name	MessagePad
manufacturer	Apple Computer
releasedate
price
os	Newton OS
cpu	ARM 610 RISC
service
weight	W/ Battery
related	}}

The MessagePad was the first series of personal digital assistant devices developed by Apple for the Newton platform in 1993. Some electronic engineering and the manufacture of Apple's MessagePad devices was done in Japan by the Sharp Corporation. The devices were based on the ARM 610 RISC processor and all featured handwriting recognition software and were developed and marketed by Apple. The devices ran the Newton OS.

Details

Screen and input

With the MessagePad 120 with Newton OS 2.0, the Newton Keyboard by Apple became available, which can also be used via the dongle on Newton devices with a Newton InterConnect port, most notably the Apple MessagePad 2000/2100 series, as well as the Apple eMate 300.

Newton devices featuring Newton OS 2.1 or higher can be used with the screen turned horizontally ("landscape") as well as vertically ("portrait"). A change of a setting rotates the contents of the display by 90, 180 or 270 degrees. Handwriting recognition still works properly with the display rotated, although display calibration is needed when rotation in any direction is used for the first time or when the Newton device is reset.

Handwriting recognition

In initial versions (Newton OS 1.x) the handwriting recognition gave extremely mixed results for users and was sometimes inaccurate. The original handwriting recognition engine was called Calligrapher, and was licensed from a Russian company called Paragraph International. Calligrapher's design was quite sophisticated; it attempted to learn the user's natural handwriting, using a database of known words to make guesses as to what the user was writing, and could interpret writing anywhere on the screen, whether hand-printed, in cursive, or a mix of the two. By contrast, Palm Pilot's Graffiti had a less sophisticated design than Calligrapher, but was sometimes found to be more accurate and precise due to its reliance on a fixed, predefined stroke alphabet. The stroke alphabet used letter shapes which resembled standard handwriting, but which were modified to be both simple and very easy to differentiate. Palm Computing also released two versions of Graffiti for Newton devices. Ironically, the Newton version sometimes performed better and could also show strokes as they were being written as input was done on the display itself, rather than on a silkscreen area.

For editing text, Newton had a very intuitive system for handwritten editing, such as scratching out words to be deleted, circling text to be selected, or using written carets to mark inserts.

Later releases of the Newton operating system retained the original recognizer for compatibility, but added a hand-printed-text-only (not cursive) recognizer, called "Rosetta", which was developed by Apple, included in version 2.0 of the Newton operating system, and refined in Newton 2.1. Rosetta is generally considered a significant improvement and many reviewers, testers, and most users consider the Newton 2.1 handwriting recognition software better than any of the alternatives even 10 years after it was introduced. Recognition and computation of handwritten horizontal and vertical formulas such as "1 + 2 =" was also under development but never released. However, users wrote similar programs which could evaluate mathematical formulas using the Newton OS Intelligent Assistant, a unique part of every Newton device.

The handwriting recognition and parts of the user interface for the Newton are best understood in the context of the broad history of Pen computing, which is quite extensive.

A vital feature of the Newton handwriting recognition system is the modeless error correction. That is, correction done in situ without using a separate window or widget, using a minimum of gestures. If a word is recognized improperly, the user could double-tap the word and a list of alternatives would pop up in a menu under the stylus. Most of the time, the correct word will be in the list. If not, a button at the bottom of the list allows the user to edit individual characters in that word. Other pen gestures could do such things as transpose letters (also in situ). The correction popup also allowed the user to revert to the original, un-recognized letter shapes - this would be useful in note-taking scenarios if there was insufficient time to make corrections immediately. To conserve memory and storage space, alternative recognition hypotheses would not be saved indefinitely. If the user returned to a note a week later, for example, they would only see the best match. Error correction in many current handwriting systems provides such functionality but adds more steps to the process, greatly increasing the interruption to a user's workflow that a given correction requires.

