Epson ActionNote

Last updated
ActionNote
Epson ActionNote 895CX off-angle.jpg
ActionNote 895CX
Developer Epson America
Manufacturer
Type Laptop (notebook)
Release dateApril 1993 (1993-04)
Lifespan1993–96

The ActionNote was a series of notebook-sized laptops developed by Epson America in 1993. The series was Epson's answer to the small businesses and home office market for laptops and initially ran alongside their corporate-oriented NB series of laptops. The series was segmented into premium and low-cost offerings and included a subnotebook, the ActionNote 4000. The bulk of the laptops' manufacturing was performed by ASE Technologies of Taiwan, with the exception of the 650 and 660 series, which were produced by Compal, and the short-lived initial entries into the 700 series, which were produced by Jabil Circuit. The ActionNote received mixed, mostly positive, reception in its lifespan before Epson America silently left the personal computer market in 1996. [1]

Contents

Development and specifications

Epson, which is sometimes credited for being the first to market a notebook computer with the HX-20 in 1982, [2] introduced the ActionNote series in April 1993. [3] Development for the ActionNote was led by Sanford Weisman, portable computer product manager at Epson America, who was also instrumental in the design of the company's earlier NB series of laptops. [4] In response to criticism that the purported piecemeal replacement of the NB line with the ActionNote would cause the company to fall further behind in laptop innovations, [5] Weisman said that NB would continue to be marketed simultaneously with the ActionNote—the former being sold to large businesses through reseller networks and the latter to small businesses and home office buyers through retailers. [3] All entries in the ActionNote line came preinstalled with MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows, starting with Windows 3.1 for the 4SLC-25, [6] Windows 3.11 for the 700 series, [7] and Windows 95 with the 660 and 880 series. [8]

ActionNote 500C Epson ActionNote 500C off-angle.JPG
ActionNote 500C

Epson used Cyrix's microprocessors exclusively for the ActionNote. The first laptop in the series, the ActionNote 4SLC-25, was released in April 1993 and featured a 486SLC with a clock speed of 25 MHz, [9] later bumped to 33 MHz and 50 MHz. [10] The ActionNote 4000, released in July 1993, sported a subnotebook form factor and had a 486SLC clocked at 33 MHz. [5] In February 1994, Epson introduced the 500C and 700 series ActionNotes. The former introduced a color display to the series with a passive-matrix LCD and had a 50 MHz 486SLC2, while the latter featured Cyrix's 486DX at 33 MHz. Though technically clocked slower than the 500C, the 700 machines actually were more powerful, owing to the true 32-bit nature of that processor. [11] Epson followed this up with the 766 series, the first laptop to offer Cyrix's 66-MHz 486DX2. [12]

ActionNote 650C Epson ActionNote 650C.JPG
ActionNote 650C

The 650 series, marketed as a low-cost entry to the ActionNote line-up, sold between US$1,499 and US$1,999—depending on whether the user wanted a color LCD—and featured a clock-switchable 25 or 50 MHz Cyrix DX2. [13] The more expensive 800 series upgraded the ActionNote's styling and was among the first Wintel laptops to feature an integrated touchpad, replacing the trackballs of earlier models. [14] This trackpad was manufactured by Synaptics and was the first to incorporate capacitive sensing technology. [15] The final entries in the 800 series featured 100 MHz Cyrix Cx486DX4 processors. [16] The ActionNote series ended in January 1996 with the release of the 910C, which sported a 100 MHz 5x86, manufactured by ASE. [17]

Manufacturing of the ActionNote was initially split between ASE Technologies of Taiwan and Epson's overseas plants in Singapore and Portland, Oregon, where the bulk of the company's personal computers were being manufactured. [18] ASE Technologies, the laptop-manufacturing arm of Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, was founded two years earlier, in 1991. [19] In October 1993, Epson shut down the PC production lines in their Singapore and Portland plants, repurposing them for the production of Epson's printers and scanners while simultaneously moving all PC production to Taiwan. [20]

