Chronology
of
Handheld Computers
1993
- January
- Apple Computer shows off test versions of its Newton Personal
Digital
Assistants at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show. [2]
- March
- Amstrad begins shipping the Amstrad Pen Pad PDA600 Personal
Digital
Assistant (PDA) in England. It is the first PDA to be shipped. The Pen
Pad weighs under a pound, is 1 inch thick, and features a 240x320
resolution
3x4 inch screen. It uses a 20 MHz Zilog Z8S180 microprocessor, and can
run for 40 hours on three AA batteries. It includes 128 KB RAM, with a
PCMCIA expansion slot for memory expansion to 2 MB. [23.143]
- (month unknown)
- Casio introduces the Zoomer personal digital assistant,
developed jointly
with Tandy. It features 7.4 MHz 8086-compatible processor, 4 MB ROM, 1
MB RAM, GeoWorks Geos operating system, PCMCIA flash memory cards. The
system operates for about 100 hours on three AA batteries. Price is
US$900.
[59] [81]
- August
- Apple Computer launches the Newton MessagePad 100 personal
digital
assistant at Macworld Expo, in Boston's Symphony Hall. It features 640
KB RAM, 3 MB of ROM storing applications and the operating system
(Newton
Intelligence), a low-voltage 20 MHz 32-bit ARM 610 microprocessor,
240x336
resolution (85 dpi) 2.8 x 4-inch LCD screen, one PCMCIA Type II
expansion
socket, data transfer of 9600bps, and runs on four AAA batteries.
50,000
units sell in the first 10 weeks, but only 80,000 are sold during the
product's
life. [2] [3] [9.N7] [16.187] [17.36] [23.148] [26.21] [27.61] [81] (4
MB of ROM [32.104]) (July [24.159])
- September
- VLSI Technology and Intel announce the Polar processor chip set
for
handheld computers. The VI86C300 integrated processor controller
incorporates
a 386 processor core with 2 KB cache, memory controller, LCD
controller,
andgraphics accelerator. The VI86C100 multiple peripheral controller
includes
support for peripherals typically used in handheld systems. Speed is 33
MHz. Price is US$50 in quantities of 10,000. [68]
- October
- At the Microprocessor Forum, Advanced RISC Machines unveils the
ARM7
processor family. Features are 0.8 micron technology, 3-5 volt
operation,
20-33 MHz. [80]
- At the Microprocessor Forum, AT&T Microelectronics
announces the
Hobbit 92020S processor, compatible with the 92010 processor. The
92020S
doubles the instruction cache to 6 KB, and operates at 20 MHz. Price is
US$37 in 10,000 unit quantities. [69]
- At the Microprocessor Forum, Advanced Micro Devices announces
the Am386SC
processor for handheld computers. Operating speed is up to 33 MHz,
operating
at 3.3 Volts. Price is US$49 in 10,000 unit quantities. [69]
- December 31
- Shipments of handheld PCs for the year: 244,000. [36.36]
1994
- (month unknown)
- Shipments of Apple Computer Newton MessagePad 100 systems in
the first
five months: 80,000. [14]
- March
- Apple Computer introduces the Newton MessagePad 110 handheld
computer.
It features 1 MB RAM, 20 MHz ARM610 processor, and runs on four AA
batteries.
Remote data transfer rate is 38.5 Kbps. Battery life is five times that
of the Model 100. Price is US$599. [2] [9.N7] [17.36] [14]
- Apple Computer introduces an improved Newton MessagePad 100. It
is
physically identical to the previously released model, but contains
improved
software. Price is US$499. [2] [9.N7] [17.36] [14]
- (month unknown)
- AT&T closes subsidiary Eo, ending life for the Hobbit
processor,
and the PenPoint operating system. [48]
- December 31
- Shipments of handheld PCs for the year: 390,000. [36.36]
1995
- January
- Apple Computer announces the Newton MessagePad 120. [2] [9.N7]
- September
- Intel announces the 80486SXSF and GXSF 486 microprocessors,
designed
for handheld computer products. The GX has a 16-bit bus, the SX a
32-bit
bus. Both are 33 MHz, operating on 2.0-3.3 volts. [13.3] [82]
- December
- Apple Computer ships the Newton 2.0 operating system. [9.N7]
- December 31
- Shipments of smart handheld devices in the US for the year: 1.5
million.
