[NTLK] Can the Newton's ARM processor ever be upgraded?

[Andrei Chichak]

The MessagePad 2100 used the StrongARM SA-110 with 144 pins, the successor, the SA-1100 has 256 balls in a grid, so no.

Processors made by other manufacturers will have their own pin organization, so a processor made by ST and used on the Arduinos, will have a pin arrangement similar to other processors made by ST, but completely different from ones made by DEC in 1996.

Also, the internals of ARM processors have changed going from the ARM/Thumb days to the Cortex days.

The Arduino uses a microcontroller from ST where the RAM and Flash are internal, and you don’t have an externalized bus as such (yes I know they have an FMC). The RPi uses a microprocessor with external RAM and Flash, more like the SA-110, but it’s a 64-bit ball grid ARM with a wide memory bus (lots of balls to form the bus).

So, no, the processor on a MessagePad can’t be swapped with a faster one. Much like you can’t swap a new Core I9 into your 386 PC, everything has moved on.

Andrei