苹果平板电脑：一段历史

原作者：
来源Apple: Their Tablet Computer History
译者pilgrim_yang

ON NOV 08 IN EBOOK PUBLISHING, NEWSPAPER AND MAGAZINE PUBLISHING, SLIDERS, UNCATEGORIZED BY RYAN VETTER

11月8日Ryan Vetter发表于未分类，电子出版物，报纸杂志。

*Please note: iOS-Safari (iPad/iPhone/iPod) is limited to loading just the first 6-6.5 MB of images on a webpage. To see all images, please use another browser. Thank you.*

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The Apple Newton MessagePad, Apple’s ‘failed’ PDA, is sitting on my desk. It’s a late model 2100, which was the last iteration Newton MessagePad to ship back in 1998. Every time I use one, I immediately think of a tablet computer, both because of its size and functionality: it’s much more than just a small, simple PDA.

Newton MessagePad，被苹果称为“失败了”的PDA，正静静地躺在我的桌上。图示为一种晚期型2100，是1998年Newton MessagePad的最后一代产品。每次我使用它时，其外形及功能总让我联想到平板电脑：它不仅仅是一个小小的简单的PDA。

But it’s more nostalgia than anything: the Newton was pretty much before my time. Today’s technology is quite a bit more advanced than when the Newton had its run. From powerful mobile processors and graphics chips, to high-resolution screens and high speed wireless connectivity, mobile devices today well eclipse not only the Newton, but even the most powerful consumer desktop computers of the time.

但是它比其它任何东西都让人产生怀旧的感觉：Newton出现的时间很早。今天的技术已远远超越Newton涎生时。从强大的移动处理器和图像芯片，到高解析度屏幕和高速无线连接，今天的手机之强大不但Newton无法比拟，甚至让当时的PC都相形见绌。

The Newton is an interesting device though, not the least of which because it spawned an entire industry of handheld PDAs. It’s what the Newton exemplifies that is notable. That is, it was the peak of Apple’s prior research and development on portable, slate-like (tablet) computers.

即便如此Newton仍然是一件有趣的产品，不仅仅是因为它开创了手持PDA的工业之滥觞。Newton是经典，是苹果对便携板式（平板）电脑超前研究与开发的尖峰之作。

Now that Apple has released the market-leading iPad, with a barrage of other tablet computers and dedicated eReaders flooding the market, it’s worthwhile to look back and see where all of this came from. The focus will be on Apple, and their history with tablet computers.

现在苹果推出了iPad，在其它品牌平板电脑的强力阻击以及专用电子阅读器泛滥的市场上独步青云树立了市场引领者的地位。现在回溯一下这一切如何能够发生很有必要：本文专注于苹果的平板电脑史。

Apple’s history with tablet computers dates back to at least 1979. A good stock of the following pictures and associated captions/background information are themselves derived from the book, AppleDesign, The Work of the Apple Industrial Design Group, by Paul Kunkel/Photos by Rick English (1997).

苹果涉足平板电脑的历史最早至少可以追溯到1979年。以下图片、标题和背景资料有很多都是摘自出版于1997年的《AppleDesign, The Work of the Apple Industrial Design Group》这本书，作者Paul Kunkel，摄影Rich English

Roll the curtains…

拉上窗帘，我们要开始了：

The Apple Graphics Tablet (1979) – pictured at left – was the beginning of tablet computers at Apple. It’s a crude example of a modern Wacom Tablet. As illustrated in a 1981 Apple Spring Catalogue, “The Apple Graphics Tablet turns your Apple II system into an artist’s canvas. The tablet offers an exciting medium with easy-to-use ”tools” and techniques for creating and displaying pictorial information”. It was developed by Summagraphics, and uses magnetostriction. The built-in alloy wires localize a stylus on the x, y, and z axis points. Software entitled, “Utopia Graphics System”, developed by musician Tod Rundgren, was the paint program that it worked with.

苹果绘图板（1979）-如图所示，是苹果平板电脑的开山之作。它可以看成是现代绘图版的原型。就像1981年春季苹果产品目录中所描述的那样：“苹果绘图板可以把你的苹果II型电脑变成艺术家的画布。它是一种激动人心又带有易用工具和技术的以便创建和显示图像信息的媒介。”它是由Summagraphics研发，并使用了磁弹性技术。内置的合金线路将在x, y, z轴上定位输入笔的位置。其配套的绘图软件由音乐家Tod Rundgren开发，被命名为“乌托邦图像系统”。

Moving along to 1983…

时间发展到1983年...

It was 1983, and a new firm, frog design, was hired by Apple to come up with designs for many of Apple’s new products, both real and imagined. bashful was the start of Apple’s research into ‘true’ tablet computers. frog design was the primary design firm that was responsible for Apple’s Snow White industrial design language used throughout much of the 1980s. It was this new design language at Apple that separated its new products from those products predicated with their old design language.

