1989 BYTE AWARD DISTINCTION
GRiDPad,
GRiD Systems
The GRiDPad could be the first real notebook computer. You use it just as you would a notebook-hold it in one hand, and write on it with the other. No mouse or keyboard is needed. The GRiDPad has a special display, a metal stylus, and software that can recognize hand-printed text. If you really want any of the other input devices, however, the GRiDPad can give you a “virtual” keyboard on the screen.
This electronic slate also runs DOS software (MS-DOS 3.3 lives in its ROM), and it comes with a megabyte of RAM, memory-card ports for adding more memory, and options such as a 20-megabyte hard disk drive and a 2400-bps modem.
The GRiDPad isn’t the sort of machine that everyone will want or need. In fact, its appeal might be rather limited. But this device wins points for its design and its innovative engineering.
Source: Byte magazine, January 1990, vol 15 no. 1, p. 290. — GRiD System’s GRiDPad