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From: holtz@netcord.Eng.Sun.COM (Brian Holtz)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.laptops,comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: Does my dream portable exist?
Message-ID: <1420@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM>
Date: 16 Oct 90 05:04:53 GMT
Sender: news@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM
Followup-To: comp.sys.laptops
Lines: 42



Hi.  I'm looking to get a handheld or notebook computer for
text and outline processing, terminal emulation, and file transfer.
Specifically, I require

* full QWERTY keyboard for touch-typing
* reliable file storage on removable media
* >= 2400 baud internal modem
* 24x80-character display
* software available for:
    * vt100 emulation w/ file transfer
    * text processor (read/write ASCII) w/ WYSIWYG-style line-wrapping
    * outline processing

Within these requirements, I want to minimize size, weight, and price,
and I don't care about processing speed, having a hard disk, or
operating system type.

I'm looking at the following candidates; any price info, pics, pans,
etc. would be appreciated.

* Psion MC200/MC400
    * Is the software I want available?
    * What's a "Quad modem"?
    * Is flash eprom more rugged technology than mag disk, as would
      seem likely?  Is the flash eprom "drive" solid state?
* NEC UltraLite
    * What's a "Silicon Disk"?  Is it non-volatile?  Removable?  Solid
      state?
* Toshiba T1000/T1000SE
    * With HardRAM, can I boot, run, and shutdown without ever
      spinning up the floppy drive?
    * Can a SparcStation read/write its floppies?
* Panasonic CF-150
    * Just a Tandy 1100 FD without DeskMate?
* Tandy 1100/1500
    * Are these discounted at all?
    * Does the DeskMate suite meet my software requirements?
    * Can a SparcStation read/write its floppies?
--
Brian Holtz (holtz@netcord.Eng.Sun.COM)