“One of Apple’s first forays into the arena that we think of today as ‘mobile’ computing was the Newton MessagePad,” Matthew Panzarino reports for TNW. “As a pocketable, hand-sized device that was meant to be a a personal organizer, the MessagePad ended up being a long-winded failure for Apple, but it did plant some seeds for what would eventually become Apple’s mobile empire, including the iPhone and iPad.”

“Recently, at an SFTA event held at Citrix HQ, former Apple CEO John Sculley talked about the origins of the Newton and the ARM processor, which was a joint venture between Apple, Acorn Computers and VLSI,” Panzarino reports. “The ARM6 was used as the processor for the first Newton MessagePad, as Apple needed a more power efficient CPU for its portable.”

Panzarino reports, “To give you an idea of how important the ARM project was — the iPhone you’re holding still uses a derivative of the ARM core designed for the Newton.”

More info and video of Sculley in the full article here.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers "Fred Mertz" and "Dan K." for the heads up.]