Chronology of Handheld Computers
1972
- (month unknown)
- Hewlett-Packard introduces the HP-35, the first scientific
handheld
calculator. [4.178]
1973
- (month unknown)
- Texas Instruments enters the pocket calculator field with the
introduction
of the Texas Instruments SR-50 Slide Rule Calculator. It sells for
about
US$75. [4.179]
1980
- July
- Radio Shack introduces the TRS-80 Pocket Computer. It features
a 24
character display, QWERTY keyboard, and 1.9 KB of programmable memory.
Price is US$230. [5.172] [8.198] [86.144] (August [7.30])
- (month unknown)
- Panasonic and Quasar unveil handheld computers, made by
Matsushita.
The unit uses a 1 MHz 6502 CPU, and weighs 14 ounces (397 grams).
[6.34]
1982
- January
- Sharp introduces the Sharp PC-1500 Hand Held Personal Computer.
It
comes with 16 KB ROM, and 3.5 KB RAM. Price for computer is US$300.
Price
for tiny color graphics printer that attaches to the side, US$250.
[10.67]
- Radio Shack introduces the TRS-80 Pocket Computer, Model PC-2,
for
US$280. It uses a 1.3 MHz 8-bit microprocessor, and has a 26-character
display, with upper and lower case characters. It comes with 16 KB ROM,
and 2.6 KB RAM, expandable to 16 KB. An optional 4-color printer
attaches
to the side. [11.216] [15.41]
- August
- Hewlett-Packard introduces the HP75C portable computer. It
features
a rechargeable battery pack, 16K RAM, 65 key keyboard, 1 line by 32
character
LCD display, magnetic card reader, 48K ROM including BASIC interpreter,
text editor, and scheduler. Size is is 11.1 x 6 x 1.1 inches; weight is
26 ounces; price is US$995. [31.184] [45.178] [74.D4]
- (month unknown)
- NEC introduces the PC-2001 Hand-Held Computer. It features an
8-bit
4 MHz CMOS uPD7907 microprocessor, 36 KB ROM, 16 KB RAM, serial port,
and
40x2 character LCD screen. [18.125]
- Sanyo introduces the PHC-8000 handheld computer. It features a
NSC-800
CMOS microprocessor, 24 KB ROM, 4 KB RAM, one-line LCD screen, optional
I/O unit PHC-8010 allows connection to video monitor and microcassette
recorder and adds 14 KB ROM and 22 KB RAM. [18.125]
- Toshiba introduces the Pasopia Mini. It features an 8-bit CMOS
microprocessor,
4 KB RAM, 20 KB ROM including 16 KB BASIC, and a one-line LCD screen.
[18.125]
1983
- January
- At the Winter CES, Commodore Business Machines demonstrates the
HHC-4
(Hand-Held Computer). It features 24-character LCD screen with 4 KB RAM
expandable to 16 KB. This was one of Commodore's pre-PET business
products.
Price is US$199. [38.17]
- (month unknown)
- Radio Shack introduces the TRS-80 Pocket Computer, Model PC-4,
replacing
the PC-1, for US$70. [20.288]
- May
- At the Japan Microcomputer Show, Casio shows the Casio FP 200
handheld
microcomputer. It features 8-line x 20 character display, 8 KB RAM, 32
KB ROM, for about US$300. [45.251]
- At the Japan Microcomputer Show, Canon shows the Canon X-07
Handy Personal
Computer. It features an NSC 800 microprocessor (Z80 compatible), 20 KB
ROM with BASIC, 4-line by 20-character display, just over one pound
weight,
for about US$445. [45.251]
- At the Japan Microcomputer Show, National shows the National
JR-800,
featuring 63A01V processor (compatible with Motorola 6801), 8-line by
32-character
LCD, 16 KB RAM, 20 KB ROM with BASIC, 1551 bytes of video RAM,
five-octave
music, 1 5/8 pounds weight, 10 1/4 x 5 5/8 x 1 3/8 inches, and runs for
25 hours on batteries. [45.252]
- (month unknown)
- Texas Instruments introduces the Compact Computer 40 (CC-40).
It uses
the 8-bit TMS 70C20 processor, 6 KB RAM, 34 KB ROM with BASIC, and 31x1
LCD display. It runs on four AA batteries, lasting up to 200 hours.
