In Early PDA Crescendo, Libretto Drew Big Fans
Just 10 years after the introduction of the IBM PC, the power of that computer was available in a hand-held device.
In 1991, Hewlett-Packard introduced the HP 95LX, which combined a version of the Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet and data-communication capabilities in a palmtop package. I remember using one, along with a radio modem, after the 1994 Northridge quake to send and receive messages from my apartment in Woodland Hills.
From that introduction, hand-helds gained power and capability. By 1996, Microsoft was touting the “Handheld PC” that ran a stripped-down version of the Windows operating system, Windows CE.
But for many users, stripped down was not good enough. The search was on for a hand-held that, while not having the power of a Pentium III, could run at least a basic version of Windows at a reasonable speed.
Enter the Libretto from Toshiba in 1996.
Its first two models, the 20 and 30, sold only in Japan. But in January 1997, the Libretto 50 came to the United States.
Not much larger than a VHS tape and weighing just over 1 3/4 pounds, this Libretto quickly gained a cult following among computer technicians and gadgetheads who could not be without the latest electronic gizmo.
The device came equipped with an Intel Pentium processor, the Windows 95 operating system and standard PC connections, including a PC Card slot. It was capable and small enough to be carried on a tool belt by workers who installed computer networks. Executives could use the Libretto to check e-mail on the road or even do a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation.
Some Libretto owners upgraded and hacked on their own. One enterprising Swiss user has tweaked and upgraded his Libretto to hold a 3.2-gigabyte hard disk drive and run the Linux operating system. Others souped up the device to achieve more speed.
The Libretto was “not quite pocketable,” admitted Toshiba executive Steven Andler, but it “did stuff no other product did at the time” considering its size.
Several updates of the Libretto came to the U.S., but the product never took off. Some reviewers, myself among them, faulted the unit’s tiny keyboard.
In the meantime, the keyboard-less Palm and Pocket PC devices were making gains. Now available is a Pocket PC device with 64 MB of RAM--double that of the original Libretto--and it fits in your shirt pocket.
The newest version of the Libretto, released in Japan in May, is faster and more comfortable to use than its predecessors, but at a price--size. This Libretto has grown to the size of a standard letter pad. The advantage is that its keyboard is suitable for larger hands.
Toshiba currently has no plans to bring this new model to the U.S., but Andler said, “We will definitely do something in that class in the United States.”
In the meantime, for those willing to risk $1,999 on the gray market, Chicago-based importerDynamism.com offers the new Libretto plus a lineup of upgrades.
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Mark A. Kellner is editor at large for Government Computer News and host of “Mark Kellner on Computers” at https://www.adrenalineradio.com from 5 to 6 p.m. Thursdays.
