Easy Reference for those interested to know a little about my background.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1993-05-20/business/9305200013_1_pen-based-dauphin-technology-risc-systemChicago Tribune:
May 20, 1993|By James Coates.
Ibm To Make Pen-based Pc For Lombard Firm
Lombard-based Dauphin Technology Inc. has signed a $150 million deal for International Business Machines Corp. to manufacture a pen-based miniature computer that will run Microsoft Windows programs on an Intel 486 chip.
The companies emphasized Wednesday that the new machine, called DTR-1 and about the size of a book, is "first of its kind to hit the market"-the smallest computer yet to offer full-blown 486 microprocessor performance.
Dauphin and IBM executives said Wednesday that they will start shipping the machines to customers Sunday.
Dauphin, which has recorded flat earnings recently, came into prominence in 1991 by winning a $400 million contract to supply laptop computers to the Pentagon.
Company President Alan Yong said he will introduce the new machine Monday at the COMDEX computer show in Atlanta, where 75,000 participants will gather next week.
Yong believes that being the first to market a subnotebook pen-based device will result in a dramatic improvement in his company's earnings picture.
While industry analysts emphasize that it remains to be seen whether pen-based computers will become as popular as Yong hopes, the IBM deal puts Dauphin ahead of such industry giants as Tandy Corp., Apple Computer Inc. and Motorola Inc., all of which have announced plans for pen-based computers.
Dauphin had sales of $24 million in 1992, almost all of them from its Pentagon contract. But earnings for the last quarter were just $111,739, making the success of the DTR-1 project crucial to the company's future.
The IBM/Dauphin contract, signed Feb. 22, also is important to IBM, according to executives there. The deal, they said, marks a major move by the world's biggest computer company to improve its fortunes by using underutilized factories to make hardware for other computer companies.
Lynn Denton, an IBM spokesman involved with the Dauphin project at IBM's Austin Industrial Business Center in Texas, said the deal marks the largest agreement to manufacture computers for a competitor at the Austin factory, which employs 3,500 people and makes IBM's PS/1, PS/2 and RISC System lines.
The Dauphin contract and other business is expected to account for 40 percent of the IBM complex's manufacturing activity by year's end, Denton added.
By shipping the DTR-1 in late May, Dauphin will reach the market ahead of its anticipated competitors, which include the long-awaited Apple Newton Personal Digital Assistant; a pen-based hand-held device called Zoomer that Casio and Tandy International plan to introduce in early June at the Chicago Consumer Electronics Show; and a device under development by Schaumburg-based Motorola.
Unlike these competitors, which use proprietary chips, the Dauphin machine is based on the same Intel 486 chips that have been sold in millions of desktop computers and can thus use the full spectrum of IBM-compatible software.
Microsoft Corp. makes the handwriting-recognition software used by the DTR-1.
Yong said he plans to market the new machine to the Pentagon and in the commercial market.
Noting last quarter's flat sales, he said the company is vulnerable to the Pentagon's buying cycles, which come just twice a year.
"Getting into the commercial market as well will stabilize our finances," he said.
Yong said he expects brisk overseas sales, particularly in Asia, because the handwriting software is capable of recognizing various Oriental language characters as well as English.
Equipped with a back-lit screen that can sense marks made on it with a special stylus and a tiny but traditional computer keyboard, the DTR-1 is aimed at so-called "vertical applications," where workers in the field can enhance their performance with computers.
The machine comes with software that police, ambulance crews, medical personnel, insurance adjusters, scientists and others can use to take notes and then perform traditional computer tasks such as word processing, spreadsheet calculations and database management.
The technical specifications include a 486SLC microprocessor with four to six megabytes of RAM, a 30 megabyte internal hard drive and a built-in fax/modem.
External parallel, serial, VGA monitor, mouse and keyboard ports are included. The weight is 2.5 pounds and the suggested retail price is $2,500, according to the announcement.
