HP OmniBook
Line of laptop computers
OmniBook OmniBook X (2024)
Developer Type Laptop Release date 1993 (original); 2024 (revival) Lifespan 1993–2002 (original) 2024–present (revival) Discontinued 2002 (original) Marketing target Predecessor 1993 (original):HP Vectra LS 2024 (revival):
OmniBook is a line of laptops originally made by Hewlett-Packard and currently sold by HP Inc. , the 2015 successor to the original Hewlett-Packard.
The original OmniBook line was introduced in 1993 as a line of business-oriented laptops and subnotebooks . It was discontinued in 2002 following the acquisition of Compaq by Hewlett-Packard, with the Compaq Presario , HP Compaq , and HP Pavilion laptops succeeding the OmniBook line.
After 22 years of absence, the OmniBook line was revived as part of HP's rebranding of its PC product lines. The new "Omni" brand would be used for all consumer PCs (aside from Omen ), with OmniBook for laptops, OmniDesk for desktop computers, and OmniStudio for all-in-one PCs. This new branding would replace the long-running Pavilion brand in use since 1995, among other brands.[ 1] [ 2]
The new OmniBook line introduced since 2024 now targets the consumer market rather than the business market as was the case for the original OmniBook line from 1993–2002.
Models
Comparison table
OmniBook 800 (1996)
Pop-up mouse of the OmniBook 800CT
OmniBook 2100 (1998)
OmniBook XE3 (2000)
OmniBook 6100 (2001)
Model name
Processor
Clock speed (MHz)
Max. memory
LCD technology
LCD size and resolution
Release date
Ref(s).
300
AMD 386SX-LV
20
10 MB
Monochrome STN (reflective)
9 in, VGA
June 1993
[ 3] [ 4]
425
TI 486SLC/e
25
10 MB
Monochrome STN (reflective)
9 in, VGA
November 1993
[ 5] [ 6]
430
TI 486SLC/e
25
10 MB
Monochrome STN (reflective)
9 in, VGA
February 1994
[ 7] [ 8]
530
Intel 486SX
33
12 MB
Monochrome STN (reflective)
9 in, VGA
June 1994
[ 9] [ 10] : 240
600C
Intel i486DX4
75
16 MB
Color STN
8.5, VGA
November 1994
[ 11] [ 12]
4000
Intel i486DX2
50
32 MB
10.3, VGA (STN) or 10.4, VGA (TFT)
November 1994
[ 11] [ 13] [ 14]
600CT
Intel i486DX4
75
16 MB
Color TFT
9.5, VGA
July 1995
[ 15]
5500CT
Intel Pentium
100 or 120
64 MB
Color STN
12.1, SVGA
May 1996
[ 16]
5500CS
Intel Pentium
120 or 133
64 MB
Color TFT
May 1996
[ 16]
800CT
Intel Pentium
133
48 MB
Color TFT
10.4, SVGA
September 1996
[ 17] [ 18]
800CS
Intel Pentium
100
48 MB
Color TFT
10.4, SVGA
September 1996
[ 17] [ 18]
5000CT
Intel Pentium
133
48 MB
Color TFT
12.1, SVGA
September 1996
[ 17]
5700
Intel Pentium MMX
150 or 166
160 MB
Color TFT
12.1, SVGA
April 1997
[ 19]
2000CT
Intel Pentium MMX
133
64 MB
Color TFT
12.1, SVGA
June 1997
[ 20]
2000CS
Intel Pentium MMX
150
64 MB
Color STN
12.1, SVGA
October 1997
[ 21]
3000
Intel Pentium MMX
233 or 266
144 MB
Color TFT
13.3, XGA
November 1997
[ 22] [ 23] [ 24]
2100
Intel Pentium MMX
200 or 233
160 MB
12.1, SVGA
April 1998
[ 25] [ 26]
3100
Intel Pentium MMX
266
160 MB
Color TFT
13.3, XGA
April 1998
[ 25]
4100
Intel Mobile Pentium II
233 or 266
160 MB
Color TFT
April 1998
[ 25] [ 27]
7100
Intel Mobile Pentium II
266
288 MB
Color TFT
14.1, XGA
April 1998
[ 25] [ 28] [ 29]
Sojourn
Intel Mobile Pentium II
233
64 MB
Color TFT
12.1, SVGA
April 1998
[ a] [ 30] [ 31] [ 32]
7150
Intel Mobile Pentium II
300
320 MB
Color TFT
14.1, XGA
September 1998
