Momenta Makes Its Move

“Pentop” startup takes the system approach but faces big challenges.

The eyes of the computer industry have been on Momenta since the pen-based startup company first announced its intentions. After much speculation about what sort of computer the company would come out with, Momenta has entered the stylus fray with its first product — a system that provides both keyboard and stylus input and is described as a “pentop” computer. With a keyboard for today’s PC programs and a pen for tomorrow’s “pen-centric apps,” the company boasts that the Momenta Computer provides the best of both worlds.

The Momenta Computer is roughly the size of a three-ring notebook, weighing just under six pounds. The keyboard is detachable; the pen is “tethered” to either side of the computer (depending on whether you are left- or right-handed). The screen/digitizer lays “flat” (actually on an 8 percent slope) for pen input and tilts to an upright position for keyboard input. An optional mouse can also be attached. Initially, the system, which includes a 40 Mbyte hard disk, 4 Mbytes of RAM, an internal modem, and system and application software, will sell for $4995.

Interestingly, Momenta positions the pen as an “alternative” input device; the keyboard is the primary device. But there’s much more that’s unique and interesting about the Momenta Computer.

A Complete System

So far, most entries in the pen computer arena have taken the component approach — operating systems from the likes of GO or Microsoft, development tools from Slate, end-user apps from PenSoft, and hardware from NCR. Momenta, on the other hand, is offering a complete software environment to go with the hardware.

The Momenta Computer comes with a DOS-based “Momenta” operating environment and pen-centric end-user applications ranging from spreadsheets to communications programs. Additionally, the company provides software development tools for programmers. And those users who want to continue using their existing DOS applications can switch back and forth from the Momenta environment to standard DOS 5.0 mode to run thousands of existing programs.

Bucking the SL Trend

While most 80×86-based portable computer vendors (pen-based and otherwise) are using Intel’s new 386SL processor, which is optimized for portable computing with built-in power management functions, Momenta is bucking this trend by using Intel’s 20 MHz 386SX CPU. Momenta is able to utilize the lower-priced SX CPU because the company has developed its own power-management technology that it claims is superior to that of the SL.

Although tight-lipped about their techniques, Momenta says that efficient power-management is due to highly integrated circuits, CMOS components, and intelligent firmware (the system uses a custom co-processor to manage power) that can instantly activate or shutdown parts of the computer as needed. For instance, during shutdown mode, the computer will instantly awaken when the pen touches the screen. In full-active mode, Momenta claims the entire system uses about as much power as a keychain light. The net result is a system that operates up to 8 hours off of 10 AA-size rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries or standard, inexpensive AA alkaline batteries. Additionally, the system sports fast recharge — 1 1/2 hours or less recharge time compared to 10 hours on common portables — even while its being used.

In addition to the CPU and power-management coprocessor, other hardware components include a pair of digital signal processing (DSP) chips to handle communications- related tasks, custom processors to handle I/O, video memory, and digitizer input. Also included are 4 Mbytes of RAM (expandable to 8MB), 1 Mbyte of ROM (expandable to 5 MB), and 256K of Flash ROM.

The Momenta Computer’s standard mass storage is a 40-Mbyte hard disk (options include 60 and 80 MB units). Floppy drives (3.5 inch) also are available. It is noteworthy that Momenta has elected not to offer PC cards (memory cards) as a storage option, in contrast to other pen system vendors such as NCR. Certainly, hard disks are currently a more economical form of data storage than PC cards, but eventually PC cards will probably be the standard storage medium for pen-based systems (see article in this issue on PC cards). Momenta would be wise to include PC card storage as an option in a future model of the machine.

Input/output connectors include parallel, serial, RJ11 and RJ45 phone connectors for fax/modem, pen, and both low-power Momenta keyboard and standard AT keyboard plugs.

To use an off-the-shelf standard PC keyboard, you need an AT keyboard adapter provided by Genovation (the company also provides a numeric keypad). Other optional adapters include a car adapter from Zirco that allows you to operate or recharge the system from a 12V automotive type cigarette lighter, network adapters from Xircom, SCSI adapters from Trantor Systems, and a SCSI disk drive (that plugs into the parallel port) from Liberty Systems. A 9600 baud fax modem is built in.

The 6 by 8-inch LCD is a reflective 640 by 480 VGA display; a backlit display will be available early next year. Momenta is using its own digitizer which provides 400 dots per inch resolution with a sampling rate of up to 400 dots per second.

But Software Is Where It’s At

The Momenta Computer is a DOS machine that operates in two modes — the Momenta Environment mode and standard DOS mode. The operating system underpinning for both modes is ROM-based MS-DOS 5.0.

The Momenta Environment is a derivation of Digitalk’s Smalltalk/V. For a discussion of this environment, see the article “Smalltalk: An Environmental Alternative for Pen Systems” in this issue. The Momenta Environment is a pen-centric system in which all Momenta applications operate similarly. Central to the Momenta concept is the “Command Compass”, a system-wide pie-menu for undoing, cutting, copying, or moving selected data or for bringing up submenus for further operations. (For more details on the Command Compass, see “Momenta’s Command Compass: A Pie Menu By Any Other Name” also in this issue.)

All built-in programs — address book, spreadsheet, appointment calendar, presentation drawing, diary, chart maker, faxer, markup, memopad, utilities, and calculator — use the Command Compass. Custom-built apps can also take advantage of it via the Momenta Application Development Environment (MOVE), a NextStep-like developer’s workbench and toolkit for writing application programs. The workbench, which is based on Acumen Software’s toolkit, is a unique bidirectional program “builder” that generates a code template. The programmer simply has to fill in the template application specific code. This toolkit also includes software components like text fonts, graphics functions, database tools, and so on. The Momenta Environment includes its own handwriting recognition engine.

DOS mode lets you run non-Momenta applications using a keyboard, mouse, or pen. If you elect to run a DOS app (1-2-3, for instance) without the keyboard and mouse, you can call up a “soft keyboard” on the screen and use the pen to select and activate keys. This is slow and inefficient when extensive typing is necessary.

When available, Microsoft Windows 3.1 and its pen extensions can easily run as an alternate pen-centric environment for the Momenta hardware.

The Momenta Challenge

If Momenta is to succeed, the company must overcome numerous challenges, none of which are insurmountable, but all of which are formidable. For starters, the company faces all of the obstacles common to any startup computer system vendor — manufacturing, distribution, buyer acceptance. Furthermore, Momenta is in a new and untested market — pen-based computing. While all indicators suggest that this will be an important facet of computing, it’s still early. Perhaps to hedge its bets, the company is trying to cover a lot of bases — both keyboard and pen, both DOS/Windows and the Momenta environment, and so on.

To further complicate matters, Momenta is entering the market during a tough economic climate characterized by reduced consumer and business spending. Most already established computer vendors are facing slow sales and some of these vendors, with far deeper pockets than Momenta, are expected to enter the pen-based market in the near future. On the other hand, the company does have experienced managers, all with proven track records in the PC marketplace. If the computer performs well and attracts some strong software development, the company may find itself in the right place at the right time — with the right system.

Momenta Corp.
295 N. Bernardo Ave.
Mountain View, CA 94043
415-969-3876