1983年一家名叫frog design的公司，被苹果雇佣来设计很多苹果的新产品，包括实际的和设想中的。bashful即为苹果公司研制“真正”平板电脑的开始。frog design是负责设计苹果“白雪公主”工业设计风格的首要公司，该语言几乎影响了整个1980年代的苹果产品，并成为苹果新产品区别于其它采用旧式设计语言产品的标志。

Apple initiated this new design movement because it wanted to be a world-class computer company with beautiful design. It was truly design first, worry about the engineering later. In fact, many of the designers involved with the designs you are going to see had little-to-no experience designing computers. But they were top designers in their fields.

苹果启动了这一新设计运动，因为它想成为拥有绝美设计的世界级电脑公司。其原则是设计优先，至于工程上如何实现则置于其次。事实上，很多参与设计您所见到产品的设计师有很少甚至没有电脑设计的经验。但他们确实是各自的领域中的顶尖设计人才。

At a time when the personal computer was in its infancy, it was an ambitious approach to operate this way. Most all other computer companies were led by the constraints of engineering. Things are supposed to be big and ugly first, then beautified much later when the underlying parts become miniaturized and simplified. But Apple sort of took the approach of putting the cart before the horse. Today, Apple carries the same policy: design leads, engineering follows.

在个人电脑还只是一个幻想的时代，只有胸怀大志的公司才会选择这样的发展道路。当时其它大多数电脑公司都囿于工程实现方面的限制，作出的产品往往是庞大而丑陋，很久之后等部件变得小型化和简单化后才考虑美化的问题。而苹果选择了未跑先飞的道路。今天，苹果依然坚持着同样的理念：设计优先，实现在后。

The Snow White design language permeated Apple’s products from about 1984 through to the end of the decade. It was characterized by a subtle off white color or light gray (platinum), minimalistic design elements, among others. Examples of products that used this new design language were: the Apple IIc, Macintosh II, Macintosh Portable, and more.

"白雪公主"设计风格影响着从1984年直到80年代末的苹果产品。它凭借白或浅灰（白金）的颜色，简约的设计元素，给客户留下了美妙的印象。采用此种设计风格的产品有：苹果IIc, Macintosh II, Macintosh Portable及其它。

The bashful models, some of the first known Snow White driven designs, were mere concepts. They did, however, lead to more design work on tablet computers.

bashful模型--已知的最早一些“白雪公主”风格的设计，仅仅是概念未实际生产。但它们确实让设计技术向平板电脑的方向发展了一步。

Inspiration from bashful is seen in both the 24HourMac and the BookMac, in addition to the TelephoneMac, all of which are pictured above. An interesting question in association with BookMac: did Apple get its name for its current line of notebook computers from BookMac? BookMac >> MacBook…

bashful中产生的灵感从24HourMac和BookMac上都可以看到, 加上TelephoneMac, 它们的照片均列于上方。关于BookMac有个有趣的问题：苹果是否是按从BookMac到MacBook的规律给它的笔记本电脑命名的呢？

At any rate, while the designs for, in particular, the 24HourMac and the BookMac were underway, Jobs was working to make the flat-panel liquid-crystal display (LCD) a practical reality. Without the technology and means of production, none of these designs had any chance of being produced, since the flat-panel screen was the most important element of each. But the technology was virtually non-existent in the consumer space, other than being on small calculators, and a few early-PDA-like devices.

无论如何，当设计工作尤其是对24HourMac和BookMac的设计正在进行时，乔布斯正努力将LCD液晶显示技术加以实际应用。如果没有相应的技术和生产工艺，以上产品的最终面世将无从谈起，因为平板显示器是它们设计要点。但在当时除了小型计算器和很少的类PDA设备之外LCD技术并没有大规模应用的先例。

Jobs was in contact with college drop-out Steve Kitchen, from a small company named Woodside Design in Silicon Valley. Kitchen had invented a flat-panel display, and it was portable and efficient enough to be used in an Apple portable just like the BookMac or the 24HourMac. With word of a tenable flat-panel display technology, a flat-panel design quickly revealed itself at Apple (see picture at left – 1985).

乔布斯联系上了中途退出大学的Steve Kitchen，后者当时正在硅谷一间名为Woodside Design的公司工作。Kitchen发明了一种平板显示技术，该技术的便携性及低功耗正好可以用在类似于BookMac或24HourMac苹果便携产品上。有了这样给力的技术，一种平板设计方案迅速在苹果成型。（见左侧图片-1985）

Not long after these designs came to fruition, Jobs presented a working 4 x 4 inch flat-panel display to Apple’s board of directors in 1985. With a $20 million investment, he claimed that he could have 20,000 flat-panel displays coming off the production line, per month, by the second half of 1986. The board turned Jobs down.

