EPSON HX20 LAPTOP COMPUTER, 1982

The Epson HX-20 (also known as the HC-20) is generally regarded as the first laptop computer, announced in November 1981, although first sold widely in 1983. Full-size keyboard, an LCD screen, printer, tape storage device, built-in rechargeable batteries. Microsoft BASIC is also included in ROM. Price in 1982 US$795. CPU=Two Hitachi 6301 @ 0.614MHz. Ram 16K, 32K max

Nortell Collection

Your comments:

• In the late 70s or early 80s Kodak Limited experimented with these,
  testing them with telephone acoustic couplers so that salesmen around
  the country could transmit their call records, orders etc. to Head
  Office in the evenings. I'm not sure they relished having to do that. It failed because the couplers and quality of the phone lines in some areas of the country were not reliable. But the HX20 was faultless.
  
  .......... Geoff Robinson, Flore. Northants, 10th of February 2012
  
  

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