“Events in the past 30 days lead me to conclude something unthinkable just one month ago: Apple — yeah, I said it: Apple! — will ship the first ever successful small computer. Call it the Newton on Crack (or, more accurately, on Mac),” Mike Elgan writes for Computerworld.
“AppleInsider said this week that Apple is working on an updated Newton MessagePad — basically a big iPod Touch with additional PDA functionality. The Mac OS X Leopard-based mobile mini-tablet PC will be 1.5 times the size of an iPhone, but with an approximate 720 x 480 high-resolution display. The site estimates that the new device will ship in the first half of 2008,” Elgan writes.
“If true (and some believe it isn’t), this rumor is very good news. If Apple ships an iPod Touch, but with good PIM (personal information manager) functionality, an optional wireless keyboard and good battery life for under $1,000, they win,” Elgan writes.
“As I’ve said before in this space, Apple’s iPhone user interface is a glimpse of the future, not only of future Apple mobile computers, but desktops and the future of all PCs as well. It’s inevitable that Apple will ship a tablet Mac that works like the iPhone… Right now, the only company with a prayer of succeeding in the small computer space is also the only company that hasn’t even shown a prototype — Apple,” Elgan writes.
Full article here.
