Apple is a sometimes a funny company. Or maybe it’s not the company itself that’s funny, because they’re actually very serious about what they’re doing. But the never-ending talk and speculation is quite enjoyable. There are times when you hear or read stuff that are just very unexpected, but you never know because it’s Apple.

Why am I saying this? Because I just read at AppleInsider that the Newton may be on it’s way, after all these years. For those of you that aren’t familiar with it, Newton was (or is) a PDA in development that Steve Jobs killed off as soon as he got back to Apple in the nineties. Even though it may have been a great device, I’m sure he did the right choice back then. Apple was brought to it’s knees and Jobs had to kill off a lot of projects and get back to basics to bring the company back to a healthy state.

But now, rumors say the Newton is on it’s way back. Certain-well respected sources of AppleInsider claim a team has been working on it for the last 18 months. Of course it’ll feature mutli-touch technology, like the iPod touch and the iPhone, but it’ll also feature a very high resolution display. It is also said that the device will have a more developed multi-touch functionality, featuring drag-and-drop.

But wait a minute, doesn’t this sound a bit odd? I mean, aren’t they moving too fast? Well, Apple does computers, phone and media players, so I guess a PDA wouldn’t be so far-fetched after all. And if they want to release a PDA, they should do it soon, while multi-touch technology is still fresh. This is definitely the right time, but is Apple the right company to make the move?

I think they are. While it may not become as popular as the iPod or the iPhone, it would be a natural development for their business. But the real question is whether or not we really need a PDA when we already have iPhone, the smartest smartphone of them all. Wouldn’t it make more sense to just further develop the iPhone?

It all depends on how Apple sees it. Do they see the iPhone as a device of integration; a hybrid of a computer and a phone? Or do they see it as just another intelligent phone? One thing is certain; they believe in integration and blending devices together to simplify our lives. If the iPhone really is the start of a new generation of integrated devices, why would they release a PDA?

Of course, it’s all speculations. And if Steve Jobs and Apple should decide to bring us a Newton, they would surely also make it very clear to us what it’s purpose is. But just because a project is in development doesn’t mean we’ll ever see a final product. Time will tell.

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