User interface

Text could also be entered by tapping with the stylus on a small on-screen pop-up QWERTY virtual keyboard, although more layouts were developed by users. Newton devices could also accept free-hand "Sketches", "Shapes", and "Ink Text", much like a desktop computer graphics tablet. With "Shapes", Newton could recognize that the user was attempting to draw a circle, a line, a polygon, etc., and it would clean them up into perfect vector representations (with modifiable control points and defined vertices) of what the user was attempting to draw. "Shapes" and "Sketches" could be scaled or deformed once drawn. "Ink text" captured the user's free-hand writing but allowed it to be treated somewhat like recognized text when manipulating for later editing purposes ("ink text" supported word wrap, could be formatted to be bold, italic, etc.). At any time a user could also direct their Newton device to recognize selected "ink text" and turn it into recognized text (deferred recognition). A Newton note (or the notes attached to each contact in Names and each Dates calendar or to-do event) could contain any mix of interleaved text, Ink Text, Shapes, and Sketches.

Connectivity

The MessagePad 100 series of devices used the Macintosh-standard serial ports—round Mini-DIN 8 connectors. The MessagePad 2000/2100 models (as well as the eMate 300) have a small, proprietary ''Newton InterConnect'' port. However, the development of the Newton hardware/software platform was canceled by Steve Jobs on February 27, 1998, so the InterConnect port, while itself very advanced, can only be used to connect a serial dongle. A prototype multi-purpose InterConnect device containing serial, audio in, audio out, and other ports was also discovered. In addition, all Newton devices have infrared connectivity, initially only the Sharp ASK protocol, but later also IrDA, though the Sharp ASK protocol was kept in for compatibility reasons. Unlike the Palm Pilot, all Newton devices are equipped with a standard PC Card expansion slot (two on the 2000/2100). This allows native modem and even Ethernet connectivity; Newton users have also written drivers for 802.11b wireless networking cards and ATA-type flash memory cards (including the popular CompactFlash format), as well as for Bluetooth cards. Newton can also dial a phone number through the built-in speaker of the Newton device by simply holding a telephone handset up to the speaker and transmitting the appropriate tones. Fax and printing support is also built in at the operating system level, although it requires peripherals such as parallel adapters, PCMCIA cards, or serial modems, the most notable of which is the lightweight Newton Fax Modem released by Apple in 1993. It is powered by 2 AA batteries, and can also be used with a power adapter. It provides data transfer at 2400 bit/s, and can also send and receive fax messages at 9600 and 4800 bit/s respectively.

Power options

The original Apple MessagePad and MessagePad 100 used four AAA batteries. They were eventually replaced by AA batteries with the release of the Apple MessagePad 110.

The use of 4 AA NiCd (MessagePad 110, 120 and 130) and 4x AA NiMH cells (MP2x00 series, eMate 300) give a runtime of up to 30 hours (MP2100 with two 20 MB Linear Flash memory PC Cards, no backlight usage) and up to 24 hours with backlight on. While adding more weight to the handheld Newton devices than AAA batteries or custom battery packs, the choice of an easily replaceable/rechargeable cell format gives the user a still unsurpassed runtime and flexibility of power supply. This, together with the flash memory used as internal storage starting with the Apple MessagePad 120 (if all cells lost their power, no data was lost due to the non-volatility of this storage), gave birth to the slogan "Newton never dies, it only gets new batteries".

Later efforts and improvements

The Apple MessagePad 2000/2100, with a vastly improved handwriting recognition system, 162 MHz StrongARM SA-110 RISC processor, Newton OS 2.1, and a better, clearer, backlit screen, attracted critical plaudits.

Cases

Apple and third parties marketed several "wallets" (cases) for the handheld Newton devices, which would hold them securely along with the owner's credit cards, driver's license, business cards, and cash. Most also protected the LCD screen.

Market reception

The original Apple MessagePad and MessagePad 100 were limited by the very short lifetime of their inadequate AAA batteries.

Critics also panned the handwriting recognition that was available in the debut models, which had been trumpeted in the Newton's marketing campaign. It was this problem that was skewered in the Doonesbury comic strips and the animated television series The Simpsons. Not even the word 'freckles' was in the dictionary, though the user could add it themselves. The real case was that the advanced Calligrapher handwriting recognition software needed to adjust to the user's handwriting; this process could take anywhere from two weeks to two months.

