As much as I love my iPod Touch (and I owned a Newton 130 back in the day), I'm very skeptical. The Touch is great because it's the perfect size and weight for carrying in your pocket balanced against having enough screen real estate to actually browse the web. Too much bigger and you won't carry it everywhere, and any smaller and the screen becomes less useful. I couldn't see adding more than half-an-inch to maybe an inch in either width or height and having it have the same appeal.

And what's the use case for a multi-touch tablet? What large market segment would justify buying one? If Apple actually builds one, I think that's a signal to sell AAPL because Apple's run out of marketable ideas.

This sounds like a truckfull of....wishful thinking.

Does a Newton Pad make any kind of sense? Is there really a large enough market between the Macbook Air and iPhone/iPod Touch? I have the SDK and I can tell you that if I needed anything more than the iPhone can do, I would just get a notebook. I can see them boosting the memory and maybe the processing power on both of their current product lines, but putting something in between them seems like the bad old days of not enough separation between market segments. I do not think Apple would make that mistake with Steve riding herd.

That does sound like wishful thinking. I'd buy one but I don't see many other people doing the same. It would be even more limiting than Air and people have already criticized Air to lack this and that.
And there's no way it's going to take off if the only option they provide is the flash memory - it's way too expensive.

1) How large is the Atom chip compared to the 22mm^2 Merom used in the MBA?

2) What the power usage differences between the 1.87GHz Atom and the 1.8GHz MBA Merom?

Look at the Eee PC as an indicator of what markets are out there that Apple could bridge between the iPhone and MBA-- something with a 6-10" screen size has a solid opportunity. I know for myself, it is my preferred note pad size (5x8"), and it would be just big enough that not everything would need to be zoomed in on to make out...

Does it make sense to keep calling this a Newton? With ARM processors going bye-bye and no connection to Newton's software, what does this have to do with a handheld that happened at Apple while Steve Jobs wasn't there?

It is coming.....it is coming soon whether you like it or not. Perhaps sooner than you think.
Yes, the newton was killed. And Steve shouldn't be blamed really. The market could not deal with what the newton could do and forced him to sacrifice the newton.
That was the newton's reward for the heroic deeds it did. Tears was in Steve's eyes as he raised the knife to strike. But the noble newton told him he forgave him and for him to do what must be done. Despite the tragedy though the spirit of the newton lived on.
Scores of newton diehards kept the newton spirit alive and going. The legend of the newton was passed down to the younger generation. The stories were told...songs were sung.
But as the years past and people started to forget (except the truly devoted) the spirit of the newton waited. It was waiting, plotting, and watching all this time. Watching patiently it was..behind the scenes...in the shadows. But not anymore.
Now soon with a thunderous clap it will be reborn!! And he will destroy all who oppose him! But this time he will not be called the Newton.
Oh no.
Just like firefox is the rebirth of netscape risen from the ashes like the phoenix, the 2nd coming of the Newton will be of the like. He will have a new name, a new vision, a new purpose....a new power.
So let all umpc, tablet pc's and mids beware him. For now and forever........MACTOUCH FTW!!!!!111