In what could be an indication that a new tablet computer in imminent, Apple has rehired Michael Tchao, one if the original developers of Apple Newton.
Michael Tchao was the brains behind Apple’s Newton personal digital assistant–a product which failed to gain users despite its hi-fi features way back in the 90s.
Tchao rejoined Apple on Monday as vice president of product marketing. Earlier, he has served as general manager for Nike Techlab. At Nike Techlab, his responsibilities included overseeing the creation of new products for fitness enthusiasts.
Tchao worked at Apple for 10 years. He was in-charge of product marketing for the Newton. He reportedly persuaded John Sculley, then CEO of Apple to include handwriting-recognition technology into the Newton. The Newton was Apple’s first consumer device.
The Newton was introduced in 1993 and despite its features it gained only negative reviews. Its main minus-point was its handwriting recognition feature which was not so efficient. After the initial failure in the market, the Newton and other Apple handhelds never caught on. Apple discontinued all development on the Newton operating system and related products in 1998.
There have always been speculations that Apple would be launching a tablet device soon. These speculations have become more and more stronger after there were reports that Steve Jobs was concentrating his attention fully on a tablet device since recovering from liver surgery in June.
Apple has not yet made any announcements till now. However, it can be inferred that it has been trying to develop a tablet PC for years. In 2005, Apple was granted a patent for tablet PC design and last year another patent was granted for a tablet-like device incorporating a touchscreen. Apple has perfected many technologies such as handwriting recognition that are essential for tablet PCs.
All we can do right now is to wait for Apple to make an announcement…