Eden Group of U.K. to Show New Pen Computer at Comdex

The Eden Group, a product design firm based in the United Kingdom, will unveil its VPi386 pen computer at Fall Comdex, displaying the machine at the TriGem and Microsoft booths. The machine, manufactured under license in Germany and South Korea by TriGem, is similar to the NCR 3125 but includes a backlit black and white LCD display rather than a reflective display as used in the NCR unit. Battery life is rated at 4 to 5 hours.

The VPi 386 uses the Intel 386SX microprocessor in 16- or 20 MHz versions and is available with up to 4 Mbytes of system memory as well as optional SRAM and Flash memory. The machine includes two PCMCIA compatible PC card slots and includes connectors for attaching external disk drives. The VPi 386 weighs about 4 pounds and can be configured for portrait or landscape orientation as well as left or righthanded users. The pen is detachable and uses proximity sensing with 1000 points per inch resolution.

The primary intention, says Steven Randall, one of the founding directors of the Eden Group, is to license the machine to OEMs, which may put their own labels on the machine. As of Fall Comdex, several hundred machines will be available for evaluation and for early developers, but mass production is scheduled for early 1992.

The pricing of the machine will be aggressive, says Randall, with fully configured 20 Mhz models with 4 Mbytes of memory selling for under $4000 at the retail level. The VPi386 supports MS-DOS, Pen-Windows, CIC’s PenDOS and GO’s PenPoint.

Eden Group Ltd. The Chapel,
Rainow
Cheshire Sk10 5XF
United Kingdom
Tel: 0625 576050
Fax: 0625 576041