那些设计结出成果之后不久，1985年乔布斯向苹果的董事会展示了一种4*4英尺见方的平板显示器。投入了2千万美元之后，他宣称苹果的生产线可于1986年下半年每月生产2万台这种显示器。但这种显示器最终导致了乔布斯的下台。

But it was a tumultuous time for Jobs, since he was on the verge of being ejected from Apple for a variety of reasons, all at the behest of then CEO John Sculley. By the time 1985 was over, Jobs was no longer working at Apple.

对于乔布斯来说这是一段喧嚣的时光，因为有很多因素使他处于被苹果赶走的边缘，这完全是由来自CEO John Sculley的命令导致的。1985年终时，乔布斯已经不在苹果工作了。

Had Jobs still been in favor at the time, there’s a good chance that he would have not only stayed at Apple, but he would have been granted the money to proceed with his flat-panel display initiatives. If that had been the case, slate-like devices like the BookMac and 24HourMac, in addition to flat-panel desktop displays across all of Apple’s desktop computers, would likely have existed by 1987/88.

如果那时乔布斯依然被支持的话，那么他就可以留在苹果被授予财权去推动他平板桌面电脑的起步。如果事情照那样发展，类似于BookMac和24HourMac的平板设备换装平板桌面显示器后的产品或许会在1987/88年即已出现。

That alone would have changed the course of the entire computer industry’s evolutionary timeline. It’s flat panel displays that have made mobile computing possible. Without them, smartphones and tablet computers can’t exist. Thus, mobile computing would have evolved at much faster rates because the centerpiece technology – thin, flat-panel displays – would have existed in forms tenable for manufacturing and consumer use much earlier. Thus, the 1990s would have been a much different decade for computers. It could have been a decade of mobile computing.

那将会改变整个电脑工业的发展轨迹。正是平板显示器使移动计算成为可能，没有它们智能手机和平板电脑都不可能出现。因此，移动计算产业将基于纤薄的平板显示器这一核心技术以更快的速度发展进步。然后1990年对于计算机来说或许已经具有完全不同的意义，那将可能是一个移动计算年代的起点。

And for desktops, it would have been a decade where most all desktop computers came with flat-panel displays. More advanced flat-panel display technology would also have trickled over to cell phones, laptops, and televisions. This, in turn, would have spurred mobile microprocessor development from companies like ARM and Intel.

而对于桌面电脑来说，那将意味一个全部电脑都装有平板显示器的年代。更为先进的平板显示技术或许已经触发了手机，笔记本和电视的出现。而这些反过来又会促进类似于ARM和Intel这种芯片厂家微处理器技术的大发展。

Even though Apple did have a flat-panel display option for the Apple IIc (pictured at right), it didn’t sell well, and was met with mixed reviews. The technology just needed work, it wasn’t quite ready for prime time yet.

尽管这些假设最终未能实现，没有乔布斯的苹果依然为Apple IIc型电脑准备了一种平板显示器供用户选择，但销售情况却不好而且使用者对它的评价毁誉参半。尽管这项技术最终是会成功的，然而首次应用的结果说明它还有待改进。

And even though Jobs went on to found another computer company the same year he was ejected from Apple (Next Computer, Inc.), NeXT workstations were themselves devoid of LCDs. Jobs likely would have wanted his NeXT desktops to sport LCDs, but with resource constraints in terms of time and money, it probably wasn’t an option he was able to pursue at the time. Couple this with the fact that other computer manufacturers did not have very many options for flat-panel displays either, the age of the flat-panel display never really happened during the 1980s.

乔布斯在被赶出苹果后随即建立了另外一家公司（Next Computer Inc.），该公司的产品NeXT工作站完全未应用LCD。乔布斯本来可能想让他的NeXT桌面型电脑使用LCD，但由于时间和金钱的限制，在当时追求这一革新似乎是不可能的。与此相佐证的是同时代的其它电脑制造商也没有应用LCD技术的产品出现，平板显示器的历史最终未能始于1980年代。

The “P2″ Portable Computer was a concept device developed in 1989. Designed in-house at Apple, the P2 was to be a portable tablet-like device that was easily taken with a user, like a folio bag. Just strap it over your shoulder, make sure the screen protector is in place, and go about your day. The P2 as a concept device has a design heavily influenced, whether intentionally or not, by Alan Kay’s Dynabook (1968).

P2 便携式电脑是1989年出现的一种概念型电脑。在苹果的规划中：P2是一种像是平板形状的设备，易携带，甚至可以被放进文件包里。使用者需要做的只是合上屏幕保护器，用肩带背在肩上，然后就可以自如的携带到任何地方。P2在设计上有意无意地受到了Alan Kay的Dynabook(1968)的影响。

Figaro was a project code-name within the Apple Newton group associated with a personal digital assistant [PDA] research and development initiative at Apple.

