Hacking the Newton into an iPhone

An intrepid Newton hacker has figured out how to turn Apple's failed PDA into an almost-fully-functional phone, primarily with the simple addition of the old Nokia Card Phone 2.0 and a headset. Placing calls is a snap, although the Newton can only receive calls when it's set in a specific mode. Since the hacker, Marcus Hammerschmitt, lives in Europe the card works just fine on their GSM frequencies, but North American Newton lovers looking to iPhone-ify their PDAs will have to find a comparable bit of hardware—if it exists.

Instant Nirvana (Machine Translated) [Antville.org via Gadget Lab via TUAW]

[#1 posted by Phil Dokas , October 3, 2007 7:11 AM]

A Newton never dies, it just gets new batteries.

[#2 posted by Anonymous , October 3, 2007 7:53 AM]

The Newton is an awesome little machine. I have an upgraded 2100 running bluetooth and Wi-Fi. I have it set-up to send and receive email and I'm also able to chat with my pals using jabber. I took it to school to take notes during meetings and people looked at it in disbelief.

It now sits inside my closet somewhere unused but don't have the heart to sell it.

I made a video of it working: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWfChzBl5ug

[#3 posted by Ray Cornwall , October 3, 2007 9:16 AM]

How long until Apple starts bricking Newtons? And would anyone notice?

[#4 posted by License Farm , October 3, 2007 7:56 PM]

I swear, I was just talking to one of my friends about an idea like this within the past couple weeks. I love repurposing anachronistic tech. Until the advent of the Wiichucks I'd still intended to mod my PowerGlove into a wireless mouse, and I still might.