Re: [NTLK] Newton reclassification

~~~ On 2007/04/27 13:24, Mark Harter at willmark@mac.com wrote ~~~

> To a point I agree with this; however and this is not intended to flame
> anyone. Is the reason some people are not considering the iPhone is simply
> because its not a Newton?

Mark,

I'd say the answer has to be both yes and no to this, but not perhaps for
the obvious reason. When I heard the first rumours about the iPhone, I
thought "Oh good, Apple is starting to think about what a mobile phone could
be." I certainly liked the design. I started thinking about trading in my
SE K800i, even though the iPhone camera doesn't sound as good.

Then I read what the iPhone will -- and won't -- do.

I know I bang on a lot about the obvious thing, the HWR, but after all, if I
can't talk about it here, where can I? I also know not everyone gets the
same results from it, but the only way for me to answer your question is to
say that, as long as a device can't read my handwriting, it just can never
replace the Newton for me. It's that simple. Right now, my phone does two
things only: it's a cell phone -- and better than many I've tried -- and
it's a pretty decent camera that I actually carry most of the time (as
opposed to one I've left home just when I want it). In the time it takes me
to do the 2-thumb tango to enter a name and phone number on my Sony Ericsson
and save it (the only data I bother with on the phone), I can scribble in a
new contact complete with name, phone number and address.

Without HWR, the touch-sensitive screen on the iPhone is, in my personal
(and in the eyes of Apple, insignificant) opinion, a pointlessly
under-utilized and unexploited demonstration of market-led rather than
function-led design. 15 years ago -- or even 10 -- having a touch-screen
that does nothing except let you tap it was at least a novel bit of
eye-candy. Now, for me, it's retro-froth.

And then there's the Newton's wonderful data handling. The integration of
data and functions is unbeaten in my experience. The Assist button on the
Newt is worth a small fortune just by itself.

I could go on, but I'd be preaching to the choir, no? Just because I'm
becoming a dinosaur doesn't mean I want to work at being a boring old fart.
(It comes naturally enough anyway.)

Do I wish the Newton were seamlessly connectable like new devices? Oh yes!
Do I wish the storage technology were modern? Who doesn't? Would I like
the possibility of a Newton with up-to-the-minute sleekness like the iPhone?
We-e-e-ll, that's less of a certainty for me but I could live with it as
long as it had the functionality of a Newton. But trade the Newton as it is
for the iPhone as it is/will be? To me, that's like trading the real '68
Shelby Mustang for the make-believe KIT of Knight Rider.

So for now, I'll keep my "Shelby" knowing it'll blow the doors off the "KIT"
anywhere except in a carefully scripted movie.

 
Shalom.
Christian

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

³Any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from a NewtonPad.²
            -- What Arthur C. Clarke meant to say

http://homepage.mac.com/chodlang1/iMovieTheater16.html
(With thanks to Chod Lang)
http://tinyurl.com/29y2dl

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