Figaro 是苹果Newton研发组内部的一个工程代号，该工程意在研发PDA（个人数字助理）这一苹果首创的产品类型。

The Knowledge Navigator (pictured at left), an Apple concept tablet computer from 1987, was the archetype of what Apple was trying to create in the beginnings of the Newton project. Later on, however, Apple would opt for a much smaller, simpler design as in the Original Newton MessagePad.

Knowledge Navigator（左侧图），1987年苹果的一种概念型平板电脑，即为苹果Newton工程起步阶段的原型机。后来苹果却转向了一种更小更简单的设计，并最终导致了Newton MessagePad的出现。

Here is the Knowledge Navigator in action:

如下为工作状态的Knowledge Navigator：

    点击打开视频  (该网址在Youtube，需要墙翻)

Under the Figaro competition, beginning in 1989, a set of designers, both within and outside Apple, were tasked to create designs for a PDA through a friendly competition. The designers had to create designs for a handheld tablet computer, with pen input. Most of them had never designed a computer before. The pen would be used to input information via handwriting or printed strokes. The strokes themselves would be translated into text characters.

1989年起一些苹果内外的设计师被授予了创作PDA设计方案的任务并开始了与Figaro的友好竞赛。设计师们需要创作一种手持式笔输入平板电脑的设计，他们中的大多数甚至从未设计过电脑。输入笔将通过手写或者笔触的方式输入信息，而笔触则被用于识别并最终翻译为要输入的字母。

The screen was to be a touch sensitive active matrix display. In addition, it would have a built-in hard disk. For wireless data, an IR port was to be built-in, allowing owners of the devices to share data in close proximity to one another through ‘beaming’ their information between devices. Also, a spread-spectrum attachment was to be made available for beaming data across town or across the country. The target price was $6000.

屏幕采用触摸感应有源矩阵显示技术。另外，它还将拥有一块内置硬盘。为了处理无线数据，内置了一个红外端口，这样用户就可以近距离内通过无线方式在两台设备间传输数据。除此之外还有一种扩频通信附件可以跨越市区或乡村进行通讯，售价6000美元。

During the first Figaro competition (see image plates below), all designs were assessed, and it was determined, after an internal review at Apple, in addition to focus group testing, that Giugiaro’s work was preferred (top 3 images in below image plate). It was the simple, clean design that won everyone over. Since Giugiaro had previously been hired to work on other projects at Apple, this confirmed to people at Apple that they had made the right choice.

第一次Figaro竞赛期间（见下图），所有的设计方案都在苹果内部评审上被评估，再加上中心小组的测试，最终Giugiaro的方案被推选出来。它以简洁明晰的设计赢得了所有人的垂青。Giugiaro之前有在苹果参与其它项目的经历，这让苹果更加坚信做出了正确选择。

In the follow up Figaro competition later that year (next 2 image plates below), these designs had the most favorable feedback from focus group testing of any previous designs. But Apple was skeptical of the design, as they thought it was too cute, not quite Apple enough.

在那一年剩余时间的Figaro竞赛中（见另外2幅图片），这些方案在所有其它设计方案中获得了核心小组测试后最受欢迎的反馈。但苹果公司仍对其持怀疑态度，认为它们太小巧玲珑以至于不像是苹果风格的产品。

Sculley then ordered a new design competition for Figaro. This was Part Deux. Wanting to out-design Giugiaro, the Italians, Robert Brunner of Apple’s Industrial Design Group/Lunar Design competed against the February 1990 people’s choice design (pictured directly above). And Brunner’s team designed the concepts for no cost to the Newton Group. They did it on their own time, and at their own expense. It was a rivalry for the ages: Californian designers against Italian designers. Brunner and his team were set on beating them out.

Sculley随后启动新一轮的Figaro竞赛，这就是Part Deux（第二回合）。意大利人Robert Brunner希望能超越Giugiaro获得1990年2月份“最受用户欢迎”的设计作品（如上图所示），他是苹果工业设计小组兼Lunar Design设计顾问公司成员。但是他所属的团队在设计过程中并未给Newton小组带来任何消耗，他们利用自己的时间和资源。那是一个竞争的时代：加州设计师VS意大利设计师。Brunner要带领他的团队击败对手。

It was now late 1990, and the results of the second Figaro competition were in. The first image plate below contains the Californian design. The notable designs are on the bottom row. The design on the bottom left was a concept for a mid-size PDA (“Newton”), whereas the design on the bottom right was a concept for a larger PDA (“Newton Plus”).

