jchvr@ihlpg.ATT.COM (Hartong) (09/23/87)
Amongothers in BYTE I have seen announcements of the TOSHIBA T1000 that features a laptop ibm-pc compatible with 256kb ROM, 512KB RAM, 720-k 3.5 inch floppy, supertwiste lcd 80/25 or 640/200 screen, build in MSDOS 2.0 etc. etc. All waying less then 7 pounds and costing probably around $1000,= QUESTION: does anyone have experience with this qute little thing? Is is robust enough to carry everywhere I go? Is it really (?) compatible? Is the screen good and readable? what about the optional build in modem? Price, speed? Any comments please post, I think other might be interested as well. H.F. van Rietschote ihnp4!ihlpg!hvlpa!hvrietsc
cynthia@batcomputer.UUCP (09/24/87)
In article <3887@ihlpg.ATT.COM> jchvr@ihlpg.ATT.COM (Hartong) writes: > >QUESTION: does anyone have experience with this qute little thing? No, but I have used the T3100 quite a bit. >Is is robust enough to carry everywhere I go? The 3100 is very well built and robust, as is the T1100. Toshiba makes a fine product. >Is it really (?) compatible? I have yet to find something that won't run on the T3100. This includes all the "normal" applications (WordPerfect, Lotus, DBase) plus DataTree MUMPS, which is known to "get in amd mess with the hardware" in lots of weird ways. >Is the screen good and readable? Can't say for the supertwist. The plasma screen is great. >what about the optional build in modem? Price, speed? If it's the same modem that they put into the 3100 (most likely), it's great. I've never had a problem with it. It's only good up to 1200 baud, though. All in all, I would feel good about buying any laptop from Toshiba. (THIS IS NOT A POLITICAL GROUP...) Cindy Hannah-White cynthia@crnlthry (BITNET)
rickers@drexel.UUCP (Rick Wargo) (09/25/87)
In article <3887@ihlpg.ATT.COM>, jchvr@ihlpg.ATT.COM (Hartong) writes: > > Amongothers in BYTE I have seen announcements of the TOSHIBA T1000 > that features a laptop ibm-pc compatible with 256kb ROM, 512KB RAM, > 720-k 3.5 inch floppy, supertwiste lcd 80/25 or 640/200 screen, build in > MSDOS 2.0 etc. etc. We received ours just about a week ago. > All waying less then 7 pounds and costing probably around $1000,= We purchased it for $875, without the modem. > QUESTION: does anyone have experience with this qute little thing? > Is is robust enough to carry everywhere I go? small, cute and cuddely (sp?). It is sooo small. I had lots of fun; it was the first computer that I have ever seen that required absolutely no time in setting up. Just plug it in and turn it on, and viola! it works! It has a "hard disk" rom. CHKDSK replies a bit more than 500K free on 720K rom disk and 492K of 512K ram. Borland's Sidekick was distributed with the machine. it is about the size of a small three ring binder, with the screen closed. It has a handle that gets tucked away when not in use, making it easily portable. > Is it really (?) compatible? I haven't used it too much except for the initial confrontation; but I hope so. We want to turn it into a litle box that processes and displays signals. > Is the screen good and readable? The screen is capable of CGA 40 and 80 column mode (by 25 lines). It is very clear as long as you at you are directly in front of it; as soon as you look from an angle that is not straight on, the screen becomes much harder to read. > what about the optional build in modem? Price, speed? ??? - I forget. Though it look as though the think lies in there horizontally. > Any comments please post, I think other might be interested as well. I was truly amazed that I could take a personal computer out of the box, turn it on and use it within a few minutes. You can set up different preferences like: 40 or 80 col mode; boot from rom or 3.5" disk always; where to get config.sys file (rom or disk); and some other nifty ones that escape me now. There is also an option to upgrade the internal DOS to 3.2 for a fee. > H.F. van Rietschote > ihnp4!ihlpg!hvlpa!hvrietsc Rickers ..!drexel!rickers
wtm@neoucom.UUCP (09/26/87)
I have had quite a bit of experience supporting both the T3100 and the T1100-plus for users here at our University. The keyboard is on the T1100 is actually slightly less problematic than the T3100. This has to do with the way some programs deal with special function keys, bypassing the BIOS. Word Perfect 4.1 reportedly has a minor glitch with one of the T3100 keys for paging the screen, but this is easily worked around by using normal cursor keys. The key-mapping glitch on the T3100 is supposed to have been cured in the lastest version of the BIOS that was released about 6 months ago. The T1100 doesn't have the keyboard bugs. I have been quite pleased with the servicability and druability of both Toshiba laptop units. The T1100 super-twist display is as good as any non-lighted unit available. Both the T1100 and T3100 have a full complement of option connectors: parallel, serial, RGB video, etc. The only limitation is that the parallel printer port does double duty as the port for the external 5-1/4 inch drive; thus, you have to forget about printing while using the outboard 5-1/4 inch disk. The NEC multispeed has a keyboard that will be a little more familiar to inveterate XT users and a display with a dot aspect ratio more similar to a standard CRT. The multispeed, however, is bigger, heavier, and more expensive. The NEC multispeed has recently been given quite a boost in servicablity with the inclusion of a backlit LCD display. The multispeed comes with some hot-key pop-up programs in ROM, and while good, they aren't the equal of such things as Side Kick. The Zenith Z-181 and Z-183 portables are also quite popular here. The Z-183 with its faster clock and 10 meg fixed disk is a very nice machine; it also has a pretty good keyboard. I guess, I should at least give lip-serivce to the IBM PC convertible. The PC convertible is about as capable as a shrunken-down PC. The disadvantage of the PC convertible is that its screen does a pretty awful job of displaying programs that use the CGA mode in color. CGA color 0 comes out as clear on the LCD, while everything else shows up in blue. A lot of programs turn the LCD into a solid blue mass. One good thing can be said of the PC convertible-- the entire 512 K memory (640 K on newer models) is non-volitile CMOS. The contents are retained even if the NiCd battery konks out. The biggest problem with the PC convertible is that virtually every "feature" imaginable, including the seral and parallel ports, has been unbundled into separate modules that snap on the back of the machine. A PC convertible with features equal to the T1100 probably is twice the size and weight of the T1100. I'm glad we only have two PC convertibles. My personal favorite is still the T1100. --Bill Bill Mayhew, Electrical Engineering Division of Basic Medical Sciences Northeastern Ohio Universities' College of Medicine Rootstown, OH 44272-9989 USA phone: 216-325-2511 (wtm@neoucom.UUCP ...!cbosgd!neoucom!wtm) << Disclaim this article at your own risk >>
skip@ubvax.UUCP (Stayton D Addison Jr) (09/27/87)
I use the Toshiba T1100 (to which I believe you are referring here)
occasionally on business trips. I have no modem for it.
