Apple dumps Newton throwing StrongARM future in question

Apple has confirmed that it has halted work on its Newton PC division but has said it will introduce other products for the mobile market in the next year.

But Apple will continue to sell its MessagePad 2100 and eMate computers, although Newton is the OS.

The company said it wanted to focus on its Mac range of products.

Last year, Apple decided to hang on to the Newton, although many thought it would be spun off as a separate unit.

However, the decision is likely to have more ramifications in the StrongARM arena. The OS uses the processors, which Intel licensed from ARM earlier this week, subject to FTC approval.

Said Joe D?Elia, senior microprocessor analyst at Dataquest UK: ?The biggest ramification is that Newton is the most visible StrongARM client. This could bring StrongARM?s future into question, although there are many other applications the processor is used in.?