DENNETT@SRI-NIC.ARPA (Steve Dennett) (08/08/85)
Steve,
I've owned a Compaq "transportable" for over a year and am quite pleased
with it as a computer. However, the Compaq (and other "transportables")
are really rather a nuisance to carry farther than from home => car =>
work, etc. At ~30 pounds and sewing-machine size, they probably aren't
what your friend wants.
Money is probably the crucial factor. The lightest, highest quality
lap-top are the GRID machines. They recently introduced a line of
fully IBM PC compatibles called the GRiDCase 1, 2, and 3. These
weigh about 12 pounds, have an 80C86 cpu, and 1 720K 3-1/2" disk
drive. Accessories include a 5-1/4" drive (external) for loading IBM PC
programs, an expansion chassis, and an internal 1200 baud modem. Prices
depend on how much you value your eyes, as follows:
GRiDCase I (LCD regular LCD screen) $2975
GRiDCase II (enhanced [backlit] LCD screen) $3150
GRiDCase III (plasma display screen) $4350
RGB video out port $ 350
Internal 300/1200 baud modem $ 795
As you can see, not cheap.
A new machine your friend might be more interested in is the
Panasonic Executive Partner (not to be confused with the older Sr. Partner).
This machine is a laptop with a plasma display screen and built in thermal
printer, and supposedly will sell for around $2600. [I've only seen ads
for this one-- see the August issue of Byte, pg. 63].
Hope this helps.
Steve Dennett
dennett@sri-nic.arpa
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