Atom's Stationary Museum

Atom's Stationary Museum

My first (electronic) stationary was an HP35 scientific calculator. I was working in the U.S. in 1972, the year when the HP35 was announced. I ordered it the moment I saw it advertised. Apparently they encountered unforeseen development problems, and therefore, the actual delivery of the unit was delayed more than six months, very unusual for Hewlett Packard Company.
Although this machine is no longer in my possession, it was the beginning of my love affair with the HP and their "electronic stationary".
(The years cited below are the year I got the unit and does not necessarily mean the year of introduction.)

HP Machines

HP35	The first scientific calculator from Hewlett Packard. Use of reverse Polish notation (RPN) enabled complex computations without use of parenthesis. It used to amuse me to think that I can hold a device which can give me the logarithm of any number to the 10th digit accuracy whereas my bulky logarithmic table book which I used to use in my University days had only 6-digit accuracy.
HP65	The first programmable scientific calculator from HP. It had magnetic card reader by which one could save/ restore programs as well as data.
HP41C	The first programmable scientific calculator with liquid crystal display. It was also the first with Alfa display capability. CMOS technology enabled "continuous memory" operation in which program and data remained intact while the machine is turned off. Nowadays, this is a trivial function, but back then, it was a great improvement. It used a special interconnect method called HP-IL, and through this loop, various peripheral devices such as the printer, the data tape drive can be connected.
HP95Lx	HP's first "Palmtop PC". It used MS DOS operating system burned in ROM. It also had the "system manager" through which multiple applications can be "loaded" simultaneously and can be switched to and from any of them by a push of an application button.
HP100Lx	HP100 has display resolution of 640x200 i.e. Half VGA. Compatibility with existing DOS programs expanded enormously. It is believed that HP engineers named this model 100 because they thought they implemented 100 percent of what they wanted to implement.
HP200Lx	HP's standard Palmtop. There are lots to talk about.
HP620Lx	This model's name inherits Lx series Palmtop machines. But this model uses Microsoft's Windows operating system ver.1.01(?) In addition to the standard PDA applications that came with the WindowsCE OS, HP added HP'S special applications such as monthly calendar viewer and backup tool. This particular machine used to slow down from time to time and users were forced to do soft-resets.
HP Jornada680	Second generation of WindowsCE machine from HP. Microsoft kept changing their name for OS, but this is the second generation. HP changed their naming convention as well. Now this model is called Jornada and it came with a violet casing color, rather feminine flavor.
HP 35s	After 35 years since the first HP35 was introduced, HP came up with the new calculator: HP 35s and, I jumped on it, of cause. It is a programmable machine with two line LCD display. It has the same key click feeling as with all the previous HP calculators.(2007)

Other Machines

Mobile Gear MC-K1	First generation of NEC's Mobile Gear. It is based on an MS DOS but with a shell called Uni-shell. This shell enabled multiple programs to be launched simultaneously and switched by pressing of application buttons, the same way as HP's Lx. It had a built-in modem and came with it's own e-mail software (called MG mail) and BBS access software.
Mobile Gear CS12	Third generation Mobile Gear from NEC. It uses WindowsCE ver.1.1. It had a built-in modem and came with, in addition to MS supplied PDA applications, the original "MG mail" software.
Zaurus MI30	This color Zaurus uses reflective type color LCD panel. Therefore, its battery life is almost the same as B/W model. I tried to get used to its operations, but failed to understand the filing methodology.
Palm Pilot 1000	First generation Palm Pilot. At that time, only English version and no Japanese version was available. Mr.Yamada, with determination and single-handed, succeeded in adding the Japanese language capability. (Display as well as Entering Japanese)
WorkPad C3(IBM)	IBM version of Palm. Beginning from this model, vendor version of Japanese language capability became available. Hence, we could start using the machine the moment we purchased it.
Sony Clie	Sony version of Palm. A Sony like smallish design. It was very popular at the time of the first introduction. Therefore, I had to pre-register it to get it. This color model uses "semi-reflective type" LCD. Because of this, and because back light is very dim, readability is very poor; a major drawback for this model.
Sigmarion(NTT Docomo)	Hand-held PC from NTT Docomo. It uses WindowsCE ver.2.1. Intended for "mobile uses", it does not have built-in modem, but you can hook-up to either cell phone or PHS phone with optional cable and be connected to the net wirelessly. Catalog value for battery life is about 8 hours per charge, long enough for going several days without recharging.
Psion mx5	Developed in England, this unit uses unique operating system called EPOC. A very compact design. A third party has localized this unit to Japanese language. Its operation is user friendly and presents no problem as long as you operate within the machine. Exchanging data with "other world" is a little tricky because this unit uses uni-code as multi-byte language support whereas majority of Japanese systems uses "shift-JIS" code for Japanese language representation. Communication is another weak point for this machine. It comes equipped only with a serial port. Therefore, you have to either buy an external modem or cell phone equipped with an IR to be connected.
Palm Vx	My forth Palm machine. (2002)
Sony Clie PEG-SJ33	This unit is equipped with a backlit LCD color display which is a lot easier to view than the previous "semi-reflective" display.(2003)
Sony Clie PEG-TH55	With 320x320 display, it is a wonderful improvement on resolution. Icons are much pleasant looking and more readable. It also came with a camera and sound recorder. Unfortunately, it is one of Sony's last generation of PDAs.(2005)