website/content/museum/hewlett-packard-hp-200lx.md

title, categories, types, origins, years, params

title	categories	types	origins	years	params
Hewlett Packard HP-200LX	Computers	Pocket	U.S.A.	1994	name image company company_name specs tabs photos links comments related oc_id source HP-200LX /media/museum/photos/hp_200lx_system_s1.jpg /companies/hewlett-packard Hewlett Packard label value NAME HP-200LX label value MANUFACTURER Hewlett Packard label value TYPE Pocket label value ORIGIN U.S.A. label value YEAR 1994 label value END OF PRODUCTION Late 1999 label value BUILT IN LANGUAGE Personal Information Manager System, Quicken, Lotus label value KEYBOARD Miniature 80-key qwerty keyboard including dedicated PIM label value CPU Intel Hornet - computer-on-a-chip based on 80186 label value SPEED 7.91MHz label value CO-PROCESSOR None label value RAM 1MB / 2MB / 4MB (upgradable to 64MB with 3rd party solutions) label value ROM 3MB label value TEXT MODES 80 columns x 25 lines label value GRAPHIC MODES 640 x 200 dots label value COLORS Black & white LCD / CGA emulated video controller label value SOUND Multi-octave beeper label value SIZE / WEIGHT 160 (W) x 85 (D) x 26 (H) mm (6 1/4 x 3 1/2 x 1 inch) / < 1 pound label value I/O PORTS IR port, Power, Serial, PCMCIA 2.0 type II label value OS DOS 5.0 (in ROM) label value POWER SUPPLY 2xAA batteries / coin-cell for RAM-disk backup label value PRICE $695 photos links title subtitle text image LARGE VIEW /media/museum/photos/hp_200lx_system_s2.jpg title subtitle text image CLOSED /media/museum/photos/hp_200lx_closed_s1.jpg title subtitle text image MOTHERBOARD Left: The bottom of the motherboard, with the Intel Hornet CPU.\ Right: The top of the motherboard, with the 2 RAM chips and 2 ROM chips\ A PCMCIA card is next to the motherboard, to give an idea of the size. /media/museum/photos/hp_200lx_mainboard_s1.jpg title url text Web Wiz CAPTCHA http://www.webwizcaptcha.com author date text HPtom (Germany) Friday 25th February 2011 I still use the HP200LX for my business contacts and the calendar and task management. Also I use the windows version of calendar on my main PC in the office. Also I use many other programs for my daily work in the laboratory. The PIM software is the bst one I have ever seen and together with database engine of HP it is unbeatable! Also the calculator with solver is a big thing, beside LOTUS. The HP200LX is a marvellous machine and the best ever built PDA for professional use, although in these these days there are limitations. But the robustness of the machine and the reliability is so good! I still have 2 "backup HP200LX" in my wardrobe so I think to have this little real PC in the pocket forever :-)\ recommendable websites for support is palmtoppaper.com and the hplx.net Greetings from Germany\ HPtom author date text Mark (Neverlands) Sunday 28th February 2021 I''m writing programs in Quickbasic for the 200LX, is there anyway I can probe if the serial port is on or off, like an address or register? I use shell "lxstat s $ info" as a workaround, but there must be something better. Grtzz Mark author date text LX Lover (Japan) Monday 27th April 2020 I have a HP200LX, and I download SSCL(star sapphire common lisp) last week. I install SSCL and EMACS, but EMACS reject key ''+'', ''*'', ''$'' and so on. Do you know how to input such keys on EMACS ?\ Please teach me how to setup EMACS. author date text DK2020 (US / Europe) Wednesday 18th March 2020 Hi, I recently purchased the HP 1000CX. (An HP 200LX without the built in software.) I''m curious if it''s possible to manually install those missing built in software? Is there a download link somewhere if there is? author date text Jack Frost (New Zealand) Sunday 17th April 2016 I do testing and tagging of electrical appliances. I use the Lotus 123 program as my client and asset database. The macros also prompt me for my test results. A Zebra TLP2844 prints my tags, directly from the Lotus 123 automatically based on the test results. I also have a spare HP200LX but cannot find my spare interface cable at present. If you have any unwanted HP200LX and/or accessories you wish to donate, email me at j-frost@xtra.co.nz author date text radek (Belgium) Monday 2nd November 2015 Hi Renato Silva.\ Can you contact met radek.orlowski@me.com author date text renato silva (portugal) Wednesday 3rd June 2015 I have two working hp hewlett packard 200lx without the the adapter or manuals, just the pda to sell. author date text renato silva (portugal) Wednesday 3rd June 2015 I have two working hp hewlett packard 200lx without the the adapter or manuals, just the pda to sell. author date text Radek (Belgium, Antwerp) Thursday 16th April 2015 Hello to all I am desperately searching one or more working HP Lx200 without the adapter or manuals, just the pda. Willing to pay via Paypal including shipment. Thanks to all. author date text Radek (Belgium, Antwerp) Thursday 16th April 2015 Hello to all I am desperately searching one or more working HP Lx200 without the adapter or manuals, just the pda. Willing to pay via Paypal including shipment. Thanks to all. author date text Paul B Davis (Temple, NH USA) Monday 17th November 2014 The 200LX 32Mb double speed from Thaddeus is the best $1000 I ever spent$ Hands Down, no contest. It is NOT a "PDA", rather it is the first "Netbook". A real computer with OS incorruptibly in ROM. I use camera flash memory in an adapter in the PCMCIA slot. The wonderful "Carousel" gives me 10 completely independently configured computers that can swap out in 1 second.\ This thing still sits next to my Win7 PC because it is SO FAST to get the answer I need. HPCalc is Fabulous. Work-a-day, (non-enormous) databases quite useable. Skyglobe 3.6, Collins English and multi-language Dictionaries work faster than just opening up Chrome on Cable internet on my reasonably modern Lenovo.