Epson PX-8 Geneva
The Epson PX-8 a.k.a. Geneva was a small laptop computer made by the Epson Corporation in the mid-1980s.
It had a Z80-compatible microprocessor, and ran a customized version of the CP/M-80 operating system as well as various applications from a pair of ROM sockets which were treated as drives. For file storage, it had a built-in microcassette drive. The microcassette drive is integrated into CP/M as a disk drive, default designation H:.
The PX-8 did not have an internal disk drive, and instead allowed either memory to be partitioned into application memory and a RAM disk, or an external 60 KB or 120 KB intelligent RAM disk module to be attached. The intelligent RAM disk module had its own Z80 processor with a backup battery.
The PX-8 had an 80 column by 8 line LCD display, which was monochromatic and non-backlit. It used an internal nickel-cadmium battery, and had a battery life in the range of 6–8 hours when using word-processing software. An additional battery provided backup for the internal RAM.
There were a number of proprietary accessories available including a portable printer, bar code reader, and an early 3.5-inch diskette drive, the PF-10. The disk drives from the HX-20 could also be used. For the ROM cartridge slots a number of applications were available: Basic, CP/M utilities, Portable WordStar, CalcStar, Scheduler, dBase II and Portable Cardbox-Plus.
The PX-8 was not initially a commercial success, especially compared against the TRS-80 Model 100 portable computer but achieved some increased success after a large number were sold discounted in the United States through the DAK Catalog. The PX-8 combined some of the features from its predecessors, the HX-20 being portable, battery-operated and the QX-10 being CP/M compatible.
In 1985, Epson introduced the PX-4, combining features from both the PX-8 and the HX-20.