Author: Vitaly Minko

Removable storage and RAM for handheld computers

In this post, I’d like to present you a small collection of removable cards and modules for handheld computers.

Front side:

Back side:

Left-to-right then top-to-bottom:

  • MultiMediaCard (MMC)
  • Secure Digital card (SD)
  • Nintendo 3DS card
  • Sony Memory Stick
  • Hewlett-Packard magnetic card for HP-67
  • Sony Universal Media Disc (UMD)
  • microSD card
  • Iomega PocketZip floppy disk
  • Memory Stick Micro card (M2)
  • MMCmobile card
  • Psion Organiser Datapak
  • CompactFlash memory card
  • miniSD card
  • DIP Pocket Memory Card – Bee Card (aka Credit Card Memory or CCM)
  • Psion Series 3 memory card
  • Elektronika removable RAM module for MK-90 (Электроника МПО-10)
  • PC Cards (aka Memory Card or a RAM Card)

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 as the evolution of communicators

Samsung Galaxy Fold can be compared with devices like Sony Tablet P or Toshiba Libretto W100, because they fold into a tablet with two screens in the same plane.
But it is also quite appropriate to compare with communicators, whose external interface was used for phone calls, and the device itself was laid out to increase productivity. From this point of view, the Galaxy Fold is the result of more than 20 years of evolution of communicators.
The photos below reflect 24 years of the evolution of communicators, starting with Hewlett-Packard OmniGo700LX Communicator Plus (released in 1996) and ending with Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 (released in 2020).

Tools for data hoarders

I’m glad to present you my new article. This article describes UNIX utilities I use to collect information about handheld computers. You will find here tips how to clone websites, download webpages, YouTube videos, Google books, files from SourceForge, etc. Other collectors may find this overview interesting and useful, so I decided to share. Please note that I run all the mentioned utilities in GNU/Linux. I’ve no information whether they support other operating systems (Windows, macOS).

Read full article

The first handheld equipped with OLED display

Sony CLIE PEG-VZ90 is a remarkable Palm OS based device. It’s the first handheld equipped with an OLED screen. It was released 17 years ago. Today OLED displays are commonplace. All the best smartphone displays are made using this technology. But how does the first portable OLED screen look compared to typical LCDs of the same era? Let’s compare the PEG-VZ90 with four other devices of different classes, from low-end to high-end:

• Sharp Zaurus SL-C1000
• Sony CLIE PEG-UX50
• Palm Tungsten E2
• Qtek 9000

There is no doubt that an OLED screen provides the best picture quality. But Sharp’s CG Silicon LCD looks surprisingly good compared to the OLED screen.

Clamshell handhelds from Planet Computers

I’m glad to present you a new gallery dedicated to handheld computers produced by Planet Computers Ltd.
This gallery extends the gallery introduced in the previous post Gemini PDA – modern clamshell handheld for content creators.
Besides Gemini PDA this gallery also stars Cosmo Communicator. Both of my devices are signed by CEO of Planet Computers – Dr. Janko Mrsic-Flogel.

Here are two interesting interviews of Dr. Janko Mrsic-Flogel reviewing the new handheld:
Cosmo Communicator interview
Cosmo Communicator shipping now to backers

Military handhelds

I’m glad to present you a new gallery dedicated to military handhelds. The gallery stars two devices: General Dynamics Itronix IX750 GoBook MR-1 and Advantech P37B.
Both devices are very tough and robust, compared to regular consumer handheld computers. Despite that General Dynamics GoBook MR-1 looks like a ruggedized version of Vulcan Flipstart, the number of differences between these two devices is enormous.