World shipments: 2.4 million. [53.232] (1.1 million in US [41.28])
1996
- January
- 3Com debuts the Palm Pilot. [40.138] [97.101]
- June
- Apple Computer introduces the Apple Newton MessagePad 130, with
transreflective
LCD with an electroluminescent backlight, battery life about 8 hours (4
with backlight on), 1.2 MB heap space, 20 MHz ARM 610 RISC processor,
320x240
pixel display, one Type II PC Card slot, 2.5 MB internal RAM, for
US$799.
[44.45]
- (month unknown)
- NEC Electronics begins shipping its R4101 processor for
personal digital
assistants. The chip includes a 33 MHz 4100 processor core, 2 KB
instruction
cache, 1 KB data cache, real-time clock, DMA controller, audio driver,
and interfaces for serial port, keyboard, infrared, and touch-screen
interfaces.
[83.5]
- September
- Microsoft unveils Windows CE operating system for handheld PCs.
Code-name
of the project was Pegasus. "CE" stands for Consumer Electronics.
[25.32] [28.4]
- (month unknown)
- LG Electronics introduces the LG HPC GP40M handheld computer.
It features
a Hitachi SH3 processor, 480x240 LCD screen, one Type 2 PC Card slot, 4
MB RAM, 4 MB ROM with Windows CE, fax modem, IrDA port, keyboard. Size
is 6.5 x 3.8 x 1.1 inches; weight is 0.77 pounds; price is about
US$650.
The systems runs for about 15 hours on two A batteries. [70.135]
- Microsoft ships Windows CE 1.0 for handheld microcomputers.
[54.151]
[56.46]
- November
- Apple Computer unveils the MessagePad 2000 computer. It
features 1
MB DRAM, 5 MB Flash RAM, 2 Type II PC Card slots, backlit 480x320 100
dpi
display, size 4.7 x 8.3 inches, Newton OS 2.1, 1.4 pound weight, and
161.9
MHz StrongARM 110 RISC processor. It runs on four AA batteries. [49.45]
[61.44]
- Compaq Computer ships the Compaq PC Companion handheld
computer. It
features a Hitachi SH3 processor, 480x240 pixel backlit LCD, one Type 2
PC Card slot, 2-6 MB RAM, 4 MB ROM with Windows CE, IrDA port,
keyboard.
Size is 6.8 x 3.6 x 1 inches, weight is 0.89 pounds, price is about
US$500-700.
The system runs on 2 AA batteries for up to 20 hours, [29.139] [30.6]
[70.135]
- NEC Computer Systems introduces the NEC MobilePro 400 handheld
computer.
It features NEC VR 4104 processor, 480x240 LCD screen, one 2 PC Card, 4
MB RAM, 70: 8 MB ROM with Windows CE, IrDA port, keyboard. Size is 6.9
x 3.7 x 1 inches; weight is 0.85 pounds; price is about US$650. [30.6]
[70.133]
- Hitachi Home Electronics ships the Hitachi Handheld PC, running
Windows
CE. [30.6]
- Apple Computer unveils the eMate 300 mobile computer. [90.45]
- Casio Computer ships the Cassiopeia, a handheld computer
running Windows
CE. [30.6]
- December 31
- Worldwide shipments of PalmPilot handheld computers for the
year: about
350,000. [46.9]
- Shipments of handheld computers in the US for the year: 1.9
million.
[53.232] (1.5 million [41.28])
- Worldwide handheld computer sales: about 2.4 million. [46.9]
(2.6 million
[53.232])