ASE was then the sole manufacturer of ActionNotes for the next few years, [21] with the exception of the 650 and 660 series, which were produced by Compal, [22] and the 700 series, for which Epson turned to Jabil Circuit of St. Petersburg, Florida. [23] This was to be Jabil's break into the computer design industry; the company up to that point had only manufactured motherboards and components. [24] Their contract with Epson fell through 5,000 units in, when Epson sued Jabil, stating that Jabil delivered the laptops 10 months late and out of Epson's specifications for the series. In addition, Epson said that the laptops developed stress fractures in the plastic casings after minimal use due to a processing flaw on the part of Jabil. Epson claimed $50 million in lost sales. [23] Jabil sued their plastics supplier and countersued Epson, [24] citing $6.5 million in unpaid shipments. [23] The problem with the casings was later determined to be caused by lubricant in the hinges leaching into the plastics and compromising their integrity. [24]

Reception

Tom Benford of Compute! called the 4SLC-25 stylish and lightweight and praised the feel of the light touch and short travel of the keyboard. [25] He concluded that its processing power and low cost meant that the ActionNote was a "way to get 486 processing muscle without breaking the bank". [26] Catherine Kunkemueller of PC Magazine found the 4SLC-25's performance lacking on the other hand. [6] Accounting Technology praised the follow-up 4SLC-33 for its performance; like Benford, the editors also praised the keyboard. [27]

The ActionNote 4000 received mostly positive reviews. Bryan Hastings of PC World called its display small but "quite readable" and its keyboard comfortable but found the 2.5-hour battery life "on the short side" for a subnotebook. [28] ABA Journal wrote that it offered "outstanding power", delivering high-end features typical of a desktop. [29] Jean Marchant of Compute! found it a fast performer compared to other subnotebooks on the market at the time and praised the contrast of the LCD but found reservation with the keyboard layout. [30] Albert G. Holzinger and Ripley Hotch of Nation's Business called it "not quite as technologically refined" as the ThinkPad 500 but found the 4000's display and keyboard similarly high quality. [31] In a comparison with the ThinkPad 500, Byte writer Dave Rowell found that the ThinkPad "clearly comes out ahead" with respect to fit-and-finish, keyboard layout, choice of pointing device and performance. [32] In specific, Rowell found the built-in trackball of the ActionNote 4000 irritating, its display brightness and contrast controls jerky and the typing experience error-prone due to the shortening of the right Shift key and its placement next to the arrow keys, though he found the keyboard switches smoother than the ThinkPad. Rowell praised the ease of removal of the hard drive allowing for shared use of the ActionNote and its "sharp, paper-white" display. [33] InfoWorld liked the 4000's display and keyboard but found its single-hinged design made the screen wobbly. [34]

The 800 series received mixed, mostly positive, reviews. The 866C possessed a large color screen for its small size and "everything the busy salesperson would need on board" but was let down by its "somewhat clackety-noisy" and shallow-stroke keyboard, according to Jeff Hecox of Sales and Marketing Management. [35] In a review of the 880CX, Anush Yegyazarian of PC Magazine deemed it a good as a road warrior's machine but only fair as a desktop replacement. Despite the stock 8 MB of RAM leading to below-average scores in the magazine's benchmarks, Yegyazarian wrote that it offered a "an impressive array of features" for its retail price. [36] Reviewing of the 880C, Dwight Silverman of the Houston Chronicle found the included hard drive slow, hindering the relatively fast 486DX2 processor and making for slow paging with the stock 8 MB of RAM. He also criticized the use of plastic port doors, finding that they jammed and flexed and were liable to break. He called the execution of its touchpad flawed in contrast to the one on the PowerBook 500, with its left and right click buttons too small and the act of dragging and dropping items on the screen cumbersome. [37] Home Office Computing preferred the ActionNote's trackpad to the PowerBook's, on the other hand. [38]