[ 33] [ 29]
Intel Mobile Pentium II
300
256 MB
Color TFT
October 1998
[ 34] [ 27]
900
300, 360 or 400 (Pentium II) 450 or 500 (Pentium III)
160 MB
Color TFT
January 1999
[ 35] [ 36]
900B
300, 360 or 400 (Pentium II) 450 or 500 (Pentium III)
192 MB
Color TFT
1999
[ 36]
XE
266 or 300 (Pentium II) 333 (Celeron)
256 MB
12.1, SVGA (SFN and TFT) 13.3, XGA (TFT)
February 1999
[ 37] [ 38]
XE2
300 (Pentium II) 333 (Celeron)
256 MB
12.1, SVGA (SFN and TFT) 13.3, XGA (TFT)
May 1999
[ 39] [ 38]
6000
700 (Pentium III) 550 (Celeron)
128 MB
Color TFT
May 2000
[ 40]
XE3
933–1133 (Pentium III) 933–1066 (Celeron)
1 GB
Color TFT
September 2000
[ 41] [ 42]
500
700 or 750 (Pentium III) 600 (Celeron)
512 MB
Color TFT
12.1, XGA
November 2000
[ 43] [ 44]
6100
Intel Mobile Pentium III
1133
512 MB
Color TFT
August 2001
[ 45]
xt6200
Intel Pentium 4 M
1700
1 GB
Color TFT
March 2002
[ 46]
vt6200
Intel Pentium 4 M
1700
1 GB
Color TFT
March 2002
[ 46]
X
Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite
3400 (12 cores)
32 GB
Color OLED (touchscreen)
14, 2.2K (2240 × 1400 pixels)
May 2024
[ 47]
Notable models
OmniBook 300
HP OmniBook 300 (1993)
The HP OmniBook 300 (OB300 ) is a subnotebook released as one of the first models of the original OmniBook line in 1993. It weighed only 2.9 pounds and measured 1.4 × 6.4 × 11.1 inches. It is powered by an AMD 386SX-LV processor, featured a full-size keyboard, a pop-up computer mouse (This same pop-up mouse would later be used in the OmniBook 800CT; see the image above), and a 9-inch VGA screen.[ 48] [ 49] [ 50] It had two PCMCIA slots for additional memory, modem, network cards or other peripherals. It was sold in three storage configurations: no mass storage (F1030A at US$1,515 ), 10 MB flash memory disk (F1031A at US$2,375 ), or 40 MB hard drive (F1032A at US$1,950 ). Compared to the hard drive, the flash memory disk reduced the weight and storage capacity of the notebook with increased battery life. One of its outstanding features was a technology known as "Instant On".
The OmniBook 300 came with slimmed-down copies of MS-DOS 5.0 and Windows 3.1 . Due to storage limitations, the OmniBook 300 included both Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word pre-installed in ROM, a practice that was and still remains unusual to this day.[ 51] The "International English" version of the OmniBook 300 used code page 850 (rather than the more common code page 437 ) as hardware code page .
Notes
See also
References
^ Cranz, Alex (May 20, 2024). "HP is simplifying its laptop lineup and embracing the AI PC" . The Verge . Retrieved May 20, 2024 .
^ Harding, Scharon (May 20, 2024). "HP resurrects '90s OmniBook branding, kills Spectre, Dragonfly" . Ars Technica . Retrieved May 20, 2024 .
^ Lee, Yvonne L. (June 7, 1993). "OmniBook speeds start-up, shutdown" . InfoWorld . 15 (23). IDG Publications: 29 – via Google Books.
^ Angus, Earl (December 20, 1993). "Hewlett-Packard OmniBook 300" . InfoWorld . 15 (51). IDG Publications: 69 – via Google Books.
^ Polilli, Steve (November 8, 1993). "HP touts infrared spec, unveils 486 OmniBook" . InfoWorld . 15 (45). IDG Publications: 6 – via Google Books.
^ Bertolucci, Jeff (January 1994). "OmniBook Gets 486" . PC World . 12 (1). IDG Publications: 80 – via the Internet Archive.
