visorcentral.com >> news >> OS X on your Visor: NewtonX Module


news \| articles \| reviews \| software \| modules \| accessories \| discussion \| faq \| mobile \| store
visorcentral >> news >> OS X on your Visor: NewtonX Module

OS X on your Visor: NewtonX Module
Sunday April 1, 2001 - 3:37 PM EST - By James Hromadka

Handspring co-founder Jeff Hawkins has hinted at Handspring using other operating systems besides the Palm OS one day. It has been assumed that that day would be several years in the future, but that day is today.

VisorCentral has uncovered information and pictures about the NewtonX, a Springboard module being developed by Apple Computer that turns any Visor Prism into a Newton-based device running a variant of Mac OS X.

Years ago, Apple CEO Steve Jobs ditched the Newton PDA in order to focus on Apple's core businesses. We knew that Jobs wanted to eventually get back into the handheld business -- he tried to buy Handspring -- but nothing came to fruition until now.

OS X running on a Visor

Here are the basic features of the NewtonX:

Allows Mac users to enjoy the elegance of OS X in the palm of their hands

Really clear graphics because of Quartz technology

iApps-ready -- mini versions of iTunes and iMovie allow Visor users to listen to music and create multimedia content

Lets users choose the handwriting format that they prefer -- Graffiti or Apple Newton Handwriting Recognition (ANHR)

1st module to update/replace the Visor's built-in OS

This could be the single most important development for Handspring to date. Running alternative operating systems on the Visor gives it the capability to be the ultimate handheld computer.

More details on the NewtonX will be available this July at Macworld
New York. Neither pricing or feature set has been finalized.

Update: Gotcha! How'd we do this year? Discuss our April Fool's article here.

Update: Auction Update / VisorAdventure 2
Thu Oct 11 - 12:05 AM EST

InnoGear PowerCradle (updated)
Tue Oct 9 - 10:51 PM EST

iambic Office suite
Thu Oct 4 - 1:12 AM EST

Prism dropped to $299
Tue Oct 2 - 6:19 PM EST

New Portable Keyboard
Tue Oct 2 - 4:46 PM EST

Body Massager Module (updated)
Tue Oct 2 - 4:38 PM EST

Module Madness
Tue Oct 2 - 4:34 PM EST

New version of FlashAdapter software
Mon Oct 1 - 11:02 PM EST

Get Documents To Go with Visor purchase
Mon Oct 1 - 10:42 PM EST

SnapNType initial impressions
Fri Sep 28 - 10:11 PM EST

What's this? A new poll?!
Fri Sep 28 - 9:57 PM EST

Palm Desktop for Mac OS X by "the end of the year"
Thu Sep 27 - 2:36 PM EST

Going Corporate: Handspring partners with Aether
Wed Sep 26 - 6:19 PM EST

SnapNType Mini-Keyboard Available
Mon Sep 24 - 5:19 PM EST

Blazer 2.0 Beta
Mon Sep 24 - 4:42 PM EST

OLDER NEWS >>