Epson PX-8 Geneva

Epson PX-8 Geneva

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. For the ROM cartridge slots a number of applications were available: Basic, CP/M utilities, Portable WordStar, CalcStar and Scheduler.

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.

External links

* [http://www.bytecellar.com/archives/000123.php ByteCellar's 1984 PX-8 magazine review scans]
* [http://www.bytecellar.com/archives/000143.php Epson PX-8 used as Mac OS X dumb terminal]


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