RANDOM APPLE MEMORY
eMate 300
Adam Banks remembers how the businesslike Newton spawned Apple’s strangest computer
Purple, transparent, red, and orange coloured cases didn’t get past prototype.
Apple’s Newton MessagePad, which appeared in 1993 after a long gestation, was a groundbreaking product - but not a successful one. Handwriting recognition was central to its failure: it worked poorly, and the processing power and screen required were too expensive. As other features were added to increase the book-sized device’s appeal, its price rose unstoppably, and by 1997 it still wasn’t obvious who’d want to pay it.