1990年年终，第二轮Figaro竞赛终于有结果了。下面拼图的第一张展示了加州人的设计。下面的两张展示了意大利人的成果：左下的是中等大小的PDA概念机（“Newton”），右下的是大型PDA（“Newton Plus”）。

These designs by the Californians were an improvement over previous ones. They sported new shapes and colors, more functional placement of the stylus and the IR window, a unique ribbed pattern on the back of one, and so forth. Even Apple’s lead designers liked Brunner’s designs better than Giugiaro.

加州人的设计是在以前成果的基础上改进而来的，他们采用了新的外形和颜色，更合理的输入笔及红外口位置，背面特有的横纹，等等。而苹果首席设计师则喜欢Brunner的方案更多一些。

But, once again, the focus groups sided with Giugiaro’s designs. The problem was, Brunner’s designs looked too much like Silicon Valley designed computers, whereas Giugiaro’s was simple, unique, compelling, and different. Michael Tchao (head of Newton Marketing), and the rest of the Newton team were set on the design that Newton would eventually ship with (people’s choice award, Giugiaro’s design pictured above – top image plate).

但出人意料的是，核心小组又一次选择了Giugiaro的设计。他们认为Brunner的设计属于一眼便知的“硅谷产品”，个性特色不够鲜明，而Giugiaro的则简洁、独特、迷人而且与众不同。Michael Tchao（Newton市场部的负责人）及Newton团队的其它成员决心选择出Newton的后继产品。（最受用户欢迎奖获得者--Giugiaror 的设计，如下拼图上部的两幅图片）

But eventually, the larger designs were not favored by newly acquired Tchao. He had concerns, as did others on the Newton team, that a no-compromise, expensive product would have serious problems gaining any reasonable marketshare. No, it had to be much smaller, and cheaper, which meant all of the work put into Figaro was to be scrapped in favor of newer, more portable designs. But half of those associated with the Newton project at Apple still preferred the Newton Plus, so Tchao, et al. weren’t out of the woods yet.

然而，两种设计都因为太大未能赢得新上任的Tchao的垂青。他和团队的其它人都担心昂贵且不打折的产品难以获得可观的市场份额。必须要更小更便宜，那会意味着第二轮Figaro的前期投入全部作废。鉴于半数Newton工程的参与者倾向于Newton Plus，所以Tchao等人只得顺应民意。

Giugiaro submitted yet another design at the end of 1990/early 1991, the Montblanc (pictured above), a final Newton Plus design with a gorgeous black exterior and elliptical IR port. But the team was having second thoughts about the IR port. However, it was so integrated into all of the Figaro designs, including Montblanc, that the Newton team was sort of stuck with it. Yet, during the spring of 1991, the team realized that, at a price of between $4-5000, Montblanc was still too expensive and too big, even for the high-end, executive crowd it would have been marketed to. Realizing this, Tchao convinced Sculley to support a “PocketNewt” design over these larger, Newton Plus designs.

Giugiaro于90年末91年初还提交了另外一件设计——万宝龙(Montblanc，如上图所示），它是以Newtown Plus设计的最终版本为基础添加华丽的银灰色外壳以及椭圆的红外接口。但设计者们实际上对那个红外口并不非常满意。因为所有的Figaro系列产品包括Montblanc都集成了红外口，导致Newton团队对它如梗在喉。而且在1991年春天的时候，他们意识到一个定价在四至五千美元的Montblanc太大而且太贵了，即使对于目标市场——高端人群也是如此。因此Tchao说服Sculley放弃过大的Newton Plus转而支持一项名为“PocketNewt”的设计

Sculley agreed, and the team focussed on a pocketable Newton, named “Junior”. In May, 1992, Newton Plus was officially cancelled. This caused some dissension amongst designers associated with the Figaro project, some resigning from the company. This included Sue Booker, who had not only been a key member of the design team from the beginning of the Figaro initiative, she also had spent several years co-designing an interface for it.

Sculley同意了，从此设计团队转向一款可装进口袋的Newton，命名为“Junior”。1992年五月，Newton Plus被正式取消，这导致了一些Figaro计划相关人员的异议，有些人辞职了。辞职者中包括Sue Bocker这一Figaro项目启动时的核心成员，她曾花费了几年时间为Newton Plus设计人机界面。

After all of this, a portable version of all of these tablet computers was created (pictured below). It was the favored design over Montblanc. A pre-production design, it was code-named “Batman”. On a cursory viewing, it looks like the Batmobile from Tim Burton’s Batman (1989).

当改造工程完工后，那些平板电脑的口袋版诞生了（如下图）。与Montblanc相比它更为小巧可人。在概要设计后的生产设计中，它的代号是“Batman”。粗略地看起来，它有点像Tim Burton《蝙蝠侠》中蝙蝠侠的坐驾Batmobile。

On the whole, the Figaro concepts were largely ignored in relation to this new portable design: some three years of research and development, only to find that the design had to be radically different because of the new product specifications. Smaller and lighter were the order of business.

