MessagePad

The MessagePad is a line of personal digital assistants (PDAs) developed by Apple Inc. that were produced from 1993 to 1998. These devices were designed to be portable computing devices that could handle tasks such as scheduling, note-taking, and sending electronic messages. The first MessagePad, known as the Newton MessagePad, was released in August 1993. It featured a stylus-based interface and a handwriting recognition system, which was a novel concept for its time.

The MessagePad ran on a proprietary operating system called Newton OS. Early models faced challenges with the accuracy of their handwriting recognition, which was a significant part of their user interface. Despite this, Apple continued to develop and release several iterations of the MessagePad, including the MessagePad 110, 120, 130, and later models like the MessagePad 2000 and MessagePad 2100. These later models saw improvements in performance, display quality, and software capabilities.

The MessagePad line ultimately struggled to gain widespread market acceptance, facing competition from other PDA manufacturers and the emergence of more capable handheld devices. Apple discontinued the MessagePad line in early 1998 as part of a broader strategic shift under new CEO Steve Jobs. Although commercially unsuccessful, the MessagePad is remembered as an influential early attempt at a portable, intelligent device and a precursor to modern smartphones and tablets. It explored concepts like mobile computing and stylus input that would later become commonplace.