Apple Newton MessagePad 100
This past weekend, I took my Apple Newton MessagePad 100 along for the ride, with which I had hoped to compose at least one blog entry, but wound up just playing games on it. 
Many moons ago, I wanted a Newton MessagePad. It looked so cool! And ahead of its time, as a recent battle shows. I started setting aside spare change and extra money into my “Newton Fund.”
After a while (and a tax refund, perhaps), I had enough money in my Newton Fund to get one. So, I did.
Shown above is my Newton, still alive and kicking.
I didn’t find the handwriting recognition to be as bad as others thought. It wasn’t perfect, but it was manageable. I also bought a modem to go along with it, which only added to the coolness factor. I was able to get on the local BBS as well as compose and send faxes!
At work, there was a time when I was doing both my regular job as well as the production. The production facility was separate and down the road from the office, so I used my Newton to keep track of jobs that needed to be done.
And, had I known anyone else with a Newton, I could have beamed them information with the infrared link. As it was, its only use was as a remote control for the TV. (Yes, it could do that too with the use of shareware.)
I never used the Newton as frequently as I had thought or hoped that I would. Its main downfall, in my opinion, was that it just eats batteries. I’m not sure what the specs are for battery life, but it’s pretty short. I do have the AC adapter, but plugging it in is not always an option.
Another issue is screen glare.
I believe that both of those problems were resolved in later versions, but I never upgraded to a newer MessagePad. I had hoped for one with a color screen before I would upgrade, but that never happened.
My Apple Newton MessagePad 100 is 14 years old this year. And I still carry it with me nearly every day, even if I don’t use it so often.
I also have an eMate 300, which I purchased off of eBay a couple years ago. It has a nicer display and is pretty nifty too, with more functionality than my MessagePad 100, which has an older OS and less memory. The eMate is supposed to have a longer battery life, but as the batteries no longer hold a charge and I have not obtained a new set, I cannot verify that. But, perhaps I’ll write more on the eMate in a future post.
Is time to use ebay and sell it as a collector’s item. Then use it to buy something new and better =). Or reinvest the $.
No way!
Hello, Dan. In my opinion, you are a star blogger. Nay, you are a Blogging Star! You know what a Blogging Star needs? An award, of course. Please visit Into the Inkpot and claim your award.
Thank you so much! I’ve already written my acceptance speech, but scheduled the post to appear later.
[...] I wrote last week, I have an Apple Newton MessagePad 100 and an eMate 300. For the benefit of those who may also have some variety of Newton, here are a few [...]