Sounds unlikely, but Kyocera Corp pioneered the notebook computer market, but its name is little known in connection with small computers because its original machines were sold only OEM – so Tandy Corp gets the credit with its Model 100 version of the original Kyocera machine, which also turned up, configured slightly differently, in NEC Corp and Ing C Olivetti & Co SpA colours. All that could change with the Refalo, previewed at the Which Computer? Show this week, because the Japanese manufacturer of ceramic packages plans to market it under its own name. The Refalo uses NEC Corp’s 8086-compatible V30 processor and runs an extended version of MS-DOS. It has 192Kb of RAM and standard RS-232 input-output interfaces and slots in the back cover for two memory chip cards for additional programs and for secondary storage. The machine looks like a Filofax, weighs just 1 lb 6 oz and and measures 6 by 9. It even has a six-ring loose leaf binder inside for small sheets of paper. On the inside of the front cover is a small 240 by 320 pixel resolution touch-sensitive LCD screen and pen pad – and software stored in 2.25Mb of ROM enables the machine to be controlled entirely with the stylus. The company claims that the Refalo can recognise handwritten input when the user draws the characters one at a time in a grid of small boxes on the screen, but it also has a small keypad, just 2mm thick, that fits into the ring binder, uses touch-sensitive alphanumeric keys and uses electromagnetic induction through the notebook rings to connect to the machine. Although the machine is fully operable without, an optional keyboard will be available using an electro-magnetic coupling; the rechargable battery pack gives up to eight hours of continuous operation including three hours of back-up power. The Refalo will be available here in the autumn at under UKP1,000.
