<s>
The	O
term	O
PenPad	B-Application
was	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
product	O
name	O
for	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
Pen	O
computing	O
products	O
by	O
different	O
companies	O
in	O
the	O
1980s	O
and	O
1990s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
earliest	O
was	O
the	O
Penpad	B-Application
series	O
of	O
products	O
by	O
Pencept	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
PenPad	B-Application
M200	O
handwriting	O
terminal	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
PenPad	B-Application
M320	O
handwriting/gesture	O
recognition	O
tablet	B-Device
for	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
and	O
other	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
vendors	O
using	O
the	O
term	O
Penpad	B-Application
in	O
product	O
names	O
include	O
Amstrad	O
and	O
Toshiba	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Amstrad	B-Application
PenPad	I-Application
was	O
an	O
early	O
portable	O
personal	B-Application
digital	I-Application
assistant	I-Application
with	O
handwriting	O
pen	O
input	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
competitor	O
to	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
Newton	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
an	O
attempt	O
by	O
Amstrad	O
,	O
a	O
UK	O
electronics	O
firm	O
with	O
a	O
history	O
of	O
successful	O
involvement	O
in	O
personal	B-Device
computing	I-Device
,	O
to	O
corner	O
the	O
handheld	O
market	O
in	O
the	O
UK	O
and	O
Europe	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Amstrad	B-Application
PenPad	I-Application
,	O
also	O
known	O
by	O
the	O
PDA600	O
model	O
reference	O
,	O
was	O
launched	O
in	O
March	O
1993	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PenPad	B-Application
had	O
a	O
reflective	O
LCD	O
screen	O
with	O
dimensions	O
of	O
2.88	O
by	O
3.62	O
inches	O
and	O
a	O
resolution	O
of	O
,	O
protected	O
by	O
a	O
hinged	O
cover	O
folding	O
open	O
to	O
the	O
left	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
separate	O
desktop	O
application	O
,	O
accessible	O
via	O
a	O
desk	O
icon	O
printed	O
on	O
the	O
border	O
above	O
the	O
screen	O
,	O
provided	O
access	O
to	O
a	O
collection	O
of	O
functions	O
including	O
an	O
alarm	O
clock	O
,	O
world	O
clock	O
,	O
anniversary	O
and	O
appointment	O
management	O
,	O
and	O
utilities	O
for	O
monitoring	O
the	O
battery	O
level	O
and	O
communicating	O
with	O
a	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
these	O
was	O
a	O
low	O
power	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Zilog	B-Device
Z180	I-Device
CPU	O
,	O
the	O
Z8S180	O
,	O
clocked	O
at	O
20MHz	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Storage	O
was	O
provided	O
by	O
128KB	O
of	O
non-volatile	O
RAM	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
PCMCIA	B-Architecture
type	O
I	O
slot	O
for	O
use	O
with	O
memory	O
expansion	O
cards	O
permitted	O
up	O
to	O
2	O
megabytes	O
of	O
additional	O
storage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
proprietary	O
serial	B-Protocol
port	I-Protocol
offered	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
link	O
to	O
a	O
PC	B-Device
via	O
an	O
RS-232	O
adapter	O
cable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Eden	O
Group	O
also	O
wrote	O
bespoke	O
software	O
for	O
the	O
PDA600	O
that	O
run	O
on	O
PCMCIA	B-Architecture
memory	O
cards	O
,	O
in	O
addition	O
to	O
the	O
standard	O
PIM	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PDA600	O
could	O
be	O
synchronized	O
and	O
backed-up	O
via	O
Windows	O
with	O
the	O
optional	O
extra	O
"	O
PC-Organiser	O
for	O
Windows	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Over	O
time	O
,	O
the	O
rubber	O
coating	O
on	O
the	O
outside	O
of	O
the	O
PenPad	B-Application
turns	O
into	O
a	O
sticky	O
substance	O
which	O
requires	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
scrape	O
off	O
the	O
coating	O
as	O
heavy	O
washing	O
of	O
skin	O
that	O
comes	O
into	O
contact	O
with	O
the	O
PDA600	O
would	O
be	O
required	O
if	O
the	O
user	O
attempts	O
to	O
use	O
it	O
with	O
the	O
coating	O
still	O
on	O
the	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Amstrad	B-Application
PenPad	I-Application
,	O
like	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
Newton	I-Device
,	O
struggled	O
in	O
a	O
time	O
where	O
these	O
early	O
PDAs	B-Application
were	O
expensive	O
to	O
produce	O
and	O
did	O
not	O
manage	O
to	O
capture	O
enough	O
interest	O
and	O
eventually	O
production	O
was	O
discontinued	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
n't	O
until	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
the	O
Palm	B-Application
Pilot	B-Application
1000	I-Application
in	O
1996	O
that	O
the	O
first	O
truly	O
successful	O
PDA	B-Application
relying	O
on	O
pen	O
input	O
was	O
born	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Amstrad	O
did	O
invest	O
in	O
R&D	O
for	O
a	O
successor	O
to	O
the	O
PDA600	O
,	O
called	O
the	O
PIC700	O
,	O
but	O
with	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
PenPad	B-Application
it	O
was	O
never	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