[21.37]
- Radio Shack introduces the PC-3 pocket computer. It features
24-character
LCD, 1.4 KB RAM, 4 ounce weight, for US$99.95. [45.7]
- Sharp introduces the PC-1250 pocket computer, for US$110. It
measures
5 5/16 x 2 1/2 x 3/8 inches. [45.7]
1984
- January
- Seiko Instruments U.S.A. Inc. displays the first wristwatch
computer,
with a 10-character, 4-line LCD. [1]
- (month unknown)
- Casio unveils the PB-700 handheld computer. It features 4 KB
RAM (expandable
to 16 KB), 20x4 character display, 58 key keyboard, BASIC. Weight is
4.5
pounds; price is about US$200. Optional add-on FA-10 color
printer/plotter
costs about US$250. Optional add-on CM-1 microcassette module costs
about
US$90. [71.15]
1989
- (month unknown)
- Atari Computer introduces the Portfolio, a 1-pound DOS-based
PC. It
uses a 4.92 MHz 80C88 processor, 240x64 resolution screen, and runs on
three AA batteries. Price: US$400. [12.57]
- September
- Poqet Computer ships the Poqet PC computer, featuring 512 KB
RAM, 6.8
x 2.7 inch monochrome LCD screen, 80x25 text, 640x200 pixels, 77 keys,
7 MHz Intel 80C88 processor, 640 KB ROM, MS DOS 3.3 and GW BASIC in
ROM,
card slots for ROM or RAM. The system runs for about 100 hours on AA
batteries.
Weight is 1 pound; price is about US$2000. [75.115]
1991
- (month unknown)
- Apple Computer petitions the FCC to allocate a 40 MHz wide band
of
frequencies for use with its personal digital assistants. [32.211]
- September
- Chips & Technologies introduces the F8680 PC/Chip
microprocessor.
It is designed for use in notebook and handheld computers. The CPU is
compatible
with the Intel 8086 and Intel 80186. The chip also includes a universal
asynchronous receiver/transmitter, CGA-compatible display controller,
and
PCMCIA support, making it the most integrated chip ever produced to
date.
Price is US$45. [19.128]
- October
- At the Microprocessor Forum, Advanced RISC Machines presents
the 32-bit
ARM600 processor. It incorporates 33,494 transistors. [57.1] [66.134]
- (month unknown)
- Hewlett-Packard introduces the HP 95LX handheld computer. It
runs MS-DOS
3.2, includes Lotus 1-2-3 v2.2 in 1 MB of ROM, displays MDA graphics,
and
weighs 11 ounces. 512 KB RAM is standard, with optional 128 KB and 512
KB RAM cards. Two AA batteries can power the system for six weeks.
Price
is US$699. [39.128]
- Psion introduces the Psion Series 3 palmtop computer. It
features 8
row by 40 column LCD display, 4 MHz NEC V30 processor, 384 KB ROM with
operating system and seven built-in applications, 128 KB RAM, slot for
Flash EPROM memory cards. It runs for up to 120 hours on two AA
batteries.
Size is 6.5 x 3.3 x 1 inches; weight is 0.5 pounds; price is US$425.
[73.40]
1992
- January
- Apple Computer chairman John Sculley coins the term Personal
Digital
Assistant, referring to handheld computers that typically operate via a
stylus on a LCD display. Sculley announces that Apple Computer will
enter
the consumer-electronics market by the end of the year. [22.67] [33.49]
- (month unknown)
- Apple Computer and Sharp announce an agreement to co-develop a
personal
digital assistant, based on Apple's software and Sharp's hardware.
[420.125]
- At the Consumer Electronics Show, Apple Computer announces the
Newton
pen input device. Features include: multitasking NewtOS operating
system,
ARM 610 processor, one PCMCIA 2.0 card slot, 7 1/2 x 3 1/2 inch size, 3
x 6 inch screen, and weight of under one pound. [66.63] [94.129]
- October 14
- At the Microprocessor Forum, AT&T Microelectronics unveils
its
Hobbit processor, implementing the CRISP architecture. Formal name of
the
processor is ATT92010. Processor speed is 20-30 MHz, depending on
voltage.
Price is US$35 in quantities of 10,000. [57.1]
- At the Microprocessor Forum, Advanced RISC Machines introduces
the
ARM250 chip, combining the core ARM processor with memory controller,
video
controller, and I/O interface. CPU speed is 12 to 16 MHz. The chip uses
under 100,000 transistors, built in a 1-micron CMOS process. Price is
US$25
in 100,000 unit quantities. [57.1]
- (month unknown)
- Eo announces the Personal Communicator 440 handheld pen-based
microcomputer.
It features 20 MHz Hobbit processor, 4 MB RAM, PenPoint operating
system
in ROM, 480x640 screen, optional internal 20 MB hard drive, optional
external
floppy disk, keyboard port, one PCMCIA Type II slot, and various
built-in
software programs. Weight is 2.2 pounds. Size is about 11 x 8 x 1
inches.
Battery life is about 4 hours. Pricing will start at about US$2000.
[58.1]
- Eo announces the Personal Communicator 880 handheld pen-based
microcomputer.
It features 30 MHz Hobbit processor, 4 MB RAM, PenPoint operating
system
in ROM, 480x640 backlit screen, optional internal 64 MB hard drive, VGA
output port, SCSI II interface, optional external floppy disk, keyboard
port, two PCMCIA Type II slots, and various built-in software programs.
Weight is 4 pounds. Size is about 13 x 9 x 1 inches. battery life is
about
4 hours. Pricing will start at about US$3000. [58.1]
