[Hakintosh]

Alright folks, I've decided to buy a Newton.

I've been reading a lot about them and decided that it is indeed worth what I'll end up paying for it on eBay. I'm also intrigued by the idea of developing applications for it and the possibilities of expansion via PCMCIA. The problem is I don't know which model to buy.

From what I've seen there is apparently models ranging 100-130, and then a 2000 and a 2100, as well as the eMate. The 100 Series Newts are cheaper, but is it worth spending the extra $$ for the 2000 Series? Benefits? Thanks in advance for your input.

- Hak

"of developing applications for it and the possibilities of expansion via PCMCIA."

...then get the 2100/2000upgraded. This model(s) will allow ethernet and enough speed to work with. Besides, this year alone we've got JAVA/WABA and VNC for the Newts.(2100).

[ctt1wbw]

Someone on another board told me to think of the Newton 130 as a Palm Pilot/Handspring Visor and the Newton 2100 as a PocketPC PDA, except way, way better.

[Hakintosh]

Thanks for the input everyone, another question though.

Do the 100 Series Newtons offer a PCMCIA port? Also, which
version of the Newton OS is compatible with the different Newtons?
Are there advantages to having version 2 of the Newton OS?

- Hak

[itomato]

Don't bother w/ the 1XX series if you plan on having it more than a year. So much of what makes the Newton great is only available for the 2X00.. The 1XX has PCMCIA, but there are limitations to the types of cards it will support, electrically speaking.

Check the Newton FAQ for more info.

The 2X00 models, with Newton OS 2.1, can do ethernet. They also have the muscle to run the web browsers and more complex apps.

[Hakintosh]

I didn't realize there was such a strong interest in the Newton!
I'm really intrigued by the work Paul Guyot has done as far as
making the ATA cards work with the Newton. Why would anyone ever
want a palm if they could have a Newton?

All the 2000 & 2100 Newtons on eBay are selling for $200 and up.
Does that sound about right for price?

- Hak

[Hakintosh]

Well folks I ended up buying an MP130 off of eBay.
It should be here in a few days. As always, thanks
for your tips and advice.

- Hak

[iPilot]

Originally posted by Hakintosh:
<STRONG>Well folks I ended up buying an MP130 off of eBay.
It should be here in a few days. As always, thanks
for your tips and advice.

- Hak</STRONG>

Ups. Too late. I just noted this thread too late.

Well. I went through the similar thoughts in the early this year. I bought the MP 130 first, used it a bit and found it too slow for my needs. In fact it's not painfully slow, but slow enough to bother me. I use the Newt for taking notes, translating them to text and transporting them to my PC at work. Well. MP 130 was too slow in two things - turning the page on long notes and translating my scribbles to text.

So I bought upgraded MP 2000 later on and I'm quite satisfied with this decision. It's the very best PDA ever created (at least for my needs) and beats the MP 130 hands down in every aspect.

In my work (cellular operator dev. team) i've been amazed people how accureate Newton is while translating my scribbles (which, by the way are awful and written in Estonian).
The real test for the Newton was sitting on the family school and taking notes many hours in line about how to get the baby out of my wife (which, by the way, happened in 6-th of august quite successfully).

Also MP 2x00 is capable of handling the graysclae images which is important for me , when I use Newt as a moving map display in the sailplane (connected to GPS).


So I've taken the thing everywhere in to my life - work, personal and a hobby. And I can suggest to You than compared to MP 2000 all MP1xx-s are more like a toys. Only 130 is almost good enough. But the missing vital part of the raw power and screen real estate bothers me enough to exclude it.


BTW. I think, that all the Newton owns great thanks for Paul Guyot. I just applaud to the best supporter of that beautyful platform for all the help given to every single Newton owner. Incl. me (i own heh the thanks for estonian dictionary)

[Hakintosh]

While I appreciate iPilot's opinion and understand the advantages of the 2100 series, I'm not necessarily concerned with speed and "raw power".

My primary desire to own a Newton was the fact that I'm sick of fooling around with my Palm Vx. Despite their futal attempts to mimic the greatness of Newton, Palm has yet to deliver a PDA that can do what the Newton did a long time ago. PCMCIA expansion alone is reason enough to jump on the Newton bandwagon. Pop in a $60 802.11 Wireless card in the slot, find (or write) a driver for it, and you've got wireless connection to an Airport network - Something AFAIK Palm has yet to produce in any of their models.

Long live the Newton.

- Hak

[iPilot]

Originally posted by Hakintosh:
<STRONG>While I appreciate iPilot's opinion and understand the advantages of the 2100 series, I'm not necessarily concerned with speed and "raw power".

My primary desire to own a Newton was the fact that I'm sick of fooling around with my Palm Vx. Despite their futal attempts to mimic the greatness of Newton, Palm has yet to deliver a PDA that can do what the Newton did a long time ago. PCMCIA expansion alone is reason enough to jump on the Newton bandwagon. Pop in a $60 802.11 Wireless card in the slot, find (or write) a driver for it, and you've got wireless connection to an Airport network - Something AFAIK Palm has yet to produce in any of their models.

Long live the Newton.

- Hak</STRONG>

Well. Up to You. As I said, it was slow for my needs and might not be slow for Your needs. The MP 130 was fun to use for me too, but it really was too slow while reckognizing the writing.

Anyhow. There's nothing to argue about and welcome to the friendly family of the Newton owers.

And don't forget to post Your first opinions as You recieve the item and start to use it.

