eMate 300 computer with battery charger, designed by Apple, 1997-1998

Apple eMate 300 'clamshell'-type laptop computer, translucent green injection-moulded plastic shell, electronic components. With battery charger.

Given by Thomas Croft Architects Ltd.

Given to the V&A in 2011 (acquisiton registered file no. 2011/1040). It was purchased by the donor, an architect, via a school for whom he was working on a project for at the time. The donor also related that he would use it to write while travelling, which drew much attention from his fellow passengers.

The eMate 300 won the D&AD Yellow Pencil Award in 1997 for Products for Work.

The eMate used the Apple Newton operating system, and was thus related to its contemporary, the MessagePad 2000. The eMate was less powerful than the MessagePad, which was designed for business, and lacked many of its features. It originally retailed at $799, which was inexpensive compared to the company’s flagship notebook, the PowerBook 3400, which cost $4500. Its memory could be upgraded, however, via an expansion port, and its versatile design and more affordable price meant that it also became popular with many businesspeople. The rechargeable batteries gave it a life of up to 28 hours which was also beneficial for those who did business while in transit. Its high levels of interconnectivity (it has a serial port, PC Card slot and Newton Interconnect port) meant that work could be easily shared with others.

The eMate featured a dual input system with touchscreen and keyboard, and was the only Newton product to feature the latter. The former was operated using a stylus, which could be stowed alongside the keyboard when not in use, and made use of handwriting recognition software. In order to make best use of the screen it could be folded flat, and the whole computer rotated 90 degrees into ‘slate mode’. On the base is a quarter-inch screw port which allowed the device to be secured to a flat surface, as added protection against accidental damage from being dropped, or to be used as a lectern when speaking.

When introduced in March 1997, the eMate was marketed as an affordable device for use by primary school students. It was promoted with an educational ideology which the company termed a ‘Distributed Learning Environment’, i.e. that every child should have access to an easily operated, easily connectable computer for use in the classroom and at home. Its cost ($799) meant that this was prohibitive to many families. The donor relates that the eMate could not be purchased by traditional means, but rather that it had to be obtained via schools which had an Apple account.

The product was discontinued in February 1998 following Steve Jobs’ return to the company, along with the rest of the Newton range.

The Apple eMate 300 is a hybrid of a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) and a laptop. It was designed for use in primary education, as reflected by its highly durable plastic shell, small keyboard and ‘cool’, tactile design. Its intended use is very intriguing, and can be seen as an influence on another product in the V&A’s collection: the One Laptop per Child computer, designed in 2005 by Yves Behar (museum no. W.9-2011). However, the eMate 300 found greater popularity with the business sector due to its versatility, low cost and ease of use. The eMate is important in the history of Apple’s house style (in terms of aesthetics), as it was the first of their products to feature a translucent plastic shell, as exemplified by the iconic iMac g3 (see W.29-2008 for the V&A’s example).

W.36:1, 2-2011