Apple Enters PDA Market?

After mastering MP3 players, it looks like PDAs may be up next for Apple.

Sources at AppleInsider claim that for the past 18 months a group of Apple engineers have been hard at work on developing a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) model. The team is said to be looking at ways to integrate the company's unique touch-screen technology into the device.

This is not Apple's first time developing a PDA; in the late 1990's, the company had developed the Apple Newton MessagePad. Unfortunately, the device never made it to production. (Source: laptoplogic.com)

In fact, the Newton was only spoken about by CEO Steve Jobs years later (2004), at the Wall Street Journal's "D: All Things Digital" conference. Jobs had commented that he was proud of the products that Apple shipped as well as the ones the company did not ship. When an audience member asked Jobs to elaborate, he simply stated, "an Apple PDA." (Source: appleinsider.com)

So, what about this PDA they're now developing?

Fast-forwarding to the present day, there are only a few details to report. The device is said to be about 1.5 times the size of the iPhone with a larger, higher resolution screen. It will incorporate multi-touch touch-screen and may contain new features such as drag and drop and copy and paste. (Source: slashgear.com)

If rumors are true, sources say that the project could be unveiled as early as January amidst the typical hysteria of Jobs' "Macworld" keynote. However, the same sources predict that the new device will not be available to customers until mid-2008.