GRiD Systems Corp duly launched PalmPAD, The First Wearable Pen Computer, which runs MS-DOS: it weighs 2 lbs 12 oz and is a full-featured, ruggedized pen computer designed for data collection applications; unveiled today at a high tech fashion show in New York’s fashion district, the PalmPAD has a 9.5MHz NEC Corp V.20 microprocessor, MS-DOS 5.0, 2Mb memory, a slot for high-capacity solid state storage cards with up to 20Mb of storage, Nickel metal hydride or Nickel Cadmium batteries for eight hours of battery life and a 6.5 diagonal high-resolution 640 by 400 pixel LCD with adjustable backlighting; it has a rubberised plastic hand grip and a cable can be used to turn the wearer’s belt into an expansion bus for future belt-mounted peripherals such as printers, magnetic stripe readers and extra batteries; it costs $2,900.
