Dave Caolo

The Newton was not the original Apple tablet. The original PDA, yes. Apple’s original tablet was produced in 1979.

I love the Apple Newton and still use one. The NewtonTalk email list is a permanent part of my inbox. Yet, even I cannot stand pointless posts like this one from CNET, comparing it to the iPhone:

“If the iPhone is Megan Fox, the Newton is Marilyn Monroe. It was standing over windy manholes in short dresses, making our pulses race long before the iPhone was tattooing weird, incoherent nonsense about butterflies on its back.”

Forget that they make me click through five pages to read the whole thing. The Newton is dead. It’s never coming back. A small group of enthusiasts enjoy using the remaining units. Leave it at that.

Even better than the article is the second comment:

“Next year I want to see the Newton pitted against the Apple Tablet.”

Yes, let’s compare a defunct gadget to a non-existent one. Can’t wait to read that page-turner.

Handshake allows for over-the-air data sharing between iPhones – something the Newton was doing 12 years ago.