Eidetic, Inc.
Eidetic, Inc. was a small Bend, Oregon software company, founded in 1992 as Blank, Berlyn & Co. and renamed Eidetic in April 1995. In pen-computing circles it is remembered for Notion: The Newton List Manager, the productivity application Apple bundled in the box with every MessagePad 120 starting in early 1995.
The Newton chapter was brief. After the 1995 rename Eidetic pivoted to console games, shipped Syphon Filter for the original PlayStation in 1999, and was acquired by Sony in 2000 — the studio still operates today as SIE Bend Studio.
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United States
Notion: The Newton List Manager
Eidetic, Inc. developed Notion: The Newton List Manager, a productivity application for the Apple Newton MessagePad published and distributed through Apple Computer's StarCore software group.1 By late July 1994, Notion was one of nearly forty-five titles in StarCore's Newton software library.1
Apple positioned Notion as a list-management tool offering more than one hundred ready-to-use templates for tracking everything from project tasks to vacation itineraries.2 Between October 1 and December 31, 1994, Apple gave the Newton Power Organizer Pack — a $250 retail bundle pairing Notion with StarCore's ExpensePlus, an external fax modem, and a limited-edition Newton travel bag — free with the purchase of a MessagePad 110 or 100.2
When Apple launched the Newton MessagePad 120 on February 17, 1995, Notion shipped bundled with the device at no additional charge, alongside the NewtonMail electronic mail client.3 Apple described the application in the launch materials as a personal manager for mobile professionals that made it easy to create and coordinate lists and assist project management.3 A combined bundle pairing the MessagePad 120, Notion and NewtonMail with a Nokia 2110 phone and a Cellnet GSM connection was announced for Spring 1995 availability at a street price of under one thousand dollars.3
AI generated using primary sources referenced in the footnotes
Footnotes
- Apple Computer, New Starcore Applications for Newton Extend Mobile Professionals' Business and Personal Use of MessagePad, July 26, 1994
- Apple Computer, Apple Offers the Newton Power Organizer Pack Free to New MessagePad Purchasers, October 3, 1994
- Apple Computer, Apple Launches Newton MessagePad 120 Features GSM Solution for Wireless Communications, February 17, 1995
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