From day one, Apple's Newton MessagePad has been a much-maligned product, the butt of many jokes and the inspiration for many a cartoonist. All of that changed with the introduction of the MessagePad 2000 (MP2K).
The Newton had changed from an oversized, less-than-usable personal digital assistant (PDA) to a powerful pen-based computer, which could connect to both Macintosh and Windows machines. Weighing just 1.4 pounds and the size of a paperback book, it is as powerful as most notebook computers.
The MP2K offered a screaming fast 162 MHz StrongArm processor, two PCMCIA slots, sound recording and playback capabilities, a back light, grey scale screen and an optional keyboard. It has a built-in Web browser, word processor, e-mail, fax and infrared capabilities as well as storage for phone numbers, notes files, 'to do' lists, and calendar offered in most PDAs. Newton fans were thrilled. There was, however, one small peep of dissent: some Newton aficionados thought the MP2K should have more memory.
It seems they were heard. Last week Apple Asia released the Newton MessagePad 2100. With four times the memory of the 2000, the 2100 includes performance upgrades and Ethernet capabilities.
MP2K owners who feel themselves coming down with a terminal case of obsolete-itus need not fret. Apple is expected to introduce an upgrade similar to the 2100 capabilities in mid-December to allow owners to add memory.
The Apple Newton MessagePad 2100 is selling for about $7,000 while new 2000s can be had for as little as $5,600.