\ Next to my 200LX sits my first pocket calculator - also still very useful - the HP-29C. The calculator keyboard cannot be beat with an emulator - but I would dearly appreciate a full 200LX emulation that would run on my PC! I''d pay real money for it even.\ The weakness of the 200LX is that the hinge for the cover wears out after 20 years or so :-) So I leave it open. A brilliant, ridiculously under-marketed device - the last throws of the late great Corvallis division of HP. Nowadays, "HP is neither". :-( author date text David (Spain) Tuesday 3rd July 2012 jo (DE): There was more recent machines like you ask for. For example Sharp Zaurus SL-C3000 line: Clamshell, full keyboard, Linux, color screen, etc, but they didn''t reach great success in market. author date text Simon Inzel Wednesday 18th April 2012 I have just found back to my HPLX200,and decided to start using it again instead of / in addition to my Iphone. Does anyone know if it still is possible to have backlight installed on the LX?\ Simmon author date text jo (DE) Monday 12th March 2012 Steven, I wouldn''t want to lure anyone away from this great device, but a modern and similarly capable device could be the Pandora handheld. Clamshell, full keyboard, Linux. Although its primary design goal was to be a retro game console, it''s in fact rather close to the LX200 in several respects and you should be able to find a powerful word processor for it as well. (Besides USB, SDHC, Wireless...) author date text Steven L. (Italy) Tuesday 11th October 2011 I use it mostly for text editing (translation of screenplays) combined with Word 5 (for DOS) and/or VDE text editor. Big text files 120K. I can still beat the hell out of any modern handheld device. Only the PSION 5MX came close (excellent but poorly constructed - flat cable woes). I''d be lost without my HP200LX... No bells, no whistles, no Internet, no phone calls... but when it comes to inputting text, this little DOS XT combined with a program like Word5 that allows for macros, literally beats the crap out of IPADS, Androids, Palms, old stylus PDAs and the rest. The other day I went to check out those marvelous and sexy Tablets. A nerdy young sales clerk came over with a smile, already extolling the Ipad 2 (which of course is wondrous). But I told him: "Look, I want to join modern humanity, but I also want to work fast and well. Can ANY of your marvel of cybernetic engineering do this?" Do any of your MAC / Android tablet programs have text editors with macros? See how fast I can translate this paragraph, how efficiently I $ the new and cancel the old... Do you have anything matching this (shameful, absurd, antiquated, hard-on-the-eyes) DOS XT power?" "Oh but if you turn it sideways it automatically goes sideways with you and while you type, you can watch Dr. House and download Lady Gaga and check the weather in London!" "Yes, but - damn it (- because I really would like to lay this superannuated thing to rest) - can you give me something I can walk around with, that fits in my pocket and has such amazing text editing capabilities? Can you give me something even HALF as fast?" The kid went away shaking his head, no doubt convinced that I was a lost cause, just a grumpy old fart stuck in the past. But if he had shown me a worthy product, I would''ve bought it on the spot. author date text jhfire Friday 5th August 2011 I have an iPod, does all that and more. I believe there actually might be an app for that. All jokes set aside, really wonderful to step in the past. Thanks for making the site and please keep it alive! author date text Skip (Toronto - Canada) Thursday 14th May 2009 I bought an HP200LX from Thaddeus Computing. They repair and recondition these old devices. I still need it to gather data via the infrared port from engine monitors like those sold by Insight Avionics. author date text Peter (Sweden) Thursday 14th May 2009 Just found this website, amazing. I found a HP-200LX in my wardrobe! In the orignal box with user guide. And it´s still running. author date text Ruben (Bombarral, Portugal) Sunday 18th November 2007 Were i can buy a HP-200LX??? author date text Axel Haegeman (Overijse - Belgium) Monday 1st January 2007 Hello,\ I just bought a 200Lx on Ebay, but did not get the adapter kit HP F 1023, to connetct the PDA to my PC. Can anyone help me on this ? I want to hook it up to a PC to download data. author date text Hoi Lam (San Jose, CA) Sunday 11th June 2006 I have a HP200LX. The backup battery low was on for a while but I was too busy to go get a new battery to replace the old one. It went completely dead finally. When I connected the plam top with AC power, I noticed that the machine rebooted itself in DOS and all my data (address book) were gone!!! Does anyone know if there is a way I can recover the lost data from HPLX200? author date text david masson (STL) Saturday 21st January 2006 I have a 100 LX, the rarest in the series, and I love it! Even for a computer from 1992 I still use it, A LOT!!! author date text Bob Johnson (Toronto, Ont) Friday 22nd July 2005 Just bought one of these today at the Goodwill in Toronto for $1.99 with PS (Look the thing up on EBay!), and when I turned the damn thing on its in French! (I can't speak French so you can see my problem), but I'm fooling around with it and it looks like fun, just have to figure out how to put programs on it. author date text Sylvain (France) Thursday 30th June 2005 The HP-200LX was actually released in 1994, about one year after the HP-100LX. Some parts were probably designed in 1992, hence the copyright. author date text random replyer (USA) Tuesday 28th June 2005 My friend has one of these. We looked at the copywrite on the bottom and it said that it was actually made in 1992. /museum/hewlett-packard-hp-65 1088 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20230512142855/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=1088 2023-05-12

