• 1991

Hardware Description

Manufactured around 1991–92 and selling for $595, this palmtop ran MS-DOS 5.0 and was bundled with Microsoft Works and RacePen. Small and lightweight for its time, its dimensions were 4.5" × 9.7" × 1.0" and it weighed approximately 1.3 lb (0.59 kg). The 640x200 monochrome LCD screen was about 2.75" × 7" and was not backlit. The keyboard was 9" wide (compared to 11" for a standard keyboard), making typing slightly tedious for many people. The unit featured two PCMCIA card slots, as well as a serial and a parallel port located on the rear which used proprietary mini-connectors and custom cables, which were included with the unit. The unit powered on instantly using two standard AA batteries and one lithium backup battery. It was manufactured in Taiwan and sold by mail-order.