Toshiba T3100


The Toshiba T3100 is a discontinued portable PC manufactured by Toshiba released in 1986. It features a hard drive, 8 MHz Intel 80286 CPU and a black & orange 9.5" gas-plasma display with a resolution of 640 × 400 pixels.
The portable has a special high-resolution 640 × 400 display mode which is similar to and partially compatible with the Olivetti/AT&T 6300 graphics. The base model has 640 KB memory. There is a single proprietary expansion slot for 1200 bit/s modem, expansion chassis for 5x 8-bit ISA cards, Ethernet NIC, 2400 bit/s modem, and a 2 MB memory card. T3100e model has 1 MB of memory, which can be upgraded to 5 MB.
Toshiba T3100 is not a true portable, because it needs an external power source in all except the last version.
Five additional versions exist:
  • The T3100/20 is essentially the same as the base T3100 but with a larger hard drive.
  • The T3100e has a 12 MHz 80286 CPU, 1 MB RAM and a 20 MB hard drive.
  • The T3100e/40 is the same as the T3100e, but with a larger 40 MB hard drive.
  • The T3100SX has a 16 MHz i386SX CPU, 1 MB RAM and a 40 MB or 80 MB hard drive, a VGA 640 × 480 × 16 shade black & orange gas plasma display or black & white LCD, and also included an internal rechargeable battery, for true portability.
  • The J3100 is a version of the T3100 that was marketed and sold in Japan only, and included hardware Japanese font support.

Reception

BYTE in 1989 listed the T3100/20 as among the "Distinction" winners of the BYTE Awards, citing its "amazingly clear" display and hard drive.