Epson PX-8 Geneva
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The Epson PX-8 aka Geneva was a small laptop computer made by the Epson Corporation in the mid-1980s.
It had a Z-80 compatible microprocessor, and ran a customized version of the CP/M-80 operating system as well as various applications from a pair of ROM cartridge slots. For file storage, it had a microcassette drive.
The PX-8 did not have any internal disk drive, and instead allowed either memory to be partitioned into application memory and a RAM disk, or an external 64 KB or 128 KB RAM disk module to be attached; the RAM disk module also had a backup battery for the RAM disk and an additional ROM (64 KB version only) cartridge slot. Data can be saved onto the built-in micro cassette tape drive.
The PX-8 had an 80 column by 8 line LCD display, which was monochromatic and non-backlit. It used an internal nickel-cadmium battery, and had a battery life in the range of 6-8 hours when using word-processing software.
There were a number of proprietary accessories available including a portable printer, bar code reader, and an early 3.5-inch diskette drive, the PF-10. The disk drives from the HX-20 could also be used. For the ROM cartridge slots a number of applications were available: Basic, CP/M utilities, Portable WordStar, CalcStar, Scheduler and dBase II.
The PX-8 was not initially a commercial success, especially compared against the TRS-80 Model 100 portable computer but achieved some increased success after a large number were sold discounted in the United States through the DAK Catalog. The PX-8 combined some of the features from its predecessors, the HX-20 being portable, battery operated and the QX-10 being CP/M compatible.
In 1985 Epson introduced the PX-4, combining features from both the PX-8 and the HX-20.
[edit] External links
- ByteCellar's 1984 PX-8 magazine review scans
- Epson PX-8 used as Mac OS X dumb terminal
- PX-8 info, documentation and software
- USA patent on the PX-8
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