Another factor which limited the early Newton devices' appeal was that desktop connectivity was not included in the basic retail package, a problem that was later solved with 2.x Newton devices - these were bundled with a serial cable and the appropriate Newton Connection Utilities software.

Later versions of Newton OS offered improved handwriting recognition, quite possibly a leading reason for the continued popularity of the devices among Newton users. Even given the age of the hardware and software, Newtons still demand a sale price on the used market far greater than that of comparatively aged PDAs produced by other companies. In 2006 CNET compared an Apple MessagePad 2000 to a Samsung Q1, and the Newton was declared better. In 2009, CNET compared an Apple MessagePad 2000 to an iPhone, and the Newton was still declared better.

A dedicated Newton store existed in the mid-1990's in Westwood Village, California, near U.C.L.A. It featured the trademark red and yellow lightbulb Newton logo in the form of an internally lit plastic sign on the storefront facade. This store sold Newton hardware, accessories, and third-party software such as games.

Newton device models

Model No. H1000 4 MB Read-only memory ? 4 MB Read-only memory H1000 4 MB Read-only memory ? 4 MB Read-only memory ? 4 MB Read-only memory H0131 4 MB (OS 1.3) or 8 MB (OS 2.0) Read-only memory ? 4 MB (OS 1.3) or 8 MB (OS 2.0) Read-only memory ? 4 MB (OS 1.3) Read-only memory ? 4 MB (OS 1.3) Read-only memory ? 8 MB (OS 2.0) Read-only memory H0196 8 MB Read-only memory H0208 8 MB Read-only memory H0136 8 MB Read-only memory H0149 8 MB Read-only memory

Device

|

Processor

Memory

Display

Newton OS Version

Newton OS languages

Ports

PCMCIA

Power

Weight & Dimensions

Introduced

Discontinued

Code Name

OMP (Original Newton MessagePad)

|

ARM architecture>ARM 610 (20 MHz)

ROM, 640kB RAM ||

336 x 240 (B&W;)

1.0 to 1.05, or 1.10 to 1.11

English or German

RS422, LocalTalk & SHARP ASK Infrared

PC card>PCMCIA-slot II, 5v or 12v

4 AAA or NiCd rechargeable or external power supply

0.41 kg, 18.42 cm H x 11.43 cm W x 1.91 cm D

August 3, 1993 in the US, December 1993 in Germany

March 1994

Junior

Sharp ExpertPad PI-7000

|

ARM architecture>ARM 610 (20 MHz)

ROM, 640kB RAM ||

336 x 240 (B&W;)

1.0 to 1.05, or 1.10 to 1.11

English or Japanese

RS422, LocalTalk & SHARP ASK Infrared

PC card>PCMCIA-slot II, 5v or 12v

4 AAA or NiCd rechargeable or external power supply

182mm x 112mm x 28mm (with screen lid open)

August 3, 1993 in the US, ? in Japan

March 1994

?

Apple MessagePad 100

|

ARM architecture>ARM 610 (20 MHz)

ROM, 640kB RAM ||

336 x 240 (B&W;)

1.3

English, German or French

RS422, LocalTalk & SHARP ASK Infrared

PC card>PCMCIA-slot II, 5v or 12v

4 AAA or NiCd rechargeable or external power supply

0.41 kg, 18.42 cm H x 11.43 cm W x 1.91 cm D

March 1994

April 1995

?

