Digital HiNote
Digital HiNote Ultra CS450
DeveloperDigital Equipment Corporation
ManufacturerCompal Electronics
Type
Release dateNovember 1994
DiscontinuedJanuary 2002
CPU
PredecessorDECpc 433SE Color

The Digital HiNote was a series of laptop computers manufactured by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) from 1994 until 1998 and by Compaq from 1998 until 2002. It was generally positively reviewed by technology journalists. The series consisted of the VP and Ultra models which were based on the i486, Pentium, Pentium MMX and Pentium II. After Digital was acquired by Compaq in 1998, the series was phased out.

History

Digital introduced the HiNote brand of laptops in November 1994 as a successor to their x86 laptops marketed under their DECpc brand. The HiNote was introduced simultaneously with the Venturis brand of desktop and towers, which similarly replaced those form factors of x86 computers that bore the DECpc name.[1] The initial lineup comprised a full-sized laptop simply named the HiNote and a subnotebook named the HiNote Ultra; Digital later separated the two sub-brands by designating the former as VP units. Digital offered the initial lineup with either monochrome or color passive-matrix LCDs or color active-matrix LCDs, 33 MHz Intel 486SXs to 50 MHz 486DX2s, and a hard drive capacity between 120 and 340 MB. The standard HiNote included a built-in 3.5 inch floppy drive which could be removed and fitted with a second lithium-ion battery pack in its place, while the drive for the Ultra was external only. Both the original HiNotes proper and Ultras included built-in trackballs as its pointing device of choice.[2]

External videos
video icon 1995 commercial for the Digital HiNote Ultra on YouTube

Technology journalists singled out the HiNote Ultra for its sleek industrial design and modularity, which attached the lithium-ion battery to the back of the laptop with a latching mechanism instead of being inserted in the bottom case as was customary for laptop designs.[3] This battery could be rotated to prop up the Ultra at a position more comfortable for typing for long periods of time and allowed it to accommodate the external 3.5-inch floppy disk drive underneath it when placed on a desk. It weighed 4 lb (1,8 kg) and measured only an inch (2,54 cm) high.[4][5] Digital advertised on television the Ultra's thin and light stature by pulling it out of a manila envelope—an approach replicated by Apple nearly 15 years later, when it advertised its MacBook Air in 2008.[6]

When Compaq acquired Digital in June 1998 for $9.6 billion,[7][8] they left the design intact but changed the name to Armada 6500. The HiNote-based series was phased out in 2002. Technology writer Brooke Crothers wrote on CNET that its discontinuation was ironic considering that the HiNote received high industry accolades and was "one of the best notebook designs ever and one of the technological gems that Compaq inherited from Digital Equipment."[9]

Models

LineModel
no.		ProcessorClock speed
(MHz)		Max. memoryLCD technologyLCD size and resolutionDate
baseline433486SX3320Monochrome passive9.5 in, VGANovember 1994[10]
baselineCS433486SX3320Color passive9.5 in, VGANovember 1994[10]
baselineCS450486DX25020Color passive9.5 in, VGANovember 1994[10]
baselineCT450486DX25024Color active9.5 in, VGANovember 1994[10]
baselineCT475486DX47524Color active9.5 in, VGANovember 1994[11]
baselineCS475486DX47524Color active9.5 in, VGAAugust 1995[11]
Ultra433486SX3320Monochrome passive9.5 in, VGANovember 1994[10]
UltraCS433486SX3320Color passive9.5 in, VGANovember 1994[10]
UltraCS450486DX25020Color passive9.5 in, VGANovember 1994[10]
UltraCT450486DX25024Color active9.5 in, VGANovember 1994[10]
UltraCT475486DX47524Color active9.5 in, VGANovember 1994[10]
UltraCS475486DX47524Color passive9.5 in, VGAJune 1995[12]
Ultra IICTE5100Pentium10040Color active10.4 in, VGAMarch 1996[13]
Ultra IICTS5100Pentium10040Color active10.4 in, SVGAMarch 1996[13]
Ultra IICTS5120Pentium12040Color active10.4 in, SVGAMarch 1996[13][14]
Ultra IICTS5133Pentium13340Color active10.4 in, SVGAMarch 1996[13]
Ultra II5150Pentium15040Color active11.3 in, SVGAAugust 1996[13]
VP575Pentium7540Color passive11.3 in, SVGAMarch 1996[13]
VPCSS5100Pentium10040Color passive11.3 in, SVGAMarch 1996[13][14]
VPCTS5100Pentium10040Color active11.3 in, SVGAMarch 1996[13][14]
VPLSS5100Pentium10040Color active11.3 in, SVGASeptember 1996[15]
VP520Pentium12040Color passive11.3 in, SVGASeptember 1996[16]
VP525Pentium12040Color active11.3 in, SVGASeptember 1996[16]
VP535Pentium13340Color active11.3 in, SVGASeptember 1996[16]
VPVSS5120Pentium12080Color passive12.1 in, SVGAMarch 1997[17]
VPVSS5133Pentium13380Color passive12.1 in, SVGAMarch 1997[17]
VPVTS5150 (545[18])Pentium15080Color active12.1 in, SVGAMarch 1997[17]
VPVTS5166Pentium MMX16680Color active12.1 in, SVGAMarch 1997[17]
Ultra 2000VTS 5166MPentium MMX166144Color active12.1 in, SVGAApril 1997[19][20]
Ultra 2000GTX 5166MPentium MMX166144Color active14.1 in, XVGAMay 1997[20]
Ultra 2000VTX 5166MPentium MMX166144Color active12.1 in, XVGAApril 1997[19]
Ultra 2000GTX 5233MPentium MMX233144Color active14.1 in, XVGAJanuary 1998[21]
Ultra 2000GTX 5266MPentium MMX266144Color active14.1 in, XVGAJanuary 1998[21]
VP703Pentium MMX166144Color passive13 in, XVGAJanuary 1998[22]
VP717Pentium MMX200144Color active12.1 in, SVGAJanuary 1998[22]
VP725Pentium MMX200144Color active13.3 in, XVGAJanuary 1998[22]
VP745Pentium MMX266144Color active13.3 in, XVGAJanuary 1998[22]
VP710Pentium MMX166144Color passive (high-performance addressing)13.3 in, XVGA1998[22]
VP715Pentium MMX166144Color active13.3 in, XVGA1998[22]
VP735Pentium MMX233144Color active13.3 in, XVGANovember 1997[23]
VP765Pentium II266144Color active13.3 in, XVGAApril 1998[22][24]

