Epson HX-20

Fancy a small, lightweight laptop computer with a great keyboard, built-in printer, infinite storage and a battery life of up to 40 hours? Then whizz back 26 years and bag yourself an Epson HX-20. This little retro-beauty still looks pretty nifty in the modern age — so imagine just how extraordinary the HX-20 must have seemed when it was launched in 1981?

So numerous are the HX-20’s achievements that picking a starting point is tricky. Certainly the machine’s genuine portability would have been a major attraction, arriving as it did during a time when the next most-portable computer was the size of a small suitcase (the 11.8kg Osborne 1). Ditto the Epson's keyboard, which was a proper typewriter-style affair.

We also imagine that many business buyers were enchanted by the HX-20’s battery life, which was good for an entire working week. Then there was the LCD screen that, while small, was wonderfully clear. Let’s not forget the integrated 24-column printer, able to churn out audit trails at 42 lines per minute.

As for storage, with an option of having a built-in micro-cassette recorder, the only limit on capacity was how many tapes the user wished to carry around. Oh, and don’t forget communications — the HX-20 included a 300bit/s modem for those pre-internet electronic data transfers.

Really though, it was the combination of all of the above that made the HX-20 so irresistible. The software support was good and applications existed for all manner of needs, though the proprietary operating system arguably limited choice a little. Add to all of this a price tag of just US$795 (around £392, or £900 in today's money), and it’s really not hard to see why Epson’s little computer was so very popular. Indeed, we’d probably not baulk at paying £900 for one today.

According to Epson, the HX-20 sold over a quarter of a million units worldwide. Nor was its success a one-off. Epson added more models to the HX range and they continued to fly off the shelves for several years.

Perhaps surprisingly, it’s still possible to receive support for the HX-20 from Epson. The company’s website carries extensive documentation relating to the device. With all this in mind, we’re left with a question. Why is Epson today a world-renowned printer manufacturer, rather than a maker of astonishing portable computers?

Product Epson HX-20
Released 1981
Price From US$795

Specifications

Processor Hitachi 6301 (0.6MHz)
Memory 16Kb
Size 290 x 215 x 44mm
Weight 1.7kg
Screen 120 x 32-pixel (20 x 4-character) LCD panel
Storage Optional micro-cassette recorder
Other notables Built-in dot-matrix printer and optional modem