RANDOM APPLE MEMORY: eMate 300

Adam Banks remembers how the businesslike Newton spawned Apple’s strangest computer

- Adam Banks

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.