总结来说：Figaro工程前期产生的概念几乎和最终的可移动的产品没有任何关系，近三年的研究开发，最终只能完全让位于新的市场需求定义。轻薄小巧才是王道。

However, the Batman design was still too bulky to fit into Sculley’s pocket, so the design team was ordered to make it smaller. Frustrated, they had the idea to sneak into Sculley’s office and sew his pockets so they were just big enough to fit the Newton. But they went back to work, under tight deadlines, and submitted a revised design, with a more flattened lid and pen, with streamlined corners. It fit.

然而，Batman设计仍然无法成功放进Sculley追求小巧的口袋，设计团队只得绞尽脑汁让它更小一些，有时抓狂到想溜进Sculley的办公室把他的衣服口袋改大一些以便Newton可以更容易放进去。但他们顶住了压力，在最后期限前提交了一个修改后的设计：更扁平的盖子和笔以及流线形的外壳转角，终于放进去了！

But because of these size constraints, little details still had to be addressed, like the feeling of using a flat pen. There were several ergonomic issues. It was down to the design team sweating over shaving off points of a millimeter here and there. And it was tiring, especially with such a tight deadline: they were still finishing off the final design, and Newton was supposed to be shipping in just under 5 months.

但是由于大小的限制，一些小细节仍然需要整改，例如使用一只扁笔的触感。另外还有些人体工程学的问题也需要解决。设计师们只能挥汗如雨地为了零点几个毫米将设计改来改去。这是一项艰苦的工作，尤其是在有这样一个最后时限的情况下：他们必须完成最终设计而Newton将在五个月后上市。

Yet, more problems abound. The design team was told that the Newton was to have a PCMCIA slot at the top, where users could slide PC Cards into the unit. These cards were to sit flush with the outside of the case. The problem was, some PC Cards would protrude as a matter of their function, even though many at the time did not. These kinds of cards would interfere with the Newton’s hinge below the lid, and would thus not work with the current design.

不幸的是，更多的问题出现了。Newton有个PCMCIA槽以便于用户把PC卡插在上面，正常情况下PC卡插上后会和外壳整齐贴合。然而却存在少数特殊功能的PC卡外缘突出，插上后会被Newton盖子下面的部件顶住，因而无法正常工作。

So, as per the larger picture in the above image plate, they developed a snap-on lid that could be removed and snapped onto the back of the unit, with two rubber protrusions on the top. But during focus group meetings, user’s didn’t really know what to do with the snap on lid, and the rubber protrusions reminded them of nipples. As a result, the lid was removed altogether. As a final design, the final product thus shipped without a screen protector.

因此如上拼图中的大图所示，他们在Newton的背面设计了一块可以取下或者合上的小盖板，盖板上有两个橡胶突起。后来核心小组会议认为用户不会知道小盖板可以打开，而且橡胶突起也会让他们想起乳头。最终盖子被彻底去掉了，上市的产品甚至因此连屏幕保护器都没装。

Aside from the design problems, the Newton had other issues, most notably software bugs that needed to be fixed before it could be shipped. Its launch-date was delayed: it wouldn’t eventually ship until the summer of 1993.

除了设计问题，Newton也遇到了其它麻烦：大多数软件BUG都必须在上市前解决。于是上市时间被推迟到1993年夏。

But tablet computers were still very much in vogue at Apple. But not because of interest from the Newton Group. It was from the Mac Group. They were trying to create tablet computers that were modular, and that could be used as full-blown Mac systems.

平板电脑在苹果依然时尚，并非因为这是Newton小组的兴趣所在，而是因为Mac小组。它们正在设计模块化的平板电脑，希望它可以成为成熟的Mac系统。

Since the Macintosh division, as well as many others at Apple, saw the Newton as something that could very well make desktop computers extinct, they decided to develop a Newton-like Mac. Something that could act like a portable, slate-like device. But, unlike the Newton, these devices would run Mac software, with a full Mac operating system, and work with a keyboard and mouse. It was a bridge between the original Macintosh and the new, mobile powerhouse: the Newton.

由于Macintosh以及其它的一些部门确信Newton将最终完全替代桌面电脑，他们决定制造一个类似于Newton的Mac。该计算机将会是可移动的，板状的设备。与Newton不同的是上面将运行Mac软件，有完整的Mac系统，与一个键盘一只鼠标配合使用。它是连接旧式与新式Macintoshr的桥梁————新的强大的Newton。

The WorkCase, the Macintosh Folio, PenMac, and PenLite were four such concepts to come out of this thinking.

WorkCase，Macintosh Folio，PenMac和PenLite就是这种思想指导下的产物。

Pictured below is the WorkCase. Not much is known about the WorkCase, other than it being part of a modular desktop computer. It serves as a screen for a complete ‘Juggernaut’ computer system, which includes a modular screen (WorkCase), keyboard, desk station, travel kit, and camera with modular attachment (passport). Since the WorkCase is removable, it presumably serves as a standalone device, functioning like a tablet computer, complete with a touchscreen and stylus.

