Engineering:HP 95LX

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Hewlett-Packard 95LX
Like most pocket computers, the HP 95LX owner's manual is larger and heavier than the computer itself.
Also known asJaguar
ManufacturerHewlett-Packard[1]
TypePalmtop PC
Release dateApril 1991; 35 years ago (1991-04)[2]
Introductory price$550
Discontinued1 January 2003 (2003-01-01)
Units shipped400,000 (estimated production run)
Operating systemMS-DOS 3.22[3]
CPUNEC V20 @ 5.37 MHz
Memory512 KB (F1000A) or 1 MB (F1010A)[4]
Removable storageSRAM card (0.5 MB - 32 MB)
Display40 × 16 characters LCD screen (4.8 inch × 1.8 inch)
Graphics240 × 128 pixels (quarter-CGA resolution) monochrome STN, 2 scales
SoundPC speaker (piezo)
InputThumb keyboard with 80 keys and a dedicated numeric keypad[5][6][7]
ConnectivityRS-232-compatible serial port, infrared port, PCMCIA 1.0 type II (3.3 mm or 5 mm)
Power2× AA-size removable batteries, 1× CR2032 coin cell backup, optional AC adapter
DimensionsLength 8.5 cm, width 15.9 cm, height 2.6 cm (3.4 inches × 6.3 inches × 1 inch)[5]
Mass312 g (11 ounces)
Backward
compatibility		Intel 8088
SuccessorHP 100LX

The HP 95LX Palmtop PC (F1000A, F1010A), also known as project Jaguar, was Hewlett Packard's first MS-DOS-based pocket computer, or personal digital assistant, introduced in April 1991 in collaboration with Lotus Development Corporation. It can be seen as successor to a series of larger portable PCs like the HP 110 and HP 110 Plus.

Hardware

HP 95LX had an Intel 8088-clone NEC V20 CPU running at 5.37 MHz with an Intel Corporation System on a chip (SoC) device. It cannot be considered completely PC-compatible because of its quarter-CGA (MDA)-resolution LCD screen.[8]

The device also included a CR 2032 lithium coin cell for memory backup when the two AA main batteries ran out. For mass storage, HP 95LX had a single PCMCIA slot which could hold a static RAM card with its own CR 2025 back-up coin cell. An RS-232-compatible serial port was provided, as well as an infrared port for printing on compatible models of Hewlett Packard printers.[3]

Display

In character mode, the display showed 16 lines of 40 characters, and had no backlight. While most IBM-compatible PCs work with a hardware code page 437, HP 95LX's text mode font was hard-wired to code page 850 instead.[3] Lotus 1-2-3 internally used the Lotus International Character Set (LICS), but characters were translated to code page 850 for display and printing purposes.[3]

Software

The palmtop ran Microsoft's MS-DOS version 3.22[3] and had a customized version of Lotus 1-2-3 Release 2.2 built in.[9][10] Other software in read-only memory (ROM) included a calculator, an appointment calendar, a telecommunications program, and a simple text editor.

Successors

Successor models to HP 95LX include HP 100LX, HP Palmtop FX, HP 200LX, HP 1000CX, and HP OmniGo 700LX.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Francis, Peter (December 1991). "HP 95LX. (palmtop computer) (Evaluation)"]. COMPUTE! (136): 128. http://www.atarimagazines.com/compute/issue136/128_HP_95LX.php. 
  2. ↑ "Hewlett-Packard 95LX computer". oldcomputers.net. http://www.oldcomputers.net/hp95lx.html. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 (PDF) HP 95LX User's Guide (2 ed.). Corvallis, OR, USA: Hewlett-Packard Company, Corvallis Division. June 1991. pp. E-1 – E-3, F-1 – F-7. F0001-90003. http://www.retroisle.com/others/hp95lx/OriginalDocs/95LX_UsersGuide_F1000-90001_826pages_Jun91.pdf. Retrieved 2016-11-27. "The HP 95LX character set is equivalent to code page 850, the IBM PC multilingual character set. (Note that your HP 95LX contains MS-DOS 3.22, which does not support code-page switching.) All the HP 95LX applications use this set except 1-2-3, which uses LICS, the Lotus International Character Set. Most LICS characters are included in code page 850; the few that are not will not display […] If your HP 95LX cannot display […] or if your printer cannot print a LICS character, the HP 95LX uses a fallback presentation for that character […] if you use the © symbol and your printer cannot print it, the HP 95LX might display (c) or c as the fallback presentation (depending on the capabilities of your printer)." 
  4. ↑ "95LX". HP Computer Museum. http://www.hpmuseum.net/display_item.php?hw=202. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "HP 95LX: Remembering the early mobile DOS PC". ZDNet. 2015-04-07. http://www.zdnet.com/article/hp-95lx-remembering-the-early-mobile-dos-pc/. 
  6. ↑ "HP95LX - How we test Palmtop computers". InfoWorld: 76. 1991-12-16. https://books.google.com/books?id=HD0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA76. 
  7. ↑ "HP 95LX". Old Organizers Collection. http://old-organizers.com/MorePicts/MP222.htm. 
  8. ↑ "DOS Palmtop: HP 95LX Details and specs". http://www.tankraider.com/DOSPALMTOP/hp95lx.html.  (List of DOS-based palmtop computers)
  9. ↑ "HP 95LX". InfoWorld: 72. 1991-12-16. https://books.google.com/books?id=HD0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA72. Retrieved 2016-11-26. 
  10. ↑ "Hewlett-Packard Co. HP 95LX Palmtop PC". PC Magazine: 216, 220, 222. July 1991. https://books.google.com/books?id=YfkUKcyI7KIC&pg=PT231. Retrieved 2016-11-26. 





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