Apple MessagePad 110

|

ARM architecture>ARM 610 (20 MHz)

ROM, 1 MB RAM ||

320 x 240 (B&W;)

1.2 or 1.3

English or French

RS422, LocalTalk & SHARP ASK Infrared

PC card>PCMCIA-slot II, 5v or 12v

4 AA or NiCd rechargeable or external power supply

0.45 kg, 20.32 cm H x 10.16 cm W x 3 cm D

March 1994

April 1995

Lindy

Sharp ExpertPad PI-7100

|

ARM architecture>ARM 610 (20 MHz)

ROM, 640kB RAM ||

336 x 240 (B&W;)

1.3

English or Japanese

RS422, LocalTalk & SHARP ASK Infrared

PC card>PCMCIA-slot II, 5v or 12v

4 AAA or NiCd rechargeable or external power supply

182mm x 112mm x 28mm (with screen lid open)

April 1994

late 1994

?

Apple MessagePad 120

|

ARM architecture>ARM 610 (20 MHz)

ROM, 687kB RAM, 0.5 or 1.5 MB Flash memory||

320 x 240 (B&W;)

1.3 or 2.0

English, German or French

RS422, LocalTalk & SHARP ASK Infrared

PC card>PCMCIA-slot II, 5v or 12v

4 AA or NiCd rechargeable or external power supply

0.45 kg, 20.32 cm H x 10.16 cm W x 3 cm D

October 1994 in Germany, January 1995 in the US

June 1996

Gelato

Digital Ocean Tarpon

|

ARM architecture>ARM 610 (20 MHz)

ROM, 687kB RAM, Flash memory||

320 x 240 (B&W;)

1.3 or 2.0

English

RS422, LocalTalk & SHARP ASK Infrared

PC card>PCMCIA-slot II, 5v or 12v

4 AA or NiCd rechargeable or external power supply

10" x 4.5" x 2.5" (3 lb. 3 oz.)

January 1995 in the US

?

?

Motorola Marco

|

ARM architecture>ARM 610 (20 MHz)

ROM, 687kB RAM, Flash memory ||

320 x 240 (B&W;)

1.3

English

RS422, LocalTalk & SHARP ASK Infrared

PC card>PCMCIA-slot II, 5v or 12v

4 AA or NiCd rechargeable or external power supply

?

January 1995 in the US

?

?

Harris SuperTech 2000

|

ARM architecture>ARM 610 (20 MHz)

ROM, 687kB RAM, Flash memory||

320 x 240 (B&W;)

1.3

English

RS422, LocalTalk & SHARP ASK Infrared

PC card>PCMCIA-slot II, 5v or 12v

4 AA or NiCd rechargeable or external power supply

?

August 1995 in the US

?

?

Digital Ocean Seahorse

|

ARM architecture>ARM 610 (20 MHz)

ROM, 687kB RAM, Flash memory||

320 x 240 (B&W;)

2.0

English

RS422, LocalTalk & SHARP ASK Infrared

PC card>PCMCIA-slot II, 5v or 12v

4 AA or NiCd rechargeable or external power supply

9.5" x 4.5" x 2.5" (48 oz.)

January 1996 in the US

?

?

Apple MessagePad 130

|

ARM architecture>ARM 610 (20 MHz)

ROM, 1.2 MB RAM, 1.5 MB Flash memory ||

320 x 240 (B&W;) w/ backlight

2.0

English or German

RS422, LocalTalk & SHARP ASK Infrared

PC card>PCMCIA-slot II, 5v or 12v

4 AA or NiCd rechargeable or external power supply

0.45 kg, 20.32 cm H x 10.16 cm W x 3 cm D

March 1996

April 1997

Dante

Apple eMate 300

|

ARM architecture>ARM 710a (25 MHz)

ROM, 1 MB RAM, 2 MB Flash Memory, Expandable Internally to 2 MB Random Access Memory and 4 MB Flash Memory ||

480 x 320 greyscale (16 shades) w/ backlight

2.1 (2.2)

English

IrDA, headphone port, Interconnect port, LocalTalk, Audio I/O, Autodock

PC card>PCMCIA-slot I/II/III, 5v

NiMH battery pack (built-in) or external power supply

1.81 kg, 30.5 cm H x 29 cm W x 5.33 cm D

March 1997

February 1998

?