Models

Model
no.		ProcessorClock speed
(MHz)		Max. memory LCD technologyLCD size and resolutionDate
4SLC-25 486SLC 258Monochrome passive10 in, VGA April 1993 [9]
4000486SLC338Monochrome passive7.5 in, VGAJune 1993 [5]
4SLC-33486SLC338Monochrome passive10 in, VGAAugust 1993 [39]
4SLC2-50 486SLC2 508Monochrome passive10 in, VGAJanuary 1994 [40]
500C486SLC2508Color passive8.4 in, VGAFebruary 1994 [11]
700 486DX 3316Monochrome passive9.5 in, VGAFebruary 1994 [41]
700C486DX3316Color passive9.5 in, VGAFebruary 1994 [41]
700CX486DX3316Color active8.5 in, VGAFebruary 1994 [41]
766486DX6620Monochrome passive9.5 in, VGASeptember 1994 [12]
766C486DX6620Color passive9.5 in, VGASeptember 1994 [12]
766CX486DX6620Color active8.5 in, VGASeptember 1994 [12]
650 486DX2 6620Monochrome passive9.4 in, VGAOctober 1994 [13]
650C486DX26620Color passive10.3 in, VGAOctober 1994 [13]
866C486DX26624Color passive10.3 in, VGAJanuary 1995 [42]
880C486DX26624Color passive10.3 in, VGAFebruary 1995 [42]
880CX486DX26624Color active10.4 in, VGAApril 1995 [42]
660C486DX26624Color passive10.3 in, VGAAugust 1995 [43]
660CX486DX26624Color active9.5 in, VGAAugust 1995 [43]
890 486DX4 10024Monochrome passive9.5 in, VGAOctober 1995 [16]
890C 486DX4 10024Color passive10.4 in, VGAOctober 1995 [16]
890CX486DX410024Color active10.4 in, VGAOctober 1995 [16]
895C486DX410024Color passive10.4 in, VGAOctober 1995 [16]
895CX486DX410024Color active10.4 in, VGAOctober 1995 [16]
910C 5x86 10024Color passive10.4 in, VGAJanuary 1996 [44]

Citations

  1. ↑ Staff writer 1996, p. 59; Lanctot 1997, p. 43.
  2. ↑ Vose 2003, p. 1415; Sherrer 1995, p. 44.
  3. 1 2 Emigh 1993b.
  4. ↑ Zimmerman 1993, p. 17; Krohn 1990, p. 23.
  5. 1 2 3 Emigh 1993a.
  6. 1 2 Kunkemueller 1993, p. 178.
  7. ↑ Staff writer 1994b.
  8. ↑ Epson America 1995.
  9. 1 2 Zimmerman 1993, p. 17.
  10. ↑ Staff writer 1993a, p. 3; Staff writer 1994a, p. C12.
  11. 1 2 Boudette 1993, p. 27.
  12. 1 2 3 4 McLaughlin 1994, p. 58.
  13. 1 2 3 Zimmerman 1994, p. 57.
  14. ↑ Staff writer 1995b, p. 45; Silvius 1995, p. 71.
  15. ↑ Miner 1994, p. 39; Levin 1994, p. 31.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Staff writer 1995d, p. 39.
  17. ↑ Lee & DeVoe 1995, p. 25; Zimmerman 1995, p. 41.
  18. ↑ Howard 1993, p. 240; Howard 1994, p. 138; Miyazawa 1993.
  19. ↑ ASE Technologies 1998.
  20. ↑ Miyazawa 1993.
  21. ↑ Howard 1993, p. 167; ASE Technologies 1998.
  22. ↑ Fedco Batteries n.d.
  23. 1 2 3 Cohen 1994, p. 1E.
  24. 1 2 3 Roth 1998, p. 251.
  25. ↑ Benford 1993, p. 20.
  26. ↑ Benford 1993, p. 21.
  27. ↑ Cohn, Zuckerman & Needleman 1994, p. 17.
  28. ↑ Hastings 1993, p. 74.
  29. ↑ Staff writer 1993b.
  30. ↑ Marchant 1994, pp. 18–19.
  31. ↑ Holzinger & Hotch 1993, p. 44.
  32. ↑ Rowell 1993, pp. 252–253.
  33. ↑ Rowell 1993, pp. 250–251.
  34. ↑ Paul 1993, p. 59.
  35. ↑ Hecox 1995, p. 40.
  36. ↑ Yegyazarian 1995, p. 167.
  37. ↑ Silverman 1995, p. 8.
  38. ↑ Staff writer 1995a.
  39. ↑ Staff writer 1993a, p. 3.
  40. ↑ Staff writer 1994a, p. C12.
  41. 1 2 3 Ryan 1993, p. 101.
  42. 1 2 3 Staff writer 1995b, p. 45; Silvius 1995, p. 71; Epson America 1995.
  43. 1 2 Staff writer 1995c, p. 43.
  44. ↑ Lee & DeVoe 1995, p. 25.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zenith Data Systems</span> American computer company (1979–1996)

