#Wanted: Amiga Laptop
34 messages in this thread
If C= doesn't produce a laptop soon, I swear I'll be forced to give up my
allegiances to Amiga and switch to Macintosh. I particularly need a laptop
and I've been waiting a year for C= to announce one. The laptops announced
by Newer Technology never eventuated. Does anyone have any rumors of C='s
plans on this front, or can anyone tell me of some alternative way I can
obtain one. In fact I don't even really need a laptop; a portable would
do: if anyone knows how to attach a compact LED display to an A600 that
might do the trick.
How about one of those tiny little TV sets?
—Betty
Hi Betty
I missed Richard Englands post (I gather he is buying a non-amiga
laptop out of frustration). I have used a black&white survelience monitor
with a A500 for a "transportable" Amy for years. I also see no reason one
of the little color TV's couldn't perhaps use the A1200 TV output. I know
at least one of them has a way to do that.
The price of color VGA flat screen pc portables is now so reasonable I
must admit I am tempted too, and it shows CBM that it certainly can be
done for a reasonable price once the CMOS chips get here.
Tom, frustrated in Oklahoma City
Several years ago, one of the (then) leaders from CBM spoke at my computer
club and the topic of laptops came up. At that time, we were told that no
one at Commodore could imagine a satisfactory Amiga with a gray-scale LCD
screen, and that when color screens were reasonable in price they would
probably make a laptop. However – this was several years, and about that
many administrators, ago. What they have in mind now, who knows? I only
know that I've heard absolutely nothing about their working on one, but I
do notice that most of their new chips coming out are CMOS chips.
—Betty
Betty, the topic came up again at DevCon in January. C= management is
still hung up on "If it ain't color, it ain't an Amiga"
There are quite a few color laptops and notebooks now. And the prices are
getting quite reasonable. Have you looked at the Toshiba 1800C? I should
think that if Toshiba can do it, Commodore should be able to do it, too.
—Betty
Betty, well, the other problem is the chips not being low power. I, for
one, don't need a laptop/notebook. What I need is something that will
travel well,and let me work (edit/compile/telecom) when I'm in the motel
room.
I think lots of people could work without the battery option – just a
small, easily transported Amiga, such as you mention. The 600 comes
close, if one could carry a small TV or could use the TV in a motel room,
except that a TV is so poor for text work. We do need a good screen and a
small Amiga, but it does not have to run off batteries (though that would
be awfully nice.)
—Betty
Have you considered the CASIO LCD TV's? their awfully small (5") but
very compact. I know they would work with the Amiga because the sell
them as Camcorder monitors.
Actually, I was not looking for something for myself, but was making
a suggestion to someone else. I hope they see yours, because it
sounds like a good idea.
Any idea what these things would cost? I guess for games maybe, but for
text they could be pretty hard to read.
Don't have my photo mags with me at work – but I seem to remember the cost was
in the 100-200 dollar range.
Vic –
> I, for one, don't need a laptop/notebook. What I need is something
> that will travel well,and let me work (edit/compile/telecom) when I'm
> in the motel room.
RIGHT ON!
CBM: just make it reasonably _portable_ , using active-matrix LCD color,
and I for one think it would be VERY popular.
Particularly if (a) it had a built-in mouse/trackball, and (b) was big
enough for an internal card or two.
Imagine switching among Amax, a 486 bridgeboard, and native Ami — on a
VGA-rez color portable — in front of your co-workers, or your
competition!
. . . . JimDoc, on AutoPilot
Hell, just being able to purchase the LCD color flatscreen as an OPTION would
be nice. I've often thought that the A500 was a good choice for portability,
and with the addition of a attachment screen for the traveller, they might have
sold a few more machines.
<Dave>
I don't need active-matrix LCD (which is expensive). If C= insist
on color, the passive matrix will be good enough. BTW, RGB and
Composite output SHOULD be there tho, so when I bring it back to the
office, I can plug into my regular monitor.
Vic,
I just returned from a week long business trip and took my new Amiga 1200
for use in the hotel room. Hooked it up to the SpectraVision box at nite
and computed away. I wish they had made it with out the numeric keypad so
it would have been smaller but I found a Samsonite hardshell overnite
case, that you can carry onto airplanes, cut some foam to stuff around it
and it worked like a charm.
Robert
Yeah, you can use it the way you say but I would much rather have a color
notebook/portable. I think carrying around an A500/A600/A1200 with a color
display or using a TV just makes the Amiga look cheap. We need a nice high
quality portable machine. I would be the first in line to buy a notebook. It
would be nice to be able to carry my Amiga with me. I have to use PC type
machines at work all day and hate it. At least I could use my Amiga during
lunch! Ahh, now that would be nice…
Hi Betty
Yeh, that is what I heard too. I wanted a B&W, I want a color laptop
too, and now I see PC laptops with color VGA at very competitive prices. I
did read that the VP engineering promised at WOC Toronto they would wait
until the CMOS chipset for a laptop due to the battery drain problem. OK.
