my phrase “return of the Newton” doesn’t mean a NewtonOS device with the familiar green backlight.   I’m talking about a tablet sized device that can interpret human handwriting.

The original Newton lost out to the smaller Palm device.  Messagepads were too big to fit comfortably in a pocket.  Will the new tablet face the same fate or are consumers ready for netbook features in a tablet format? The kindle and other e-readers seem to sell fairly well. Netbooks are a hot item and they are larger than PDAs and smartphones.

Apple hasn’t really gone into the netbook market because paring down an existing device isn’t their style.  Apple products are normally trend-setters or a next step in the evolution of a product. The iPod invented the genre of portable music players, where iPhone didn’t invent the smartphone market, it took smart phones to a new level.

I hope this mac tablet rumor is true and the device does have similar features to the Newton. Whatever it is, I’ll be on the look out for it.