Zenith Data Systems Corporation (ZDS) was an American computer systems manufacturing company active from 1979 to 1996. It was originally a division of the Zenith Radio Company, after they had purchased the Heath Company and, by extension, their Heathkit line of electronic kits and kit microcomputers, from Schlumberger in October 1979. ZDS originally operated from Heath's own headquarters in St. Joseph, Michigan. By the time Zenith acquired Heathkit, their H8 kit computer already had an installed fanbase of scientific engineers and computing enthusiasts. ZDS' first offerings were merely preassembled versions of existing Heathkit computers, but within a few years, the company began selling bespoke systems, including the Z-100, which was a hybrid 8085- and 8088-based computer capable of running both CP/M and MS-DOS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Compaq LTE</span> Line of laptop computers

The LTE is a line of notebook-sized laptops manufactured by Compaq Computer Corporation, introduced in 1989 and discontinued in 1997. It was the first notebook computer sold by Compaq and the first commercially successful notebook that was compatible with the IBM PC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Subnotebook</span> Obsolete term for smaller laptops

Subnotebook, also called ultraportable, superportable, or mini notebook, was a marketing term for laptop computers that are smaller and lighter than a typical notebook-sized laptop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dynabook Satellite</span> Line of laptops by Toshiba

The Satellite Pro is a line of laptop computers designed and manufactured by Dynabook Inc. of Japan, which was formerly Toshiba's computer subsidiary. The Satellite Pro is currently positioned between their consumer E series and their business Tecra series of products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IBM ThinkPad 365</span> Notebook computer series by IBM

The IBM ThinkPad 365 is a notebook computer series developed by IBM and manufactured by ASE Group. It was released in North America in November 1995, and was the successor of the ThinkPad 360 series. The series had 8 models that were released before being discontinued, and was succeeded in 1997 by the ThinkPad 380 series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Packard Bell Statesman</span> Economy line of notebook computers

The Packard Bell Statesman was an economy line of notebook-sized laptops introduced in 1993 by Packard Bell. They were slower in performance and lacked features compared to most competitor products, but they were lower in price. It was created in a collaboration between Packard Bell and Zenith Data Systems. The Statesman series was essentially a rebrand of Zenith Data Systems Z-Star 433 series, with the only notable difference of the logo in the middle and text on the front bezel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Compaq LTE Lite</span> 1990s series of notebook-sized laptops

The LTE Lite was a series of notebook-sized laptops under the LTE line manufactured by Compaq from 1992 to 1994. The first entries in the series were Compaq's first computers after co-founder Rod Canion's ousting and Eckhard Pfeiffer's tenure as the new CEO. The notebooks were co-developed and manufactured by Compaq and Citizen Watch of Japan. They were a hot-seller for Compaq and spanned multiple models, with various processors and liquid-crystal display technologies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital HiNote</span> Laptops by Digital Equipment Corporation

The Digital HiNote was a series of laptop computers manufactured by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) from 1994 until 1998 and by Compaq from 1998 until 2002. It was generally positively reviewed by technology journalists. The series consisted of the VP and Ultra models which were based on the i486, Pentium, Pentium MMX and Pentium II. After Digital was acquired by Compaq in 1998, the series was phased out.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canon NoteJet</span> Canon NoteJet notebook computer with built-in printer

The Canon NoteJet is a series of notebook computers which include a printer and scanner that was manufactured from 1993 to 1995 by a joint venture between the Canon subsidiary Canon Computer Systems Inc. and IBM subsidiary IBM Japan. The Canon branded series was sold worldwide except in Japan, where the similar IBM ThinkPad 555BJ and 550BJ was sold. The European model did not use the NoteJet branding and was branded as the Canon BN120C, BN22 or BN200.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reply Corporation</span> American computer company

Reply Corporation, often shortened to Reply Corp., was an American computer company based in San Jose, California. Founded in 1988 by Steve Petracca, the company licensed the Micro Channel architecture from IBM for their own computers released in 1989, competing against IBM's PS/2 line. The company later divested from offering complete systems in favor of marketing motherboard upgrades for older PS/2s. Reply enjoyed a close relationship with IBM, owing to many of its founding employees, including Petracca, having worked for IBM. The company was acquired by Radius in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NEC Versa</span> Line of laptops sold by NEC

The Versa was a line of laptop computers sold by the Japanese electronics conglomerate NEC Corporation from 1993 to 2009. It comprised many form factors of laptops, from conventional clamshell notebooks to pen-enabled convertibles featuring detachable displays, before the line was effectively discontinued in 2009 after NEC pulled out of the global market for personal computers.