[Hakintosh]

Thanks iPilot. I would never want to start a flame war between happy Newton owners .

- Hak

[btober]

Originally posted by Hakintosh:
<STRONG>While I appreciate iPilot's opinion and understand the advantages of the 2100 series, I'm not necessarily concerned with speed and "raw power".

My primary desire to own a Newton was the fact that I'm sick of fooling around with my Palm Vx. Despite their futal attempts to mimic the greatness of Newton, Palm has yet to deliver a PDA that can do what the Newton did a long time ago. PCMCIA expansion alone is reason enough to jump on the Newton bandwagon. Pop in a $60 802.11 Wireless card in the slot, find (or write) a driver for it, and you've got wireless connection to an Airport network - Something AFAIK Palm has yet to produce in any of their models.

Long live the Newton.

- Hak</STRONG>

Well, it's just too bad you won't be able to use some of the coolest Newton apps ever made - Newton Movie Player and Newton Audio Player, found
here - they require OS 2.1!!!

[Hakintosh]

Well, it's just too bad you won't be able to use some of the coolest Newton apps ever made - Newton Movie Player and Newton Audio Player, found
here - they require OS 2.1!!!

Such is the nature of being a poor college student who has to make tuition payments. Thanks for the link though. Maybe next year when my scholarships kick in I'll have the extra cash to purchase a Newton running OS 2.1.

- Hak

[Walter J. Ferstl]

Originally posted by Hakintosh:
<STRONG>

Such is the nature of being a poor college student who has to make tuition payments. Thanks for the link though. Maybe next year when my scholarships kick in I'll have the extra cash to purchase a Newton running OS 2.1.

- Hak</STRONG>

Welcome to the Newton community, Hakintosh!

Yes, there will be MP 2x00s waiting for you next year ;-)

Regards,

Walter (with an MP 2100).

[pkatt]

So Hackintosh, how you liking your 130? I'm looking to get one soon myself, so I'm interested to know what another new newton user thinks.

[Mac@GWU]

To the original poster,

Make sure you know what you're getting into. The Newton, although awesome in every way, is HUGE.

ps

[Hakintosh]

Well folks my Newton is has yet to arrive thanks to the wonders of UPS Ground Delivery Service. I'll remember to use Airborne Express next time. I'll be sure and let you know what I think as soon as my 130 arrives!

- Hak

Get the tracking number from the seller and have UPS's website send you a tracking update. It's free.

[Amorya]

I just bought a 120 for $95. I hope it comes soon.

Amorya

[Hakintosh]

I've been tracking my Newt with UPS's site daily. Its been sitting in Illinois since November 2. Considering it was shipped from CA on October 30 I'm not surprised that its still not here, just worried why the tracking number isn't showing movement. I hope no one else has to go through the agony of wondering where there Newt is

- Hak

You can also get updates from UPS if you have a text-enabled cell phone. Their system handles something like a terabyte of info. per hour or day. Sometimes I have to re-enter the tracking number.

[Hakintosh]

Its finally here! I have to say that the Newton is a remarkable piece of engineering. It beats the pants off of a lot of other PDA's I've seen, including my own Palm Vx. I just didn't realize it was so BIG. Regardless, I'm very happy and I'm looking forward to learning the ins and outs of the Newton OS. Now if I only had a cradle so I could add new software...

- Hak

[btober]

Hackintosh - May I suggest joining the Newtontalk.net mailing list? You can get a lot of help from a great community of Newton users (including myself!). Newtontalk

Remember Newtontalk.net. We used to have newtontalk.com, but after that expired and the caretaker forgot to renew, a porn site took it. Why, I don't know.

[btober]

2x post

[ 11-07-2001: Message edited by: btober ]

[Hakintosh]

Thanks for the suggestion! Searching the NewtonTalk archives provided me with a lot of information about the Newt that I've yet to find anywhere else.

On another topic, what exactly is the Newton Connection Kit comprised of? The port on the side of my 130 looks like an Apple Serial port, but I'm very likely mistaken. If this is the case though, is it possible to connect the Newt to a Mac via a Serial Cable? And if so, then what is the alternative for attaching the Newton to a B&W G3, TiBook, or even a PC?

- Hak

[TimmyDee51]

Yep, that's a serial port on the side of your 130. To sync it with your Mac, get a USB-serial adapter. If you think about getting a 2x00, then you'll have the option of doing it all over ethernet (which I do and man is it fast ).

[u2zoo]

I just wanted to second (although rather late) everyone's suggestion on the Newton 2100 . . I ditched my palmIII for it and haven't looked back. Sure it's big . . but I only use it at work really - it's great to poke into the server room . . bring along the newt, chat on IRC - while I'll fix some random problems. It'll be a while until the pocketPC platform entices me over to the dark side.

[Hakintosh]

Thanks for the info about the serial connector. It sounds like the 2x00 series is the real deal...

I am to understand I'm not going to be able to use an Ethernet card w/my Newt, even with OS 2.0 and the NIE?

- Hak

[candyman]

I have a brand new eMate for sale. When I say "brand new" I mean NEVER used. I have the manual, the cable and the software, not the packaging. I will sell it when I receive a brand new battery: because it was NEVER used, the original one is dead. Someone interested?

candyman

[Hakintosh]

Definetely interested in buying an eMate. But I definetely don't have a lot of cash ( back to the whole discussion about tuition payments ). Let me know what you're asking and I'll get back to ya.

- Hak

hakintosh@mac.com