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Apple is building a new platform by applying lessons it learned from the 90s. Apple tried to launch the Newton as a new platform, although its subsequent failure in the marketplace. The Newton was not just a new gadget, it was intended to be a diverse platform. Like the Macintosh from the prior decade, the Newton started as one product, and intended to branch out into a range of systems. Apple used “Newton” to describe its operating system for a series of devices, including the MessagePad line of PDAs and the later eMate mini laptops it marketed to schools. Prototype Newton devices included phones, video walkie-talkies, a tablet-like slate, and a mini PDA device similar to the Palm Pilot. The new platform that consumer electronics devices need is an overall system; a consistent user interface is a significant part of this. Apple attempted to deliver this in the Newton, but it tried to offer too much, and simply ended up being too expensive and over-architected for the mass market.

Newton Lessons for Apple's New Platform