Byline: JACK SCHOFIELD
SALES of 'notebook PCs' are booming, because they have finally reached the stage where users can buy one instead of a desktop model. However, they still have limitations, and cost roughly twice as much as desktop PCs of comparable power.
Notebook PCs are battery-powered portables about the size of an A4 magazine page, but up to two inches thick. They tip the scales at 4lb-6lb, which is not exactly lightweight but at least you can carry one around.
The first notebook PC was probably the Toshiba T-1000. Its success was limited because it was relatively slow (the same speed as the original IBM PC), had only 512K of memory and a 720K 3.5in disc drive. Also, at 6.4lb it was too heavy. Its major drawback, however, was its hard-to-read LCD (liquid crystal display) screen. But it did establish Toshiba as the leader in laptop PCs, preparing the way for the T-1000SE.
The T-1000SE was launched last July in Japan where, as the DynaBook, it was a huge success. Its 9.54MHz Intel 80C86 processor made it twice as fast as the T-1000, it had double the memory and disc storage, and the weight had been slimmed to 5.9lb. Best of all it sported a very legible backlit LCD screen with up to twice the resolution of the older model.
Toshiba didn't have the market to itself for long. In October came the Compaq LTE. It had almost the same specification in a slightly smaller box (11in by 8.5in against 12.2in by 10in), but with one important extra: the option of a 20M hard disc.
Compaq also introduced a second 6lb notebook PC, the LTE/286. This had a 12MHz Intel 80286 processor, 640K of memory, and could take either a 20M or a 40M hard disc. It was quite a feat to cram a machine with twice the speed and more memory than IBM's huge 1984-vintage PC AT into a package you could use on a plane.
Toshiba responded with the T-1000XE an SE with a 20M hard disc instead of the floppy and the T-1200XE. This has a 12MHz 286 and both hard and floppy discs, though it is slightly larger (12.2in by 11in) and heavier (7.9lb).
Toshiba does more than Compaq to make its notebooks usable on the move. The T-1000SE and XE have the MS DOS 3.3 disc operating system built-in on ROM (read only memory) chips, so it does not need to be loaded from a floppy. Both come with 'hard RAM': memory configured as a 360K floppy disc. Both have a 'resume' mode, so you can turn them off at any time, and when you turn them back on, they are where you left them. The Toshiba models are also cheaper: the T-1000SE is usually discounted to about Pounds 850 plus VAT.
But Compaq is succeeding, thanks to its conviction that what laptop users want is exactly what desktop PC owners want, only smaller. Toshiba is succeeding not by stating this as a policy but by applying it. Other firms have done less well with machines that assume you already have a desktop PC, or don't want the equivalent.
One early notebook PC, for example, was NEC's UltraLite, which created a stir when it was launched in the US in October 1988 (it mever made it to the UK). It was the right size (11.75in by 8.3in) and weight (4.4lb) but lacked either a floppy or hard disc drive. It had an extra megabyte of memory that worked as a disc drive, but that was no use for loading software. Instead the UltraLite had the LapLink program in ROM, so you could move software across via a cable, and a slot for IC (integrated circuit) cards.
Zenith also ran into storage problems with its first notebook PC, the MinisPort. While being an acceptable size (12.4in by 9.8in) and weight (5.9lb), it had a non-standard 2in 720K floppy disc drive. Since there was no PC software available on this format, however, Zenith also had to include FastLynx as a way of piping software aboard from another machine.
It was a nice machine, but not a success, and two weeks ago, Zenith brought out a new version of the MinisPort with a 20M hard disc substituted for the 2in floppy. The new model also comes with an external plug-in 3.5in floppy which can be used to load software, though a hard disc-only version will be available in September.
The MiniSport has been improved in other respects, too. The processor is faster (it's now the same as the T-1000SE/XE and Compaq LTE), the backlit screen is brighter and clearer, and the machine is thinner. Like the Toshiba models it has 1M of memory (leaving 360K for a 'silicon disc') and DOS in ROM. Unlike them it has FastLynx in ROM . . . and an external monitor port.
Another company to launch a notebook PC with non-standard storage is Psion, of Organiser fame. This British firm has launched a range of three Mobile Computers, of which one is a PC-compatible. The MC600 is the lightest PC in its class (3.4lb) and uses the latest technology. Its Hitachi-made LCD screen is so good it does not need backlighting, and it has a new kind of storage called 'flash EPROM', made by Intel. Both these mean the MC600 uses little power, and can run for 30 hours without recharging about 10 times as long as conventional notebook PCs.
As you'd expect, both DOS and the LapLink III program are provided in ROM, so you can move software to flash memory cards or the 1M 'silicon disc.' There's also a socket for plugging in an external 3.5in floppy. All round, the MC600 is impressive, but some will find it just a bit too clever.
The next notebook PC due to make an impact is the Sharp PC-6220, which was first shown at the Hanover Fair (Computer Guardian, March 29) but has yet to reach the shops. The PC-6220 is remarkable for cramming a 12MHz 286 machine and a 20M hard disc into a package that weighs only 4.3lb. It has also increased the screen resolution from the CGA standard to monochrome VGA level: 640 by 480 pixels with 16 shades of grey. While it lacks a built-in floppy, it has MS DOS 4.01 (not the most popular version!) and LapLink in ROM. Sharp has yet to announce a price.
Following the Sharp could be NEC's Note-SX, unveiled in Japan in April. NEC claims this is the first notebook PC to use an Intel 80386SX processor, finally increasing the processing power to the level of today's desktop standards, instead of yesterday's. And if NEC doesn't do that, lots of other firms will.
With sales of notebook PCs now increasing by more than 50 per cent a year, many more manufacturers will enter the market. Intense competition should mean better and better machines appearing at lower prices until they become irresistible. Indeed the Japanese multinationals are already starting to think the notebook PC has a similar sort of mass-market potential as personal stereos, VCRs and CD players.