Zenith Minisport
Encyclopedia
The Zenith MiniSport, introduced in 1989 by Zenith Electronics Corporation, was a small laptop
based on a 80C88 CMOS
CPU
running at 4.77 MHz or 8 MHz, software selectable.
It had one megabyte
of battery-backed RAM
, optionally expandable to two, ran MS-DOS
from ROM
, had a 640x200 pixel resolution LCD and CGA and composite monochrome outputs. The MiniSport was one of the first actual small laptops, apart from a contemporary NEC
model.
Laptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
based on a 80C88 CMOS
CMOS
Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor is a technology for constructing integrated circuits. CMOS technology is used in microprocessors, microcontrollers, static RAM, and other digital logic circuits...
CPU
Central processing unit
The central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...
running at 4.77 MHz or 8 MHz, software selectable.
It had one megabyte
Megabyte
The megabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage or transmission with two different values depending on context: bytes generally for computer memory; and one million bytes generally for computer storage. The IEEE Standards Board has decided that "Mega will mean 1 000...
of battery-backed RAM
Ram
-Animals:*Ram, an uncastrated male sheep*Ram cichlid, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Colombia and Venezuela-Military:*Battering ram*Ramming, a military tactic in which one vehicle runs into another...
, optionally expandable to two, ran MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
from ROM
Read-only memory
Read-only memory is a class of storage medium used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be modified, or can be modified only slowly or with difficulty, so it is mainly used to distribute firmware .In its strictest sense, ROM refers only...
, had a 640x200 pixel resolution LCD and CGA and composite monochrome outputs. The MiniSport was one of the first actual small laptops, apart from a contemporary NEC
NEC
, a Japanese multinational IT company, has its headquarters in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. NEC, part of the Sumitomo Group, provides information technology and network solutions to business enterprises, communications services providers and government....
model.
Features
Unique features:- 2" floppy disk drive (720 kB double-sided, double-density). The 2" media was very expensive, typically $80 for a box of 10 floppies. Like many other laptops, an external 3.5" floppy drive was available as an accessory.
- Built-in FastLynx transfer software that could install itself on any other DOS computer over a serial cable without the need for any pre-existing software on the remote system. It relied on the user typing in a DOS Mode command on the other computer, which transferred control of that computer's command line to the Zenith over the serial line. The software then copied itself across, and the user could then move files. This to some extent compensated for the fact that no other computer ever used the 2" floppy disks, thus rendering floppy transfers impractical.
- The ability to set aside some of its upper memory (typically the 384k area between 640k and 1MB) as a battery-backed RAM disk; this was relatively unique in DOS-based laptops (others, like the Toshiba T1000Toshiba T1000The Toshiba T1000 was a laptop computer manufactured by the Toshiba Corporation in 1987. It had a similar specification to the IBM PC Convertible, with an 4.77 MHz 8OC88 processor, 512 KB of RAM, and a monochrome CGA-compatible LCD...
also supported RAM disks). The RAM disk appeared as C: in DOS and enabled the computer to run with no spinning disks, extending battery life and increasing reliability. Contents were preserved with the power off, though using a minuscule amount of current from the main battery. - Later versions included an integral 20MB (Megabyte) hard disc. This was enough to run WordPerfect and associated programs, including spell-checkers and diagnostic programs.
Disadvantages
- The MiniSport, like most personal computers of its day, had a battery which maintained the BIOS NVRAM. When this battery failed the computer would not boot until the user edited the configurable BIOS parameters. The Minisport NVRAM battery was replaceable.
- The Minisport's 2" floppy disks were not popular and were much more expensive than 5.25 and 3.5 inch floppy disks.