Apple released the Newton MessagePad in 1993 as a handheld assistant that could take notes, keep calendars, and recognize handwriting. It also cost $699 at launch. The handwriting feature became notorious for buggy translations, and Doonesbury promptly helped turn the device into a punchline.
Apple kept improving the Newton, but on February 27, 1998, it announced it would stop developing the operating system and related products. The MessagePad had tried to read everyone’s handwriting before anyone had agreed on what a PDA should be. Then it got five years to practice.
Sources: Smithsonian National Museum of American History; University of Waterloo Computer Museum; Apple’s February 27, 1998 announcement.
Image: National Museum of American History / Wikimedia Commons, CC0.