Obsession with Handheld Computers
Preserving the handheld heritage of the computer revolution.
In the last post of 2021 I decided to make an update to my previous post New and sealed (August of 2021).
The most noticeable recent acquisitions are:
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).
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.
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
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.
Hewlett-Packard has played an exceptional role in the history of handheld computers. This company gave us truly remarkable palmtops 100LX/200LX, PDA iPaq hx4700 and Jornada 720. Some people still use these devices on a daily basis.
But what was the first handheld computer created by Hewlett-Packard?
You may consider HP-75C as the first HP handheld. The device is not very small, and the possibility of using it as a handheld is questionable.
But actually it depends on the criterias of a handheld computer.
Another candidate is the HP-67, which was introduced in 1976.
HP-67 was world’s first Turing-Complete handheld device. This is a strong argument in favor of transferring this device from calculators to the category of handheld computers.
In 2017 Planet Conputers introduced Gemini PDA. This handheld offers physical keyboard and is designed as modern replacement for Psion 5 Series.
At Planet Computers we believe in freedom. The freedom to create on the move.
Our powerful pocket computers are clamshell devices which feature integrated physical keyboards and the ability to multi-boot operating systems, helping increase your productivity.
Let’s compare Gemini PDA and Psion 5MX side-by-side. These devices differ in release date by almost 20 years.
Somebody may ask, "What do all these handheld computers have in common?". These handhelds are brand new and sealed.
For the past couple of years I’ve been using 7-inch handhelds from One-Netbook as my main workstation.
The devices do their job pretty well. And from an aesthetic point of view, I find these devices quite pleasing. The only thing that bothered me was a bit boring lid with no marks what so ever. Therefore I decided to put my custom logo using a laser engraving technique. The lady in the engraving is Themis (quite unusual, without a sword and with open eyes).
