DOS Palmtop: Mitsuba Palmtop Details and specs

Mitsuba Palmtop

About this machine:

One of the few American TidalWave clones. There is not really much info about Mitsuba left since the name is kind of generic and some Japanese companies are called Mitsuba as of today, but if you dig long enough then you eventually find the truth. In a 1987 ad in PC Magazine their catchphrase was "Mitsuba - a name to remember". Well didn't work i guess... Besides the name Mitsuba was not a Japanese company, it was a company in California. They appeared somewhere in the mid 1980s under various names like "Mitsuba Semiconductors", "Mitsuba Corp" and so on, always based in San Dimas in California. At some point they also had offices in New Jersey and Texas, so they were a rather small player, but not a "garage company" like ProLinear or so. As it seems they never really manufactured anything, they just sold imported hardware that they branded. In the late 1980s they had quite affordable complete PC sets in their portfolio and i believe they were halfway successful with what they did. But the Tidalwave curse hit them as well. if you read most of my articles here you already know that ironically most companies that sold TidalWave palmtops went bankrupt later on and Mitsuba is no exception here. The Mitsuba Palmtop was pretty much their last sign of life, they disappeared somwhere in the early to mid 1990. Like most TidalWave clones the branding is rather cheap - they printed "Mitsuba" under the display and that's it. English OS and appz, American keyboard.

Specs:

CPU: NEC V30 @ 7.15 MHz
Graphics: Monochrome CGA, 80 x 25 character text mode, CGA 2 color monochrome graphics mode
Display: 640 x 200 monochrome Supertwist LCD , 4 grey scales, 7.2 inch
Memory (RAM): 1 MB
ROM (Software): 1.5 MB
I/O ports: RS232 Serial (proprietary cable was included accessory), PCMCIA 1.0 Type I slot, Parallel port (proprietary cable included)
Sound: PC Speaker - Piezo
Operating System: MS-DOS 5.0
Software: MS Works 2.0, RacePen PIM (File manager, scheduler, phone book, etc), Microsoft QBasic
Size: Length 11.5 cm, Width 24.5 cm, Height 2.5 cm (4.5 inches x 9.7 inches x 1 inch)
Powered by: 2 AA batteries - rechargable or non-rechargable or AC adaptor (optional accessory), CR2032 Lithium button cell as memory backup
Weight: 590 gram (21 ounces) including 2 standard AA and CR2032 batteries
Special features: None
Released: June 1992
Originally retailed for:: 595 USD
Clone of: Tidalwave PS-1000
Similar models: Tidalwave PS-1000, Highscreen Handy Organizer and all other clones

Pros:
- Fully CGA compliant, so most CGA based DOS appz and games work
- Excellent keyboard

Cons:
- No support for flash cards
- Not really the smallest Palmtop ever
- Power management is rather average
- No way to boot a different OS and no way to bypass loading the drivers for cards and keyboard

Collector Value:
8 of 10

Usage Value:
7 of 10

Verdict:
One of the rarest TidalWave clones. Hey at least it's an American version. Otherwise pretty much like all other TidalWave clones.

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