DOS Palmtop: Prolinear PS-3000 (ME-386) Details and specs

ProLinear PS-3000 (Prolinear ME-386 / Prolinear Palm Book 386)

About this machine:

Now what is this? If you buy the Prolinear PS-3000 (Me-386) you actually get a TidalWave PS-3000 - with a neat faux wood Screen frame decor! Yes the ProLinear PS-3000 is a rebranded Tidalwave, but finally ProLinear spent money for branding and they came up with this really nice fake wood look. My guess is that they had a 1970s US station wagon. Well okay obviously not all of them - ProLinear actually varied. Not only with the Design but also with the names. This machine was sold as "Prolinear PS-3000", "Palmbook 386", "Palmbook 3000", "Prolinear ME-386", "MiniNote 3000" and so on. In the end they probably didn't even know themselves what the official name was. Besides that it really is an ordinary TidalWave. But probably the most creative branding we have seen so far. There's also a "Hyundai" edition that has a plain screen bezel and a Hyundai Logo on the back of the screen. Unlike common belief Hyundai produced (and still produces) much more than just cars - they even made some nice laptops, screens and desktop PCs back in the days. Why they would just rebrand a cheap Tidalwave is beyond my understanding, but then again big companies like "Philips" and "ZEOS" fell for it...

Specs:

CPU: 80386 SXLV - 25 Mhz (Super low power CPU)
Graphics: Monochrome CGA, B/W LCD (80 x 25) 16 shade grade scale
Display: 640 x 200 (Dual scan super twist) , 7.2 inch
Memory (RAM): 2 MB (Supposed to be expendable to 4MB)
ROM (Software): 2.5 MB
I/O ports: RS232 Serial, 2 x PCMCIA 2.0 Type II slot, Parallel port
Sound: PC Speaker - Piezo
Operating System: MS-DOS 5.0
Software: MS Works 2.0, RacePen PIM (File manager, scheduler, phone book, etc)
Size: Length 11.5 cm, Width 24.5 cm, Height 3.0 cm (4.6 inch x 9.5 inch x 1.25 inch)
Powered by: 4 AA batteries - rechargable or non-rechargable or AC adaptor (optional accessory), CR2032 Lithium button cell as memory backup
Weight: 640 gram - 710 gram including batteries
Special features: Internal 2400/9600 fax modem (Supposedly an option)
Released: 1992
Originally retailed for:: 995 USD
Clone of: Not a clone. However all other models based on it can be considered clones.
Similar models: Tidalwave PS-3000, Mini Note ME-386

Pros:
- Fully CGA compliant, so most CGA based DOS appz and games work
- Excellent keyboard
- Finally a 386 Palmtop

Cons:
- Not really the smallest Palmtop ever
- Power management is rather bad

Collector Value:
10 of 10

Usage Value:
7 of 10

Verdict:
Give it a usability value of 10/10 if you need a 386. Really rare.

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