Apple's most functional design ever is the Newton eMate 300. Seriously. I will tell you why! The Apple eMate, released in 1997, was aimed at schools and ran the Newton OS. It was a laptop and PDA hybrid, and is still adored by many Apple fans. In the early nineties Apple pioneered the PDA industry with the Newton series. It ended with the eMate 300 in 1997. The eMate was a very new idea for it's time. It was a laptop/PDA hybrid intented to use in classrooms – with keyboard and styles pen. The eMate300 was the new branch of the Newton tree. The goal was to place an affordable, durable laptop/PDA on the desk of every classroom in the country – dubbed the "Distributed Learning Environment" by Apple. We all have high hopes at some point ;) And so the eMate was launched in March of 97, and discontinued less than a year later with the entire Newton line. In that time, the eMate made a brief cameo in Batman & Robin (sporting a CD ROM and full-color screen, neither of which were part of the package) and barely made a blip on the tech radar. The hardware of the eMate is very similar to the first generation iBook with its clamshell form factor and its translucent case. Also the handle is a returning Apple trademark. On the bottom there is a kind of tripod screw to attach the eMate. Looking at the case, many of the design elements of the eMate were used in the iBook: the clamshell screen flip, integrated carry handle, placement of all ports to the left and right (as opposed to the rear). The green plastic is semi-translucent, allowing some light to pass through the device. Function Design! Remember? The keyboard is a typical Apple layout with special Newton commands on top. Once booted-up you are brought to the default application "Newton Works [Word processor]". Also included is a simple drawing app. All other productivity applications are available using the button "extra" (e.g.: address book, dates; a calendar app, calculator, …). However the most pivotal newton app is the "Notes" app. The app recognise handwriting and transform it to plain text. Furthermore it is capable to style text. The stylus that shipped with the eMate is actually very nice, good weight. When the unit is closed, it rests in a cradle under the screen making it very difficult to loose. On either side of the keyboard are rubber-lined holes to keep the stylus upright, out of the way, yet ready for use. // WHY DID THE EMATE FAILED? So, why was this interesting "little … (what do I call it? It really is too big to be a PDA, too big for a palm-top, not really a laptop )… thing" dropped from the face of the world? – First, the price. It originally sold for $800 (the same price as a laptop). Even though discounts were available for schools (it was actually released to the educational market first) the cost was just too high for even a wealthy school to justify. – 1998 featured the return of Mr. Jobs to Apple, where he promptly scrapped the Newton as a cost-cutting measure, cutting short some of the possibility of the device – but (at least) they are still around… Bottom Line: A unique piece of Apple history ! / PACKAGING & SHIPPING The EMATE 300 is packaged securely and carefully for safe shipment. Moreover, this bundle is shipped INSURED because of its precious value. Because of the precious content extra attention is paid to the CUSTOM packaging. This extra cost is included in the shipping price. "One More Thing" – Steve Jobs quote Don't miss this unique opportunity. Great opportunities don't come everyday! Let the bidding begin … for the last Newton "the EMATE 300"! "One More Thing" When in doubt, check my positive customer reviews ;) (… because there are some "copycats" out there who copy my style/text and pretend to be me). There is only one "VISENTO"! That's me ;) "One More Thing" The most dramatically new macintosh since the original. Will you have one?