8bit-Micro.com - TRS-80 Laptops

The TRS-80 Laptop Computers

WWW.8BIT-MICRO.COM ONLINE VINTAGE COMPUTER MAGAZINE

	LAPTOP PC'S Early Intel and Zilog CPU based portable personal computers . Tandy 1400LT Tandy 1400FD Tandy 1100FD Tandy 1110HD
	NOTEBOOK PC'S Early ultra-light personal computers based on Intel and Zilog CPU's. These units are all unique in their class. TRS-80 Model 100 Tandy Model 102 Tandy Model 200 Citizen CBM-10WP Tandy WP2/3 LASER PC4/5 Brother PN-4400/8500 QuickPAD NEC 8300 Amstrad NC-100/200
	RARE LAPTOP PC's Early Laptop computers that were to little to late for their marketplace. These units missed the mark when the Intel 8808 CPU and MS-DOS was being favored by manufacturers NEC 8401 Tandy 600
	LUGGABLE PC'S Early portable computers characterized by weight and size. Marketed as the companion to the busy professional. These units were being sold side by side with the earliest notebooks. TRS-80 Model 4p Osborne I Kaypro II Olivetti Portable Page

First Released: 1985

CPU: 8 bit 80C85 CMOS

Model 600 CPU: 16 bit 80C88 CMOS

RAM: 8k - 32k (224k for Model 600)

ROM: 32K - 72K (160K for Model 600)

Ports: One serial ports, One parallel

port

Modem: 300 baud Internal

Display 100 & 102: 8 x 40 LCD

Display 200: 16 x 40 LCD

Display 600: 80 x 16 LCD & 480 x 128

Graphics

Storage Model 100/120 & 200: Tape

Storage Model 600: Internal 3.5" 360K

Floppy

Operating System: MS-Multiplan, Basic

One distinction that Tandy can still hang onto is they marketed a laptop considered a first

that is still used professionally today. Having said that, the laptop we speak of is the TRS-

80, Tandy Model 100. By today's standard this unit is considered a word processor, but it

has the ability load and run business applications, games, and yes even a web server. (we

didn't make the last one up!)

Tandy produced an impressive

line-up, they first came out with a

hefty 3lbs unit dubbed the Model

100 and upgraded the unit as a

Model 102. They had a 8 x 40

LCD display, 32K in ROM and 24K

in RAM. (The Model 100 came

out with as little as 8K RAM) They

had a full 56-Key typewriter

keyboard and ran on only 4 AA

batteries! All this running on an 8-

bit 80C85 CPU with a clock speed

of 2.4 Mhz.. The Tandy model

102 has another distinction. It is

also the first laptop to be launched

in outer space on the space shuttle.

Tandy followed up those models

with modified versions. The Model 200 and Model 600. The Model 200 had an

improved display that folded open giving it a more modern look. The Tandy 200 had 16

x 40 LCD display and an expandable ROM to 104 Kbytes.

The Model 600 was a vastly

improved unit, but with

improvement went the very small

footprint and light weight

advantage of the Models 100 -

200. The Model 600 was

designed on a 16 bit 80C88 CPU

with a clock speed of 3.07 Mhz.,

160K ROM with 32K RAM

expandable to 224 Kbytes. It also

had a full sized keyboard, 80 x 16

LCD folding display supporting

480 x 128 dot graphics It also had

an internal 3.5"

360K floppy drive. Gone was the ability to run on 4 AA batteries. The Model 600 had an internal rechargeable battery claiming 6 hours of

operating time on one charge. The Tandy Model 600 weighed in at a hefty 9.5 lbs.

Tandy produced all these units with built-in software and supporting internal modems. The software loaded was a special version of Multiplan

giving the user Microsoft Word, a calendar, address book, modem dialer and terminal program as well as a very good little spreadsheet

program. The Model 600 had improved applications which included a configurable database application and contact manager. These

programs were all preinstalled on the ROM.

Richard Hansen Co-founder of Club 100 was recently interviewed on TECH-TV about the

current usage of the Tandy 100 and 102. He hi-lights how a Tandy 102 is installed in

every scrolling traffic sign in North America.

In 1991 Tandy released the Tandy WP2 (Word processor 2) and later followed up with

the WP3. This unit was marketed as a laptop word processor and included a similar

ROM pack found in the Model 100. The WP2 ROM was 256K and the it had 32K RAM

expandable to 64K. The machine was built on a Z80-type CPU with 5.5296 MHz clock

speed. The WP2 included a built in word processor a spell checker and a

communications program. Ports were included for tape storage, serial and parallel. This

unit is worth mentioning here because it was very much like the Model 100 in size,

keyboard and operation right down to the fact that it ran for 12 hours on 4 AA batteries,

and looked suspiciously like the original Model 100 and 102. Today you can still

download a WP2DOS program from Club 100 allowing you to use your MS

DOS/Windows system for drive and RAM storage.

Overall the TRS-80 line of laptops are great computers. If you are one of those people that have these we at 8bit-micro will have support for

you. As we built this site, watch for applications to download and a forum in which you can trade and sell all TRS-80 components.

Images from top to bottom: TRS-80 Model 100, TRS-80 Model 200, Tandy Model 600 and the Tandy WP2.

If you are interested in collecting vintage unit, you can visit our vintage store to see what we offer. By: Brian K. Hahn

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