Apple Newton MessagePad Model H1000

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Apple Newton MessagePad Model H1000
Apple Newton MessagePad Model H1000

Object Details

maker

Apple Computer, Inc.

Description

Apple released the Newton MessagePad Model H1000 in 1993 as one of the first personal digital assistant (PDA) devices. The device sported a 20 megahertz ARM 610 processor with 630 kilobytes of RAM and was powered by four AAA batteries. The MessagePad was designed to store contacts, notes, and calendars, and to provide word processing and rudimentary Internet browsing. The MessagePad’s most revolutionary feature was that it accepted handwriting input via a pen stylus. The novelty of handwriting recognition soon became notorious due its buggy translations, lampooned in popular culture, most notably in a week of Doonesbury comic strips.

References:

Apple, Inc., Newton Apple MessagePad Handbook, 1995.

Kevin Strehlo, “Apple’s MessagePad is an Expensive Gadget at Best,” Info World, August 30, 1993, 1 & 104.

Credit Line

Gift of James F. Young

date made

1993

ID Number

1999.0290.01

accession number

1999.0290

catalog number

1999.0290.01

Object Name

portable computer, personal digital assistant

Physical Description

plastic (overall material)

metal (overall material)

glass (overall material)

rubber (overall material)

Measurements

overall: 18.2 cm x 11.4 cm x 2.4 cm; 7 5/32 in x 4 1/2 in x 15/16 in

place made

Japan

See more items in

Medicine and Science: Computers

Computers & Business Machines

American Enterprise

Exhibition

American Enterprise

Exhibition Location

National Museum of American History

Data Source