下方图片为WorkCase。人们对它所知不多，只知道它是一种模块化的桌面电脑的屏幕。它是‘Juggernaut’计算机系统的显示器，该系统包括WorkCase屏幕，键盘，工作台，移动装备以及带模块化部件的摄像头。由于WorkCase是可以取下来的而且带有触摸屏和输入笔，所以有推测认为它可以独立工作，就像一台平板电脑一样。

1992 and holding. The Macintosh Folio (pictured below) revealed itself around the summer of 1992.

Macintosh Folio于1992年夏上市。

The Macintosh Folio was designed by Jonathan Ive, current industrial designer at Apple, who has been a lead designer on such products as the MacBook Air, the iPhone, the iPad, and many others. It featured a touch-sensitive screen, with a built-in battery. Once tilted on its built-in stand, it could be used as a desktop computer with the attachable Folio keyboard.

Macintosh Folio由Jonathan Ive这一当代工业设计师设计，他曾在MacBook Air, the iPhone, the iPad及其它很多项目中担任过设计主管。Macintosh Folio带有触摸屏及内置电池，当使用它的附属支架立置时，可以连上Folio外接键盘当作台式电脑使用。

The PenMac (Folio), (both image plates above), was another concept tablet computer to come out of Apple in the early-1990s. It featured a built-in CD-ROM drive, a user replaceable battery, a large IR port, and a built-in stylus. Not much else is known about it, other than it seemingly being one the most feature-rich tablets of any of the tablet designs to come from Apple during this era.

PenMac (Folio)，（如上拼图所示），是另外一种苹果计划于1990年代面世的概念型平板电脑。它的特点包括内置CD-ROM驱动器，用户可自行置换的电池，红外口，以及内置输入笔。人们同样对其所知不多，除了它是一款在功能方面比苹果任何这一时代产品都丰富的产品。

The PenLite was the closest of any of Apple’s concept/production-ready tablet computers to being shipped. Just before it was being ramped up for distribution, the project was cancelled. It ran the Classic Mac OS, with specialized features for stylus input. However, because the handwriting recognition was not that fleshed out, among other things, Apple decided not to ship it. PenLite, like many other projects of its kind, was cancelled without any real consumer product to be spun off from it.

PenLite平板电脑是苹果历史上全部设计方案中最接近生产上市的。在它正要发布之前，项目被取消掉了。PenLite采用传统的Mac OS操作系统，添加了对输入笔的支持。但由于手写识别技术当时相对于其它的功能并不成熟，苹果决定不加入此功能。PenLite像许多其它的项目一样，未经投产就取消掉了。

Also of note is the W.A.L.T. (Wizzy Active Lifestyle Telephone: pictured at left). According to The Apple Museum, it was developed from ~ 1990 – 1993 as a pen-based communication tablet (prototype).

另外一个值得记住的是W.A.L.T.(Wizzy Active Lifestyle Telephone阳光生活电话，如左图)。根据苹果博物馆的说法，它是于1990-1993年间设计的手写平板显示电话（原型）。

“Designed in cooperation with BellSouth, WALT was a portable screen-based telephone. Aside from telephony, WALT featured an electronic address book, message pad and was able to send faxes. When connected to BellSouth’s ANYWHERE Fax service, WALT could also receive faxes and even reply to them. WALT featured a stylus for easy dialing and writing and also had buttons for the most important functions on front of the device.” (Ref)

“和BellSouth联合设计的WALT是一个可移动的屏显电话。除了打电话，WALT还拥有电话本、便笺本以及发传真功能。当连接上BellSouth的ANYWHERE传真服务后，WALT也可用以接收传真并回复。WALT设计了输入笔以方便拨号及手写，除此之外最重要的功能也大面板上拥有按钮。”（引文）

Like all of the other tablet computers that Apple researched and developed, W.A.L.T. was never made into a consumer product, and the project was cancelled in 1993.

就像其它诸多苹果设计开发过的平板电脑一样，WALT未能上市就于1993年被取消了。

The VideoPad pictured at right is also worth mentioning. It’s a mash up of a tablet computer, a PDA, a smartphone, and a laptop. It was never a functional prototype. Rather, it was a “dummy” concept device, showcased on August 2, 1993 at the MacWorld show in Boston, the same time that the Newton MessagePad launched.

