John Gruber on the Newton’s downfall:

It’s eyebrow-raising that “too big” and “too expensive” were the major knocks against the Newton, and here we are facing the arrival of the mythical Tablet, which, according to the Wall Street Journal, has a big 10-inch diagonal screen and will cost around $1,000. But I’d argue that the Newton wasn’t too big, too expensive, period — I’d say it was too big and too expensive given what it offered. That’s why Palm succeeded where the Newton failed. Apple went for “tablet computer” but only had features worthy of a handheld peripheral.

I use my MessagePad 2100 every day and, sadly, I couldn’t agree more. Admittedly, I waited until the price was appropriate for a handheld and it has made an excellent handheld.