Apple, Jobs At Helm, Sets New Course On School Pc Plans To Develop A General-Purpose Version Of Emate Portable

Three months after announcing the spin-off of its Newton division, Apple Computer Inc. has changed its mind and instead will develop a general-purpose version of its eMate portable now sold only to schools, the New York Times reported Saturday.

The reversal was the latest major change made by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs since he became de facto head of the company last month.

On Tuesday, Apple also reversed course on its licensing policy by buying out a major cloner of its Macintosh desktop personal computer and announcing it would not license future technology to anyone.

Apple, based in Cupertino, Calif., has produced the Newton hand-held, pen-based computer for the past four years. Despite technological improvements, the company said in May it would turn the Newton division into an independent subsidiary.

But Apple changed its mind Thursday, the Times reported, citing unidentified sources close to the company. Apple now plans to use the Newton software to develop versions of the eMate for uses beyond education.

Apple declined to comment on the report.

The reversal wasn’t surprising, said longtime Apple watcher Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies Research International in San Jose.

“I know they’ve been very pleased with the response to eMate. They would like and have been playing with the idea of … an eMate line,” he said.

The initial Newton MessagePad was about the size and shape of a videocassette and came with an electronic pen for entering information through the screen. It immediately was criticized as unreliable, overhyped, underpowered and - at $699 - overpriced.

But Apple has revised Newton several times, improving its handwriting ability, power, memory and ability to communicate with other electronic devices. The company also offered an optional keyboard.