Apple MessagePad 2000

|

StrongARM SA-110 (162 MHz)

ROM, 1 MB RAM, 4 MB Flash memory ||

480 x 320 greyscale (16 shades) w/ backlight

2.1

English

Dual-mode IR; IrDA & SHARP ASK Infrared, LocalTalk, Audio I/O, Autodock, Phone I/O

PC card>PCMCIA-slot II, 5v or 12v

4 AA or NiMH rechargeable or external power supply

0.64 kg, 21.1 cm H x 11.94 cm W x 2.79 cm D

March 1997

February 1998

Q

Apple MessagePad 2100

|

StrongARM SA-110 (162 MHz)

ROM, 4 MB RAM, 4 MB Flash memory ||

480 x 320 greyscale (16 shades) w/ backlight

2.1

English or German

Dual-mode IR; IrDA & SHARP ASK Infrared, LocalTalk, Audio I/O, Autodock

PC card>PCMCIA-slot II, 5v or 12v

4 AA or NiMH rechargeable or external power supply

0.64 kg, 21.1 cm H x 11.94 cm W x 2.79 cm D

November 1997

February 1998

?

Notes: The eMate 300 actually has ROM chips silked screened with 2.2 on them. Stephanie Mak on her website discusses this: If one removes all patches to the eMate 300 (by replacing the ROM chip, and then putting in the original one again, as the eMate and the MessagePad 2000/2100 devices erase their memory completely after replacing the chip), the result will be the Newton OS saying that this is version 2.2.00. Also, the Original MessagePad and the MessagePad 100 share the same model number, as they only differ in the ROM chip version. (The OMP has OS versions 1.0 to 1.05, or 1.10 to 1.11, while the MP100 has 1.3 that can be upgraded with various patches.)

Other uses

There were a number of projects that used the Newton as a portable information device in cultural settings such as museums. For example, Visible Interactive created a walking tour in San Francisco's Chinatown but the most significant effort took place in Malaysia at the Petronas Discovery Center, known as Petrosains.

In 1995, an exhibit design firm, DMCD Inc., was awarded the contract to design a new 100,000 square foot (9300 m²) science museum in the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur. A major factor in the award was the concept that visitors would use a Newton device to access additional information, find out where they were in the museum, listen to audio, see animations, control robots and other media, and to bookmark information for printout at the end of the exhibit.

The device became known as the ARIF, a Malay word for "wise man" or "seer" and it was also an acronym for A Resourceful Informative Friend. Some 400 ARIFS were installed and over 300 are still in use today. The development of the ARIF system was extremely complex and required a team of hardware and software engineers, designers, and writers. ARIF is an ancestor of the PDA systems used in museums today and it boasted features that have not been attempted since.

See also

Newton (platform)

Newton OS

eMate 300

NewtonScript

Orphaned technology

Pen computing

References

Bibliography

Apple's MessagePad 2100 description

Apple's MessagePad 2100 technical specs

A selection of PDFs of Apple's Newton manuals

Apple's press release on the debut of the MessagePad 2100

Apple's overview of features & limitations of Newton Connection Utilities

Newton overview at Newton Source archived from Apple

Newton FAQ

Pen Computing's First Look at Newton OS 2.0

Newton Gallery

Birth of the Newton

The Newton Hall of Fame: People behind the Newton

Pen Computing's Why did Apple kill the Newton?

Pen Computing's Newton Notes column archive

A.I. Magazine article by Yaeger on Newton HWR design, algorithms, & quality and associated slides

Info on Newton HWR from Apple's HWR Technical Lead

External links

Additional Resources & Information

''Defying Gravity: The Making of Newton, by Kounalakis & Menuez'' (Hardcover)

:*Hardcover: 192 pages :*Publisher: Beyond Words Publishing (October 1993) :*ISBN 0941831949 :*ISBN 978-0941831949

Complete Developer's manual for the StrongARM SA-110

Beginner's overview of the StrongARM SA-110 Microprocessor

Reviews

MessagePad 2000 review at "The History and Macintosh Society"

Prof. Wittmann's collection of Newton & MessagePad reviews

Category:Apple Newton Category:1993 introductions Category:Apple Inc. hardware Newton

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