I really think there is a market, though. If they are nothing else, Amiga
users have learned to be good mushrooms and wait.
Tom.
"Amiga users have learned to be good mushrooms"
In more ways than one.
–Ben
…via AutoPilot
You Know what they say about us Photo techs ? And Amiga Users!!!
We're kept in the dark, and costantly fed Bulls*&t………..
Someone had to say it :^)
….John
I guess. :^)
–Ben
…via AutoPilot
I know of no rumors or even hints to that effect. I *do* know that the
newest chips are CMOS, which is a step in the right direction but no
promise in any way that they will take any other steps.
I also want an Amiga laptop in the worst way – I'm not about to bugger off
if I can't get one, can't really, but I can't say I blame you a bit.
Call CBM and tell em when you go, will you?
–Ben
…via AutoPilot
a VERY expensive way to go: A500 with FFV and HD in the case, and one of
the VGA compatible flat panel color LED displays (about $1.5K).
wmc – via Autopilot!
Wayne
you are right, I don't understand the high cost of those VGA panels. It
just can't be justifiable with complete VGA laptops now selling for only
$200. more complete with 100mb harddrives and all.
Any way to find these panels at surplus prices I wonder? Would be nice.
Tom, from Oklahoma City
I assume that the quote of $200. for a complete VGA laptop was a typo. What
price did you mean. If that's a real price please provide details.
Two other thoughts. Commodore may not be satisfied with the response time of
the passive matrix LCD displays though many customers of the PC laptop world
seem satisfied (hey, even Apple finally got around to getting a color model
out). The second point is that the active matrix displays look spectacular but
are still very expensive. An active matrix display has a driver transistor
running every pixel – and there are 3 colors for every dot in a color display.
The yields at the factory for what are in effect one giant IC are still low.
Look at the problems Apple is having for its b/w active matrix display in the
Powerbook 180.
Mike
I don't have my message archived anymore, but yes it was intended to
be $2000.00 naturally. I was seeing it in a magazine dedicated to
laptops. I read that also about the yield on passive matrix being so
low, one reason I was surprised at the low cost of PC laptops with
color LCDS. I once managed a repair shop that ran hundreds of Zenith
laptops with B/W vga screens through it each month, so I realize the
problems and fragility of the screens…the contrast starts fading
the day it ships.
Yet everyone from Popular Science to Scientific American are telling
us that the giant wall screen is only a couple of years away. As the
cockneys would say "porkie pies, telling lies".
I still want a laptop Amiga 5000 as soon as possible.
If I recall, your message had a typo with $200. instead of $2000. which caused
my surprise [to say the least].
I want my laptop Amiga 5000 also! Hey if there can be SEVERAL different laptop
Sun Sparcstations available, there ought to be someone Commodore can cooperate
with to make it. Sun took the right approach, they didn't have the expertise
inhouse and didn't want to invest their money/people in learning it. So they
worked with a company which did have the expertise and got a good product for a
limited market.
Mike
That is exactly right, Apple went to Japan, and CBM should do the same if
that is where the know-how now resides for that niche.
I just looked today at a Tandy (I know) notebook B&W VGA 486 with 60mb HD
for $1100.00 that had internal NiCads good for 4 hours and it was truely
notebook size. This can't be as hard as people are teling us. I guess it
is for a limited market today, but I think personally that the future is
really with the notebook and palmtop computer, not the desktop. The far
future is probably the wrist computer/communicator. If CBM want to be on
the leading edge that is the direction to go.
C= allegedly has said it doesn't want to do a laptop Amiga until color
LCDs improve. Why not a monochrome laptop? If the argument is that Amigas
need to show off their color capabilities, why did C= support the A2024
hi-res monochrome monitor for the Amiga? I can think of lots of utility in
a monochrome laptop. I know that the Amiga custom chips drink power, but I
can't imagine a monochrome LCD laptop with a PCMCIA slot consuming all
that much juice.
They supported the 2024 because at the time, DTP was the "golden child",
not color.
–Ben
…via AutoPilot
So what's the "golden child" these days? 🙂
"color".
–Ben
…via AutoPilot
Does anyone know if C= is trying to develop 3.3v versions of thier custom
chips? Seems that would be the way to go toward developing laptop Amigas.
Maybe by the time portable color displays are up to the "C= standard" C= could
have a chip set ready to "really do business" in the laptop market.
— Peter.
I agree, and even if the ECS chipset is power hungry, would you have been
able to justify $2000.00 (for example) for an LCD'ized A500 that you could
have pluged into the mains in your hotel room for the last 5 years? I know
I could have found a use for it over all these years.
Now I admit it would be better to wait for the CMOS AAA chipset and a
color screen, but the B&W screens don't fade out as bad when viewed from a
side angle as the color ones do either.
Nice to know other people wanted this too though.
Tom, Oklahoma City