Smaller is not always better Quick facts Introduction Psion, one of the true pioneers in handheld computing, needed something that could compete with the increasingly popular line of shirt-pocketable PDAs from Palm. The year is 1999, and competition in the PDA market is fierce. Palm and Handspring have captured a significant share of the market, … Read more
The first Palmtop computer Quick facts Background In the United Kingdom, the computer landscape of the late 1980s differed significantly from that of the United States. While IBM-compatible PCs were beginning to establish themselves, many British users still relied on platforms such as the Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro, and Sinclair Spectrum. At the same time, … Read more
The perfect school computer Quick facts Introduction The Apple Newton eMate 300 is unlike any other Newton. It runs the same Newton operating system as the later MessagePads, but its form factor is completely different. Instead of a handheld organizer, the eMate is a rugged, clamshell computer with a built-in keyboard, designed primarily for use … Read more
The machine that thinks with you (phrase from its brochure) Quick facts Overview Building on the relative success of the original Psion Organiser, released two years earlier, Psion took the concept of a handheld computer a significant step further with the Organiser II. The most visible improvement was the display, which now featured two lines … Read more
The small details make all the difference Quick facts Introduction When Microsoft introduced Windows CE 1.0 in 1996, many manufacturers wanted to join the new platform—especially traditional PC makers. One of the dominant companies at the time was Compaq, so it was only natural for them to enter this emerging market. However, Microsoft imposed strict … Read more
An updated Mobile Companion Quick facts Overview Undeterred by the limited commercial success of its first foray into the PDA market with the MC12, Ericsson decided to follow Hewlett-Packard’s lead once again. When HP released the upgraded 360LX, Ericsson followed suit with a rebranded version: the Ericsson MC16. The “MC” designation stood for Mobile Companion, … Read more
Quick facts BlackBerry 7290 The BlackBerry 7290, or more correctly the RIM BlackBerry 7290, is a GSM mobile phone released in 2004 by the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM). It was neither the first nor the last device from RIM. In fact, the company had already introduced its first messaging product in 1999. However, … Read more
The Unifier Quick facts Overview Siemens IC35 – The Unifier Introduction In the year 2000, Siemens introduced a small PDA with a physical keyboard called the IC35. It was positioned as a companion device to a Siemens mobile phone. At the time, Siemens was one of the three major European manufacturers of mobile network equipment, … Read more
A hint of things to come Quick facts Introduction Sony, one of the largest companies in the consumer electronics industry, naturally wanted a share of the rapidly growing PDA market. By the late 1990s the market had expanded significantly, not least thanks to Palm and its highly successful PalmOS-powered devices. Sony had experimented with handheld … Read more
An attempt to spark new life into the PDA Quick facts Overview What do you get when you take the ideas and general physical construction of the Psion Series 5mx from the late 1990s and combine them with modern (circa 2020) hardware and software? The answer is the Cosmo Communicator — a mobile phone with … Read more