New Pen-Based Systems Abound

Many shown, few shipping

Last spring, we said that a bevy of pen-based computers would turn up at Fall Comdex — and that was certainly the case. Interestingly, the Eden Group, a product design firm out of the UK (see our November Vol. 1, No. 5 issue), played a part in several of the pen-based announcements.

TriGem (Santa Clara, CA), for instance, introduced the PEN386-SX, a 4.25 pound 386SX-based stylus system with a backlit screen with 16 grey-scale levels. Even with the backlit screen, TriGem claims 5.5 hours of battery life. Following the standard Eden design, the system has 2 Mbytes of Flash memory, 4 Mbytes of RAM, and two PCMCIA/JEIDA card slots.

Likewise, Dauphin (Lombard, IL) showed an Eden-designed 386SX system with specifications very similar to TriGem’s. However, a spokesman told us the company will begin manufacturing pen systems of its own design sometime next year.

Samsung (San Jose, CA) was showing a 386SL system that will be available in April, 1992, for about $5000. The 4.9 pound PenMaster has 4 to 20 Mbytes of RAM, 40 to 120 Mbyte hard disks, one PCMCIA 1.0 slot, a 10-inch VGA backlit 32 grey-scale LCD, and 3 hours of battery life. As we mentioned in our cover story, the Samsung unit had one of the better displays we have seen in the current crop of pen-based systems.

Sanyo (Moonachie, NJ) demonstrated a 386SX system with 5 Mbyte of RAM, 40 Mbyte hard disk, one 3.5-inch floppy, and a PCMCIA slot. However, the system won’t be available until third-quarter, 1992, for about $4000.

Grid (Fremont, CA) also got into the 386 market with its 5 pound GridPad/SL that has 20 Mbytes of RAM, 16 Kbytes of RAM cache, a 60 Mbyte hard disk, a backlit VGA display, and one PCMCIA slot. Options include a 2400-baud modem and a 2 Mbyte RAM card. It will be available in the second quarter of 1992 for a price of $5000 to $7000.

Telepad, a startup out of Reston, Virginia, had a booth at Comdex, but its TelePad SL was locked inside a plastic case. The 3.5 pound system, which will be available in May 1992, will have a 20 to 120 Mbyte hard disk, 1 to 8 Mbytes RAM, 16 gray-level, VGA screen, PCMCIA slot, and will have PenWindows in ROM. Options include both cellular and RF interfaces and a mobile docking station.

The Tusk (Lake Park, FL) All-Terrain Super Tablet was also on display at the Microsoft PenWindows booth. This waterproof, bulletproof, industrial-strength machine is unique in that it has a detachable “docking” keyboard so that it can be used as either a desktop keyboard or mobile pen input system. It is scheduled to ship early next year.

NEC (Boxborough, MA) also introduced a “pentop” machine – the UltraLite SL/20P, that provides both stylus and keyboard input. Unlike most pen-based systems that are clipboard-like in design, the UltraLite is a 6.8 pound notebook computer. It runs off a 386SL with from 2 to 8 Mbyte RAM, an 80 Mbyte hard disk, backlit 32 gray-level display, the TouchPen digitizer, and from 3 to 7 hours of battery life. The $4499 unit will begin shipping in mid-December.

IBM’s Sneak Preview

IBM provided a glimpse of its pen-based system at the GO display room off the show floor. Frankly, there wasn’t much to distinguish the IBM prototype from the other pen-based systems shown at Comdex. The machine looked a lot like the GO prototype or “Lombard” machine, as it is called. It has a black case, a VGA “transflective” or sidelit LCD/digitizer display and a pen interface. The IBM representative emphasized that this system represented a “technology demonstration” using many off-the-shelf components that would “change significantly” in the final product. For example, the IBM prototype had a battery life of only about three hours. The IBM spokesperson said the battery technology would be greatly improved in the finished product.

A Good Start But Room for Improvement

As we discussed in our cover story, the pen-based hardware has to improve before we can expect widespread acceptance of these machines. Battery life and display readability are the two key areas that need improvement. They are closely related since backlighting is the primary consumer of battery power in most of the current systems. Systems using reflective displays, such as the NCR 3125 and PI Systems’ Infolio, provide longer battery life but suffer from poor contrast except in ideal lighting conditions. Nevertheless, the number of machines introduced and on display at Comdex was impressive and promises a competitive and therefore rapidly changing technical arena for pen-based machines.

Communications Intelligence Corp. (CIC) announced the availability of a $500 developer’s kit for PenDOS. The company is also sponsoring a series of developer seminars. Contact CIC at 415-802-7888