MessagePad Trickles In

The first MessagePad details are trickling in from Pythaeus. "What is the MessagePad," you ask? Why the first of the Newtons from Apple, of course, and they’re appearing soon, so pay attention.

The first units will range in price from $800 to $950, and just like Barbie will have a bunch of nifty accessories that cost between $20 and $250. Accessories include batteries (alkaline and rechargeable), battery packs, chargers of various kinds, carrying cases (including spiffy leather ones), connection kits for Mac and Windows, fax modems, 1 MB and 2 MB storage cards, battery boosters, and some cool software packages. Ken is still sold separately. Other details for the curious include:

• Weight: less than one pound,
• Dimensions: 7.5" x 4.5" x .75"
• Screen: 3.5" LCD
• CPU: 20 MHz ARM 610 (a RISC chip)
• Memory: 4 MB ROM, and 640K RAM (hmm, I think I’ve seen that last number somewhere before…)
• Expansion: One PCMCIA slot
• Connectivity: Infrared link, and one RS-422 port
• Pens: Two, one black, one red (just kidding about the colors)

For automated Newton propaganda, call 800-7-NEWTON.

— Information from:
Pythaeus