Hewlett-Packard LX Series

HP 200LX in clear view

HP 200LX closed

Hewlett-Packard Series LX - keyboard pocket personal computers ( Handheld PC ) manufactured by Hewlett-Packard in the 90s of the XX century . The first models were built on an x86- compatible platform and used the MS-DOS operating system . In the second half of the 90s, the transition to RISC-processors ( SuperH architecture) and Windows CE- based operating systems were made.

On the official website of Hewlett-Packard, all models of the LX series are attributed to the Palmtop series, although this name became widespread in the second half of the 90s and was not applied to the early models. The word Palmtop in English is often used as a synonym for the phrase Handheld PC , denoting the entire class of keyboard handhelds.

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HP Jaguar (95LX)

HP 95LX - The First Hewlett-Packard Keyboard PDA

HP 95LX, along with the Atari Portfolio and some other devices, was one of the first "real" PDAs. It was introduced by Hewlett-Packard in 1991 . The size of the PDA was 159 x 85 x 26 mm, and the weight was 310 grams.

At the heart of the HP 95LX was a 16-bit NEC V20 processor (similar to Intel 8088 ) with a frequency of 5.37 MHz. The screen was monochrome, the diagonal size was 4.8 inches (122 mm), but the resolution was rather low (240x128 pixels). To extend the functionality was provided connector PCMCIA (type II), and for communication with external devices using a serial port compatible with RS-232 . The PDA was running under the MS-DOS 3.22 operating system, and the package included a number of pre-installed applications (for example, a spreadsheet processor Lotus 1-2-3 ). The size of the ROM was 1 MB , and RAM - 512 KB . In 1992, a modification was released with the RAM size increased to 1 MB (95LX 1Mb RAM).

HP Couguar (100LX)

HP 100LX - development of the Hewlett-Packard keyboard PDA line, the model was introduced in 1993 . The functionality of the PDA has increased significantly, but the weight of the device, while maintaining the same size, increased to 340 grams.

The HP 100LX used a more powerful 16-bit Intel 80186 processor with a frequency of 7.93 MHz and it worked under MS-DOS 5.0. The new model also received a significantly better screen measuring 5.1 inches (130 mm) with a resolution of 640x200 pixels. The screen could display up to 4 grayscale. Other specifications, including a set of firmware, consistent with the previous model. HP 100 LX was produced in two versions: with 1 MB of RAM and 2 MB of RAM (HP 100LX 2Mb RAM).

The video system of the model was a CGA with some additional functions, such as a reprogrammable character generator (albeit, arranged differently than in EGA / VGA ), the ability to simultaneously use fonts of 3 sizes. Later, some of these functions were used in the XT-CE emulator. Due to this, the device has become more PC-compatible, up to the launch of Windows 3.0 .

HP 1000CX

The HP 1000CX is a budget version of the 100LX model. Both models were produced in parallel and the hardware is completely identical. The only difference with the HP 1000CX was the absence, with the exception of the operating system, of any additional software.

HP Felix (200LX)

The HP 200LX, the latest x86- compatible Hewlett-Packard keyboard PDA, was introduced in 1996 . It differed from the 100LX model by the increased to 3 MB ROM and the updated set of firmware, as well as a slightly lower weight (312 g). It was released in three versions that differ in the size of RAM: 1 MB, 2 MB and 4 MB.

HP OmniGo 700LX

The HP 700LX, a modification of the 200LX model developed in conjunction with Nokia’s mobile division, was released in early 1996 . The main difference of this device was a redesigned case, containing a mounting point (docking station) for a Nokia 2110 cell phone . The software part of the PDA has been improved for better interaction with the phone. The disadvantage of the device was the large size (187 x 87 x 57 mm) and weight (397 g).

This model can be considered the forerunner of the Nokia 9000 Communicator , one of the first devices that combined the functionality of a PDA and a mobile phone , released in August 1996, in one case.

HP Palmtop

HP 620LX - one of the most powerful and functional Palmtop PDAs

Palmtop - a series of keyboard handhelds Hewlett-Packard, replacing the company's x86-compatible compact devices. In these devices, a 32-bit RISC - processor Hitachi SH7700 ( SuperH architecture, SH3 core) with a frequency of 44 to 75 MHz was used. These devices worked under control of Microsoft operating systems based on Windows CE (Microsoft Handheld PC) of various versions. The models of the Palmtop series used a large touch screen with a diagonal size of 6.6 inches (167 mm) and a resolution of 640x240 pixels. To communicate with external devices, you could use both a traditional serial port and a wireless infrared port . In most models, in addition to the PCMCIA connector, there was a slot for Compact Flash memory cards . The main disadvantages in comparison with previous models of the LX series were large dimensions and weight (from 430 to 586 g).

HP Palmtop 300LX / 320LX

HP Palmtop 300LX / 320LX - one of the first devices running Microsoft Handheld PC 1.0 (Windows CE 1.0), was introduced in late 1996. PDA data had dimensions of 183 x 94 x 28 mm, and the touch screen displayed 4 grayscale. The amount of ROM was 5 MB. The HP 300LX had 2 MB of RAM and weighed 430 grams, while the HP 320LX had 4 MB of RAM, and the weight was a little more - 442 grams. Later also came out a memory card ROM with stitched Windows CE 2.0, which allowed to significantly improve the functionality of the device.

HP Palmtop 340LX / 360LX

HP Palmtop 340LX / 360LX - keyboard handhelds running Microsoft Handheld PC 2.0 (Windows CE 2.0), were introduced in 1997. From the previous generation of Palmtop (300LX / 320LX) devices, they differed with up to 8 MB of RAM and 10 MB of ROM, as well as higher processor frequency (60 MHz versus 44 MHz). In addition, the new PDA had a higher-quality touch screen, displaying up to 16 shades of gray. The 340LX differed from the 360LX in the absence of a memory card slot. The new models retained their previous dimensions, but the weight increased slightly and amounted to 452 grams for 340LX and 458 grams for 360LX.

HP Palmtop 620LX / 660LX

HP Palmtop 620LX / 660LX - the first Hewlett-Packard keyboard handheld PDA with color screen and the last in the Palmtop series, were introduced in September 1997. The main feature of the devices was a color screen displaying 256 colors. These models ran under Windows CE 2.0 and were generally similar in functionality to the Palmtop 360LX. The main difference between the hardware, in addition to the color screen, was increased to 75 MHz processor frequency and a larger RAM size: 16 MB for 620LX and 32 MB for 660LX. The disadvantages of the Palmtop 620LX / 660LX were the very large dimensions for a PDA (178 x 104 x 36 mm) and weight (586 g).

Links

HP Palmtop / Jornada / OmniGo PC - Comparison Doc (inaccessible link) (English)
PDADB.net - a large database of PDAs (English)
History of the HP 95LX computer (eng.)
Russian site on the topic