Apple Computer has jettisoned another bit of ballast as it struggles to stay afloat, announcing today that it will discontinue development of the operating system for its Newton PDA (personal digital assistant).
The company said it would no longer develop either the Newton OS or Newton OS-based products, including the MessagePad 2100 and eMate 300.
"This decision is consistent with our strategy to focus all of our software development resources on extending the Macintosh operating system," said Steve Jobs, Apple's interim CEO, in a statement released this morning. "To realize our ambitious plans we must focus all of our efforts in one direction."
Apple plans to address the mobile computing market with Mac OS-based products beginning in 1999, the statement said. However, it will continue to market and sell its current inventory of MessagePad 2100 and eMate 300 computers, and will provide support for the installed base of users, it said.
Apple announced that it would spin out the Newton-related products into a separate division last May; Jobs then reversed that decision in September.
Apple can be reached at +1-408-996-1010, or on the Web at http://www.apple.com/.
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