Remembering Apple’s Newton, 30 years on | Ars Technica
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`https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/06/remembering-apples-newton-3...
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`PROTO-IPAD —
`
`Remembering Apple’s Newton, 30 years on
`On its 30th anniversary, we look at the groundbreaking product's enduring
`legacy.
`
`
`
` - 6/1/2022, 3:45 AMJEREMY REIMER
`
`The product
`
`The Newton MessagePad 100 went on sale for $900 in 1993 dollars, or about $1,800 today. For that
`money, you received a device that was absolutely innovative and different but which still had many
`rough edges.
`
`old-computers.net
`
`The Newton MessagePad 100, showing off its user interface.
`
`To interact with the device, you used the included plastic stylus to write on the non-backlit, black-and-
`white LCD screen. The display was approximately 4.5 inches by 3.5 inches and had a resolution of 240
`by 320 pixels.
`
`The primary feature of the device, the handwriting recognition, did not work well out of the box. It
`had to be trained on a user’s unique writing, and it failed to recognize many words.
`
`1 of 5
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`5/19/2023, 9:33 AM
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`Smart Mobile Technologies LLC, Exhibit 2025
`Page 1 of 5
`
`
`
`https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/06/remembering-apples-newton-3...
`
`SUBSCRIBE
`
`SIGN IN
`
`PROTO-IPAD —
`
`Remembering Apple’s Newton, 30 years on
`On its 30th anniversary, we look at the groundbreaking product's enduring
`legacy.
`
`
`
` - 6/1/2022, 3:45 AMJEREMY REIMER
`
`The product
`
`The Newton MessagePad 100 went on sale for $900 in 1993 dollars, or about $1,800 today. For that
`money, you received a device that was absolutely innovative and different but which still had many
`rough edges.
`
`old-computers.net
`
`The Newton MessagePad 100, showing off its user interface.
`
`To interact with the device, you used the included plastic stylus to write on the non-backlit, black-and-
`white LCD screen. The display was approximately 4.5 inches by 3.5 inches and had a resolution of 240
`by 320 pixels.
`
`The primary feature of the device, the handwriting recognition, did not work well out of the box. It
`had to be trained on a user’s unique writing, and it failed to recognize many words.
`
`1 of 5
`
`5/19/2023, 9:33 AM
`
`Smart Mobile Technologies LLC, Exhibit 2025
`Page 1 of 5
`
`
`
`Remembering Apple’s Newton, 30 years on | Ars Technica
`
`https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/06/remembering-apples-newton-3...
`
`This flaw led to a massive backlash in public opinion, and the Newton became the go-to reference for
`expensive but flawed high-tech gadgets. Doonesbury author Garry Trudeau wrote a series of comic
`strips in which a character tried to get the Newton to recognize his handwriting, with hilarious results.
`The Simpsons released an episode in which Nelson Muntz told his friend to “take a note on your
`Newton.” He wrote, “Beat Up Martin," but the Newton translated it as “Eat Up Martha.”
`
`Garry Trudeau takes a shot at the Newton.
`
`Computer History Museum
`
`Enlarge / The Simpsons join in the fun.
`
`Simpsons Quotes
`
`The handwriting problems wouldn’t have been fatal by themselves, but the rest of the product failed
`to live up to the massive media hype and public expectations. With the original Newton, you could
`take notes, use the calculator, run some simple formulas, update and search contacts in an address
`book, and keep track of appointments in a calendar. And that was about it.
`
`Some features were ahead of their time. For example, the Newton came with support for reading
`ebooks a full fourteen years before the launch of Amazon’s Kindle store. Other features would have
`been amazing, if only the wireless infrastructure had existed to use them. The first 802.11 WiFi
`standard for computers would not appear until 1997, and cellular phones were still using analog
`signals. (An optional accessory card did allow messages to be sent via pager.) The Newton came with
`an infrared port, like those in remote controls, that you could use to “beam” messages and other
`information from one Newton to another, assuming both owners were in the same room. The
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`2 of 5
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`5/19/2023, 9:33 AM
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`Smart Mobile Technologies LLC, Exhibit 2025
`Page 2 of 5
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`
`
`Remembering Apple’s Newton, 30 years on | Ars Technica
`
`https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/06/remembering-apples-newton-3...
`
`primary way to sync your data with your computer was using a wired cable.
`
`The Newton ran its own custom operating system, Newton OS, which was written in C++. It also had
`its own custom development language, NewtonScript, which allowed third-party developers to create
`their own applications. These apps didn’t need to be “installed” but could just be copied or beamed
`onto the Newton, and they would work instantly.
`
`Steve Capps described the development environment as being incredibly advanced. “The whole
`architecture that we cooked up had no difference between data in the ‘file system’ and in memory
`(and for Newton, in the ROM that held the code),” he said in an interview with Ars. “Imagine a world
`today where JavaScript had MySQL as part of it, and there was no difference between storing data
`locally in a browser versus storing remotely and running code in either place. The data could span
`the browser and the server but be treated as one record. Conceptually, a developer just had to
`understand a few basics, and they were off.”
`
`Later versions of NewtonOS were far better at handwriting recognition. It easily recognized my name, despite me scrawlin
`
`emulator.
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`3 of 5
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`Smart Mobile Technologies LLC, Exhibit 2025
`Page 3 of 5
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`Remembering Apple's Newton, 30 years on I Ars Technica
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`
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`... https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/06/remembering-apples-newton-3
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`COMMENTS 197
`READER
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`JEREMY REIMER
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`I'm a writer and web developer. I specialize in the obscure and beautiful, like the Amiga and newLISP.
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`Smart Mobile Technologies LLC, Exhibit 2025
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`Remembering Apple’s Newton, 30 years on | Ars Technica
`
`https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/06/remembering-apples-newton-3...
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`Smart Mobile Technologies LLC, Exhibit 2025
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