Retro Tech: Apple eMate 300

Apple is well-known for its PowerBook series of laptops from the 1990s. But there was one portable computer the company made that had far-reaching effects -- and it wasn't even a Mac.

Media shown in order of appearance:

"Cops take a byte out of crime," Computerworld, October 27, 1997.
"Apple reports wider losses," CNN Money, October 15, 1997.

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[earljanneofalla]

I was surprised to hear Clint's voice, but the video actually feels like an LGR video before Clint's voice came in. Glad that you two worked on this video together

[thaxish]

I bought one of these in 1997 through my College bookstore. Battery life was in the days of use and worked great for all the papers and labs. It's still in a box in the basement. Such nostalgia, I loved the Newton.

[alextirrellRI]

One of the best product ideas they probably shouldn't have abandoned. My dad was an Apple authorized education sales provider and he had all the marketing stuff on it. I remember watching a VHS tape about this and its intended use and being very jealous of not having one. I know my dad did have one around at one point but I don't remember spending much time on it.

[willspost]

Lots more interesting bits to cover here. The filesystem was a database, the programing tools which required a Mac (a la iOS), the handwriting recognition, even Apples relationship with ARM (selling its stake after being a founding partner).

[benkerby]

I never knew Steve Jobs sounded like Clint from LGR... heh

[awhite]

An Apple ARM laptop in 1997. So ahead of its time! With an iPad like stylus too. What a shame Apple didn’t have the funds to keep this going. Looks like such a well designed and clever device for its time.

[adenanthony]

I believe Clint narrated part of this?

[joshuaberkley]

Your and Clint's narration is so relaxing and easy to listen to. Great video!

[pokepress]

I remember wanting one of these. Looking back, it really does look like a proto-iBook/iMac.

[thenecroscope]

I recently bought an Emate 300 off ebay and I really love it! I'm using it to log my FunkoPop purchases and it is so fun to use!!

[Hyvelez]

I love how your videos have that storytelling feel to them.

[JyuzouNT]

Woah... It's the keyboard from the intro.

[likenem]

On Apple's idea for the e-mate to educate children, In 2002 A couple of Schools in Metro Detroit introduced an idea to give an entire class of middle school students Laptops for school work. My school, Malcolm X Academy in Detroit, was the only school to revive Apple computers. Sixty 6th Grade students were given I book G3s, the computer lab was filled with E macs and I macs. Two Years later the programed was deemed a success. The 60 students who were given mac books were allowed to keep them. While the program was expanded to include the 7th and 6th grade classes. They were given I book G4's. Even though Malcolm X academy was in a pretty run down Detroit Neighborhood, none of the computers were stolen. Everyone deserves access to a great education no matter the income level.

[RuinerXL]

Love the collaboration with LGR! Noticed you sent Clint a POS terminal keyboard that he showcased in a recent unboxing video. Cool stuff!

[milkapeismilky]

My GF had one of these freshman year! She got it from the ed dept and never returned it! Form factor was dope and any lappy was a big deal in 99. Nice video, thank you!!!

[JenniferEliseAtchiso]

I was an Apple certified tech at a school district that gave emates to every student for school use. Even after all this time, I still own two of them. I loved them! They had a tripod socket on the bottom making it very easy to take into the field for science experiments. And 3rd party peripherals were available for measuring voltage, temperature, and light levels. The entire school district was on appletalk networks, and statistically speaking, everything worked beautifully.

[WillKeaton]

My dad, who was in computer sales, specifically selling computers to schools, brought home an eMate one day. My little brother absolutely loved it. Didn't have an orange stylus though. This stylus matched the rest of the computer. Although our eMate may have been a prototype.

[streusel]

Deep in my 27 year old memory, probably when I was 4 or 5, I remember a dark green laptop in school. This was it!

[XeonProductions]

We had these in elementary school, although they were vastly underutilized. The only thing we used them for was typing up documents because there weren't enough Mac's to go around. The teacher would have us type up whatever we were working on, then use that expansion port and hook it up to the mac when we were ready to print.

[spoooderminlovesdolantrump]

My middle school was still using these in 2006. We did daily journal entries