Compatibility: No problems to report using MS-Word and Javelin in DOS 3.3
(Javelin's a great program for those doing forecasting, btw)
Battery life: Important to me. After an overnight charge I turned it on
and let it sit for about 3 hours, then ran a batch file which kept
the disk light on solid. That ran for 4+ hours longer. Endurance
exceeded published specs. Your mileage may vary. It should last
through most plane trips.
Ruggedness: Well, I haven't given it to the Samsonite gorillas, but it
seems to be holding up well through its first few trips. Nothing
looks like it will be falling off anytime soon.
Readability: No complaints, but this subject tends to be subjective. I've
had no problems.
Of course, I have no relation to Toshiba or Javelin other than as a customer.
-- Skip Addison
{lll-crg, decwrl, ihnp4}!amdcad!cae780!ubvax!skip
or sun!amd!ubvax!skipandrew@kcl-cs.UUCP (Andrew B Smith) (10/12/87)
In article <3887@ihlpg.ATT.COM> jchvr@ihlpg.ATT.COM (Hartong) writes: > >Amongothers in BYTE I have seen announcements of the TOSHIBA T1000 Can you purchase them in the USA ? I am using one now, having had it for 3 weeks now. >that features a laptop ibm-pc compatible with 256kb ROM, 512KB RAM, >720-k 3.5 inch floppy, supertwiste lcd 80/25 or 640/200 screen, build in >MSDOS 2.0 etc. etc. MSDOS 2.11 is in ROM, will boot 3.2 from disc if it in the drive, otherwise boots from rom. Screen is a little smaller than t1100+. Same quality. CGA compatable. > >All waying less then 7 pounds and costing probably around $1000,= 750 pounds here. >Is is robust enough to carry everywhere I go? Very robust, comes with strong padded bag. >Is it really (?) compatible? Appears to be, runs KERMIT, PC Outline, Side Kick, Digger, Zorland C, Lightning, etc. >Is the screen good and readable? Yes, but is not backlit. >what about the optional build in modem? Price, speed? Have not purchased it. There is also an expansion RAM board taking the main ram upto 640K and 640K ram disk (LIM compatable). Ports include serial, parallel, conposite video, keypad, RGB, floppy. Only thing that is lacking is a faster clock speed (run at 4.77 MHz, you cannot put a V20 in it at the 8088 is surface mounted) but is OK for word processing and terminal use, etc.
jons@islenet.UUCP (Jonathan Spangler) (10/20/87)
In article <173@lithium.kcl-cs.UUCP> andrew@lithium.UUCP (Andrew B Smith) writes: >In article <3887@ihlpg.ATT.COM> jchvr@ihlpg.ATT.COM (Hartong) writes: > > >There is also an expansion RAM board taking the main ram upto 640K and 640K >ram disk (LIM compatable). Ports include serial, parallel, conposite video, >keypad, RGB, floppy. > One thing I might add about the T1000, is that it only has *one* 720K floppy drive, which can be a real bother if you are working with a large program like WordPerfect (I count the spelling checker as part of the program) or dBase. The expansion RAM to me would therefore become a necessity. However, there are provisions for an external floppy drive as well. I suppose I shouldn't be so hard on the machine as it is a low-end laptop geared at the student market. By the way, Toshiba will release a T5100 -- an 80386-based laptop with a 40 meg drive supposedly in January. Watch for it. Aloha, Jonathan Spangler UUCP: {ihnp4,vortex,dual}!islenet!jons OPUS/FIDONET: Sysop@(12/6) HTCS BBS (808)531-2659, 24 hrs., Honolulu -- Jonathan Spangler UUCP: {ihnp4,vortex,dual}!islenet!jons OPUS/FIDONET: Sysop@(12/6) HTCS BBS (808)531-2659, 24 hrs., Honolulu