It was either a PC-XT you can fit in your hand, or a "PDA" that also happened to run countless DOS programs.

The PIM software was very powerful and comprehensive, included the usual address Book, Appointments, and Notepad / Memo capabilities, as well as a Database program. Plus, Pocket Quicken, Lotus 123, and cc:Mail. Also has a "Filer" program for file management, LapLink to connect with a desktop system for file transfer, and a Data Comm program for connecting to online services, and more!

Because it ran MS DOS 5.0 and had the architecture of a PC-XT with a CGA graphics adaptor, it was able to run almost any DOS software which would run on a similar desktop system.

Using a PCMCIA flash-memory card in lieu of a hard-drive allowed limitless storage space. System Memory was divided between normal RAM and a RAM-disk which became your C:\ drive. The 2MB model gave you 640 KB system Ram and about 1400 KB of C: drive.

The keyboard was a little small for touch-typing, but it could be done. Keys had a slight tactile click to them. The IR port was not IRDA, being an older HP IR format instead. The Serial port was standard RS-232 signals but was a small non-standard 10-pin design. The pins 1-9 had the same assignments as a 9-pin serial port, the 10th being shell ground.

The 200LX was third in a series, the HP-95LX was first but had much more limited features, the HP-100LX was second and was almost identical, except was lacking some of the more-advanced PIM software. There was also the HP-1000CX which was identical to the 200LX except it had no PIM software at all, it was strictly a DOS 5.0 palmtop.

Thanks to Stephanie Maks for information and pictures.