The PB286LP, released in 1989, was Packard Bell's first laptop computer. The laptop featured an 80C286 processor clocked at 12 MHz and 1 MB of RAM, along with a single ISA expansion slot. Packard Bell released the PB286LP in 1989 among a slew of products aimed at the corporate market. Technology writers gave it mostly positive reviews, although some noted its 16-lb weight as hefty and its monochrome LCD as somewhat flawed. Originally only capable of CGA-mode graphics, the laptop was updated in 1990 to support VGA. Packard Bell discontinued the PB286LP in 1991, in favor of more-compact, notebook-sized computers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canon Computer Systems</span> American subsidiary (1992–2001)

Canon Computer Systems, Inc. (CCSI), sometimes shortened to Canon Computer, was an American subsidiary of Canon Inc. formed in 1992 to develop and market the parent company's personal computers and workstations. The subsidiary also assumed the responsibility of marketing Canon's printers and photocopiers, which were formerly sold by other Canon divisions. It went defunct in January 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DTK Computer</span> Taiwanese computer company

DTK Computer is the name for international branches of Datatech Enterprises, a Taiwanese computer manufacturer. Founded in 1981, the company was an early supplier of peripherals for IBM PCs as well as PC compatible motherboards. In the late 1980s, the company switched to developing complete systems under the DTK name as well as serving as an OEM for motherboards and cases, as bought by other small computer companies and systems integrators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DECpc</span>

DECpc was a wide-ranging family of desktop computers, laptops, servers, and workstations sold by Digital Equipment Corporation. The vast majority in the family are based on x86 processors, although the APX 150 uses DEC's own Alpha processor. The line was DEC's first big break into the IBM PC compatible market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TriGem</span> South Korean computer manufacturer

TriGem Computer Co., Ltd., was a South Korean personal computer manufacturer and technology company. Established in 1980, TriGem was the first Korean company dedicated to manufacturing computer systems. It delivered Korea's first microcomputer in 1981 and the first Korean IBM PC compatibles in 1984. From that point until its breakup in 2010, it alternated between the first- and second-largest computer manufacturer in South Korea, competing with Samsung Electronics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Compaq LTE Elite</span> Series of notebook-sized laptop comports

The LTE Elite was a series of notebook-sized laptops under the LTE line manufactured by Compaq from 1994 to 1996. All laptops in the LTE Elite range sported Intel's i486 processors, from the 40 MHz DX2 to the 75 MHz DX4. The LTE Elite was the first notebook-sized laptop to house the AC adapter inside the case itself, eliminating the need to carry an external power brick. The LTE Elite line was replaced by the LTE 5000 series in 1995. Compaq ceased manufacturing the LTE Elite line in March 1996. Due to several recalls and a delayed rollout of the machines, the LTE Elite was overall a sales disappointment for Compaq, with rival Toshiba overtaking them as the top laptop maker in the United States in 1994 and 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Compaq LTE 5000 series</span>

The LTE 5000 series was a series of notebook-sized laptops under the LTE line manufactured by Compaq from 1995 to 1997. The LTE 5000 series was Compaq's first laptop with Pentium processors from Intel. The line of computers were co-developed between Compaq and Inventec of Taiwan and were manufactured entirely by Inventec overseas. The LTE 5000 series was the last generation in the LTE line, Compaq replacing it with the Armada line in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Notebook form factor</span> Obsolete size class of laptops

A notebook computer or notebook was historically a laptop whose length and width approximate that of letter paper.

The CF-V21P is a notebook-sized laptop released by Panasonic in 1993. It was the first notebook computer to have an integrated CD-ROM drive as an option, albeit it only supports up to 3.5-inch-diameter mini CDs instead of standard 4.7-inch-diameter discs. It was discontinued in 1994.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.