左侧图片中的VideoPat同样值得一提。它就像是平板电脑，PDA，智能电话和笔记本的组合体。该方案未能完成功能原型设计，在1993年8月2号的波士顿MacWorld展览上甚至被认为是摆来娱乐大众的伪苹果产品。

Bic was another large format Newton concept, but is mostly unheard of. Yet, it’s perhaps the best design out of all of Apple’s tablet designs. Bic was a production-ready design at Apple from March-August, 1993. It had two PCMIA card slots, a retractable I/O door, an IR port, a microphone, a speaker, and a removable battery, all running on an ARM 610 20MHz processor (Ref). The official name as stamped on the lower left front of the case is “MessageSlate”. Not much else is known about this design, other than, based on serial numbers on some units that have revealed themselves on eBay, there were as many as 36 of these in circulation, likely more. But it was never turned into an actual consumer product.

Bic是Newton概念中比较大的一种，只是少有人知道它的存在，然而它或许可以称得上苹果平板电脑设计中最好的一种。Bic在1993年6到8月间完成了生产准备，它有两条PCMIA卡插槽，一个伸缩式的I/O口，一个红外口，麦克风与扬声器，可拆卸电池，全部都在ARM 610 20MHz处理器驱动下工作（引文）。印在外壳正面左下方的正式名称为“MessageSlate”。没有更多关于它的信息了，除了偶然在eBay上按照序列号的数字顺序曝出的某些部件信息，它们有36件或者更多。但Bic最终还是没能上市。

While there’s about a decade gap between Bic and Apple’s beginnings with their research and development on multi-touch tablets and smartphones, there had been some discussion about their exploration of a PDA at the turn of the 20th Century. But there is no real evidence to support the claim that they were seriously researching and developing PDAs.

在Bic和Apple开始研发多点触控的平板电脑和智能手机之间有约十年的间隙，关于苹果在世纪之交在做什么有很多议论。但并没有切实的证据证明他们在认真地研发PDA。

Moving into more recent times, at right is an illustration from US Design Patent No. D504,899, a Tablet computer related patent Apple filed March 17, 2004. The patent was granted May 10, 2005. It shows a user engaging in touch gestures on a tablet device.

时间推移到靠近现在的时候。右侧是美国设计专利No. D504,899中的一张插图，该专利是有关平板电脑的，由苹果于2004年3月17日提出申请并于2005年5月10日审批通过。图中显示了用户使用触摸屏的姿势。

It was around this time that Jobs confirmed in a recent interview on All Things D8 (2010), that Apple started to research and develop a multi-touch-based tablet computer operating system before the iPhone. Once Jobs decided that he wanted to develop a smartphone, the tablet project was put on hold, and available talent and resources were allocated to the iPhone project.

正是这段时间苹果在iPhone前开始研发采用多点触控技术的平板电脑操作系统，这一点最近于All Things D8 (2010)的采访中得到了参会的乔布斯的确认。

Then, in July of 2008, the USPTO published three Apple API patent applications “related to scrolling, gesturing and synchronization”. The figures in these applications are notable as they illustrate a hybrid tablet/notebook design. Apple was thus experimenting at the time with different implementations of a tablet computer/netbook.

然后在2008年7月，USPTO公布了苹果的三项API专利申请“related to scrolling, gesturing and synchronization”。申请书中的图片值得一提，因为它们描述了一种即是平板电脑又是笔记本的特殊设计。

It wasn’t until 2007 though, when the first iPhone launched, that Apple’s tablet computer project was able to get the attention it required in order to eventually move forward into a consumer product. In 2010, Apple finally rolled out its first real tablet computer – the iPad – across several countries. That’s over 30 years after the first Apple Graphics Tablet was launched. The iPad’s launch has been referred to as the most successful consumer-electronics launch ever (according to Bernstein Research analyst Colin McGranahan).

直到2007年iPhone面市的时候，苹果平板电脑计划才有机会得到关注和支持并最终得以成功出现在用户面前。2010年，苹果最终在很多国家同步发布了第一款真正的平板电脑————iPad，这已经是在苹果开始研发第一款图形界面平板电脑的30年之后了。iPad的上市被誉为最成功的消费电子产品发布（按Bernstein研究分析师Colin McGranahan的说法）。

In a segment that has struggled for some twenty years, particularly over the past decade with windows tablets failing in the market, Apple has managed to be a first mover and market leader. It’s a situation akin to the iPod in the MP3 player marketplace: the iPad will likely enjoy a dominant position in the tablet segment of the personal computer market for some time to come.

经过一段长达20几年努力，特别是吸取了过去的10年中windows平板电脑失败的教训，苹果成功成为了先行者和市场领导者。可以预见的是：就像当年iPod称雄MP3播放器市场一样，iPad将会在未来的几年里统治个人电脑市场中的平板电脑部分。

And the reason the iPad has been successful thus far is because tablet computers are much more functional with tailored, multi-touch operating systems, rather than being based on full-blown desktop systems. LP

iPad成功的原因在于，平板电脑装上量身订作的多点触控操作系统后变得极具吸引力，而这一点是普通成熟的桌面操作系统所无法比拟的。

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