You say MacMate, I say WebMate, let's call the whole thing off. Seriously, speculation has run rampant since Apple killed the Newton and claimed they'd have a Mac OS-based handheld in 1999. When they announced that their product line would include a mysterious "consumer-level portable," things got even more heated. And everything's been just plain nuts since word got out last week that Apple has registered both "MacMate" and "WebMate" as trademarks. Is the consumer portable a full-size hybrid iMac PowerBook, or is it more like a Newton? Which of the trademarked names will it use, and what will use the other one? And so on.

Everyone's got an opinion, so it seems, and Robert Morgan is no exception. In this week's RFI Report, he thoughtfully clarifies all he knows about the missing links in Apple's product line, and to us, the news is good, if it turns out to be true. As reported by other sources, RFI claims that the consumer portable (code-named "P1") is not positioned as a Newton-replacement handheld computer; rather, it's essentially a full-fledged laptop with features and stylings that will make it a compelling product for the home and educational markets. This is going to be called the WebMate. The MacMate, on the other hand, is a separate product entirely; it is the Newton-style handheld PDA thingy that will reportedly run a "Lite" variant of the Mac OS. Details on the MacMate are sketchy, but reportedly it has a better feature set than the MessagePad 2000, and that's good enough for us. And isn't it interesting that the MacMate is being manufactured by modem-maker GVC?

As usual, take it all with a grain of salt, kiddies, because there are no guarantees that any of this is correct. And if it is correct, there are no guarantees that it'll stay correct. But we consider this RFI Report required reading, because it really opens up some fascinating possibilities (in RFI's time-honored self-congratulatory and cryptic manner, of course). After already budgeting for a WebMate next year, now it looks like we at AtAT might have to factor a couple of MacMates into the deal, too. Oh, well-- no one can accuse us of not being good little consumers.