Apple Computer Inc yesterday launched the Newton-derived computer that every schoolchild will want and also the promised StrongARM-based model of the Newton (CI No 3,018, 3,024). The Newton for the schoolbag is the $800 eMate 300, and looks more like a laptop than a handheld computer. It comes with a keyboard and a flip-up screen and is protected by rugged casing presumably to help it survive being kicked around the school-yard. Apple plans to sell the machine directly to elementary and high schools, beginning early next year, as an alternative to Windows personal computers. For the price of a $2,500 multimedia Windows box, a school can buy three eMates, the company points out. The Federal government says we need to get to a three-to-one student-to- computer ratio by the year 2000, Jim Groff, general manager of Apple’s information appliances group told Reuters. I would say the eMate is the only credible vehicle for accomplishing that. For the 1996-1997 school year, of all the computers that schools plan to buy, 56% will be Macintoshs and 40% Windows machines, according to a recent report by Quality Education Data. But in the previous school year, the purchasing plans were 61% Macintosh, 38% Windows. Apple says the eMate was built for schools asking for an inexpensive, powerful, rugged computer that can offer educational software and Internet connections. It said the MessagePad 2000 offers better Internet capabilities, easier connection to Windows and built-in word processor and spreadsheet.
