Digital HiNote

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.

Digital HiNote

Digital HiNote Ultra CS450
Developer	Digital Equipment Corporation
Manufacturer	Compal Electronics
Type	Laptop subnotebook
Release date	November 1994
Discontinued	January 2002
CPU	Intel 80486 Intel Pentium Intel Pentium II
Predecessor	DECpc 433SE Color
Website	pc.digital.com at the Wayback Machine (archived 1999-01-16)

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
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

Line	Model no.	Processor	Clock speed (MHz)	Max. memory	LCD technology	LCD size and resolution	Date
baseline	433	486SX	33	20	Monochrome passive	9.5 in, VGA	November 1994 (1994-11)[10]
baseline	CS433	486SX	33	20	Color passive	9.5 in, VGA	November 1994 (1994-11)[10]
baseline	CS450	486DX2	50	20	Color passive	9.5 in, VGA	November 1994 (1994-11)[10]
baseline	CT450	486DX2	50	24	Color active	9.5 in, VGA	November 1994 (1994-11)[10]
baseline	CT475	486DX4	75	24	Color active	9.5 in, VGA	November 1994 (1994-11)[11]
baseline	CS475	486DX4	75	24	Color passive	9.5 in, VGA	August 1995 (1995-08)[11]
Ultra	433	486SX	33	20	Monochrome passive	9.5 in, VGA	November 1994 (1994-11)[10]
Ultra	CS433	486SX	33	20	Color passive	9.5 in, VGA	November 1994 (1994-11)[10]
Ultra	CS450	486DX2	50	20	Color passive	9.5 in, VGA	November 1994 (1994-11)[10]
Ultra	CT450	486DX2	50	24	Color active	9.5 in, VGA	November 1994 (1994-11)[10]
Ultra	CT475	486DX4	75	24	Color active	9.5 in, VGA	November 1994 (1994-11)[10]
Ultra	CS475	486DX4	75	24	Color passive	9.5 in, VGA	June 1995 (1995-06)[12]
Ultra II	CTE5100	Pentium	100	40	Color active	10.4 in, VGA	March 1996 (1996-03)[13]
Ultra II	CTS5100	Pentium	100	40	Color active	10.4 in, SVGA	March 1996 (1996-03)[13]
Ultra II	CTS5120	Pentium	120	40	Color active	10.4 in, SVGA	March 1996 (1996-03)[13][14]
Ultra II	CTS5133	Pentium	133	40	Color active	10.4 in, SVGA	March 1996 (1996-03)[13]
Ultra II	5150	Pentium	150	40	Color active	11.3 in, SVGA	August 1996 (1996-08)[13]
VP	575	Pentium	75	40	Color passive	11.3 in, SVGA	March 1996 (1996-03)[13]
VP	CSS5100	Pentium	100	40	Color passive	11.3 in, SVGA	March 1996 (1996-03)[13][14]
VP	CTS5100	Pentium	100	40	Color active	11.3 in, SVGA	March 1996 (1996-03)[13][14]
VP	LSS5100	Pentium	100	40	Color active	11.3 in, SVGA	September 1996 (1996-09)[15]
VP	520	Pentium	120	40	Color passive	11.3 in, SVGA	September 1996 (1996-09)[16]
VP	525	Pentium	120	40	Color active	11.3 in, SVGA	September 1996 (1996-09)[16]
VP	535	Pentium	133	40	Color active	11.3 in, SVGA	September 1996 (1996-09)[16]
VP	VSS5120	Pentium	120	80	Color passive	12.1 in, SVGA	March 1997 (1997-03)[17]
VP	VSS5133	Pentium	133	80	Color passive	12.1 in, SVGA	March 1997 (1997-03)[17]
VP	VTS5150 (545[18])	Pentium	150	80	Color active	12.1 in, SVGA	March 1997 (1997-03)[17]
VP	VTS5166	Pentium MMX	166	80	Color active	12.1 in, SVGA	March 1997 (1997-03)[17]
Ultra 2000	VTS 5166M	Pentium MMX	166	144	Color active	12.1 in, SVGA	April 1997 (1997-04)[19][20]
Ultra 2000	GTX 5166M	Pentium MMX	166	144	Color active	14.1 in, XVGA	May 1997 (1997-05)[20]
Ultra 2000	VTX 5166M	Pentium MMX	166	144	Color active	12.1 in, XVGA	April 1997 (1997-04)[19]
Ultra 2000	GTX 5233M	Pentium MMX	233	144	Color active	14.1 in, XVGA	January 1998 (1998-01)[21]
Ultra 2000	GTX 5266M	Pentium MMX	266	144	Color active	14.1 in, XVGA	January 1998 (1998-01)[21]
VP	703	Pentium MMX	166	144	Color passive	13 in, XVGA	January 1998 (1998-01)[22]
VP	717	Pentium MMX	200	144	Color active	12.1 in, SVGA	January 1998 (1998-01)[22]
VP	725	Pentium MMX	200	144	Color active	13.3 in, XVGA	January 1998 (1998-01)[22]
VP	745	Pentium MMX	266	144	Color active	13.3 in, XVGA	January 1998 (1998-01)[22]
VP	710	Pentium MMX	166	144	Color passive (high-performance addressing)	13.3 in, XVGA	1998 (1998)[22]
VP	715	Pentium MMX	166	144	Color active	13.3 in, XVGA	1998 (1998)[22]
VP	735	Pentium MMX	233	144	Color active	13.3 in, XVGA	November 1997 (1997-11)[23]
VP	765	Pentium II	266	144	Color active	13.3 in, XVGA	April 1998 (1998-04)[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. Archived from the original on December 3, 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
9. Crothers, Brooke (January 2, 2002). "Compaq phasing out HiNote notebook line". CNET. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
10. 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. Goldberg, Michael; Weinberg, Neal (August 28, 1995). "Digital trolls for PC users with cost lure". Computerworld. 29 (35). International Data Group: 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. 17 (25). International Data Group: 39. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
13. Rohlf, Lisa (March 14, 1996). "Digital HiNote notebooks strike new chord with all-Pentium lineup". PR Newswire – via ProQuest.
14. Lin, Charles (August 1996). "Pentium Notebooks: HiNote VP CSS5100/HiNote VP CTS5100/HiNote Ultra II CTS5120". PC Magazine. 15 (14). Ziff-Davis Publishing Company: 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. April, Carolyn A. (October 7, 1996). "Digital shifts focus to low-price laptops". InfoWorld. 18 (41). International Data Group: 27. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
17. "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. 16 (4). Ziff-Davis Publishing Company: 47. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
19. "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. "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. "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. "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. 19 (44). International Data Group: 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

• Byrne, Jason (August 3, 1998). "Digital's latest and final notebook line hits a HiNote". Government Computer News. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
• Gallagher, Brian (September 30, 1998). "Digital HiNote Ultra 2000". ITProToday. Retrieved August 18, 2021.

External links

• Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived 1999-01-16)
• Archived legacy product pages provided by Compaq:
  • HiNote VP 500 line
  • HiNote VP 700 line
  • HiNote Ultra 2000 line
• Digital HiNote Ultra II disassembly and repair
• Running Linux on the HiNote Ultra 2000
• Digital HiNote Ultra in The Peacemaker on Starring the Computer