References

  1. ↑ "Digital Equipment announces new lines for notebook PCs". Austin American-Statesman. GateHouse Media. November 11, 1994. p. D6 – via ProQuest.
  2. ↑ Lee, Yvonne L. (November 11, 1994). "Digital rolls out portable line". InfoWorld. Vol. 16, no. 46. International Data Group. p. 47. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021 – via Google Books.
  3. ↑ Lee, Yvonne L. (November 11, 1994). "Digital Equipment announces new lines for notebook PCs". InfoWorld. Vol. 16, no. 45. International Data Group. pp. 1, 120 – via Google Books.
  4. ↑ Brandel, Mary L. (November 14, 1994). "DEC notebooks fashionably late". Computerworld. Vol. 28, no. 46. International Data Group. p. 20. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021 – via Google Books.
  5. ↑ Gallagher, Brian (1998-10-01). "Digital HiNote Ultra 2000". ITPro Today: IT News, How-Tos, Trends, Case Studies, Career Tips, More. Retrieved 2022-11-26.
  6. ↑ Beschizza, Rob L. (January 16, 2008). "DEC HiNote the First Laptop to Be Pulled from a Manila Envelope in an Ad?". Wired. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Compaq to Acquire Digital". Wired. Reuters. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
  8. ↑ "Compaq will buy Digital". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
  9. ↑ Crothers, Brooke (January 2, 2002). "Compaq phasing out HiNote notebook line". CNET. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Sholkin, Howard (November 11, 1994). "Digital redefines notebook computers with new HiNote line". PR Newswire. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021 – via ProQuest.
  11. 1 2 Goldberg, Michael; Weinberg, Neal (August 28, 1995). "Digital trolls for PC users with cost lure". Computerworld. International Data Group. 29 (35): 6. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  12. ↑ Scannell, Ed (June 19, 1995). "Digital adds multimedia options to notebooks". InfoWorld. International Data Group. 17 (25): 39. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rohlf, Lisa (March 14, 1996). "Digital HiNote notebooks strike new chord with all-Pentium lineup". PR Newswire – via ProQuest.
  14. 1 2 3 Lin, Charles (August 1996). "Pentium Notebooks: HiNote VP CSS5100/HiNote VP CTS5100/HiNote Ultra II CTS5120". PC Magazine. Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. 15 (14): 158. Archived from the original on 2021-08-18. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
  15. ↑ "Digital HiNote VP 500 Series Service Guide" (PDF). Digital Equipment Corporation. September 1996. Retrieved August 18, 2021 – via Manx.
  16. 1 2 3 April, Carolyn A. (October 7, 1996). "Digital shifts focus to low-price laptops". InfoWorld. International Data Group. 18 (41): 27. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  17. 1 2 3 4 "Digital HiNote VP 550, 575 Series Service Guide" (PDF). Digital Equipment Corporation. March 1997. p. A1. Retrieved August 18, 2021 – via Manx.
  18. ↑ Venezia, Carol; Cade, Metz; John, Morris (February 18, 1997). "Digital HiNote VP 545". PC Magazine. Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. 16 (4): 47. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  19. 1 2 "Digital HiNote Ultra 2000 Service Guide" (PDF). Digital Equipment Corporation. April 1997. p. A1. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021 – via Manx.
  20. 1 2 "Digital HiNote Ultra 2000 Service Guide" (PDF). Digital Equipment Corporation. May 1997. p. A1. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021 – via Manx.
  21. 1 2 "Digital Adds to HiNote Notebook Families New High-Powered Systems with Latest Intel Mobile Processor". PR Newswire. January 12, 1998. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021 – via ProQuest.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Digital HiNote VP 700 – Technical Specifications". Compaq. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021 – via Arthur Rinkel.
  23. ↑ Briody, Dan (November 3, 1997). "Toshiba, HP, and Digital to launch notebooks". InfoWorld. International Data Group. 19 (44): 24. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  24. ↑ "Digital Announces Powerful New Mobile System Incorporating Intel's Mobile Pentium II Processor". PR Newswire. April 2, 1998. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021 – via ProQuest.

Further reading

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