^ Lee, Yvonne L. (February 14, 1994). "HP will offer OmniBook sans ROM versions of Word, Excel" . InfoWorld . 16 (7). IDG Publications: 14 – via Google Books.
^ Staff writer (April 1994). "More for Less, and Less for More" . PC World . 12 (4). IDG Publications: 72 – via the Internet Archive.
^ Lee, Yvonne L. (June 13, 1994). "HP releases enhanced OmniBook 350" . InfoWorld . 16 (24). IDG Publications: 40 – via Google Books.
^ Bass, Steve (September 1994). "Top Picks for the Home Office" . PC World . 12 (9). IDG Publications: 239–240 – via the Internet Archive.
^ a b Zimmerman, Michael R. (November 21, 1994). "HP Adds Color, Full-sized Units to OmniBook Line" . PC Week . 11 (46). Ziff-Davis: 53 et seq . – via Gale.
^ Caton, Michael (November 14, 1994). "OmniBook Elevates Subnotebook Class" . PC Week . 11 (45). Ziff-Davis: 21 et seq . – via Gale.
^ Francis, Bob (November 14, 1994). "High-end HP OmniBook notebook debuts" . InfoWorld . 16 (46). IDG Publications: 47 – via Google Books.
^ PC Portátil HP OmniBook 3100 Venta en 1 Minuto [HP OmniBook 2100 Laptop PC Sale in 1 Minute ] (PDF) (in Spanish). Hewlett-Packard. 1998. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 12, 2004.
^ Lee, Yvonne L.; Bob Francis (July 17, 1995). "NEC and HP add expansion options, memory" . InfoWorld . 17 (29). IDG Publications: 16 – via Google Books.
^ a b "New notebooks: HP expands new OmniBook 5500 notebook PC line" . EDGE . 7 . EDGE Publishing: 19. May 27, 1996 – via Gale.
^ a b c April, Carolyn A. (September 16, 1996). "OmniBooks pack power lightly" . InfoWorld . 18 (38). IDG Publications: 33 – via Google Books.
^ a b Letson, Russell (April 1997). "Lightweight, heavy power" . Home Office Computing . 15 (4). Line56: 30 et seq . – via Gale.
^ Briody, Dan (April 21, 1997). "HP shifts mobile focus to manageability" . InfoWorld . 19 (16). IDG Publications: 31 – via Gale.
^ Briody, Dan (June 2, 1997). "Dell, HP aim notebook lines at the desktop" . InfoWorld . 19 (22). IDG Publications: 19 – via Google Books.
^ Staff writer (October 27, 1997). "New notebook: HP to extend value OmniBook Notebook PC line" . EDGE . 8 . EDGE Publishing: 11 – via Gale.
^ Girard, Kim (November 3, 1997). "Dell, HP target corporate users with thinner, lighter laptops" . Computerworld . 31 (44). IDG Publications: 17 – via Gale.
^ Briody, Dan (January 19, 1998). "HP notebooks make corporate bid" . InfoWorld . 20 (3). IDG Publications: 31 – via Gale.
^ HP OmniBook 3000 Reference Guide (PDF) . Hewlett-Packard. 1998. pp. 9-3–9-4. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 28, 2007.
^ a b c d Briody, Dan (April 27, 1998). "HP's notebooks, PCs focus on manageability" . InfoWorld . 20 (17). IDG Publications: 3 – via Google Books.
^ PC Portátil HP OmniBook 2100 Venta en 1 Minuto [HP OmniBook 2100 Laptop PC Sale in 1 Minute ] (PDF) (in Spanish). Hewlett-Packard. 1998. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 12, 2004.
^ a b HP OmniBook 4100/4150 Reference Guide (PDF) . Hewlett-Packard. 1998. pp. 8-3–8-4. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 28, 2006.
^ Spooner, John G. (February 2, 1998). "OmniBook Refresher" . PC Week . 15 (5). Ziff-Davis: 10 – via Gale.
^ a b HP OmniBook 7100/7150 Reference Guide (PDF) . Hewlett-Packard. 1998. pp. 8-3–8-4. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 28, 2003.
^ Kvitka, Andre (March 30, 1998). "HP's Sojourn reaffirms 'thin is in' " . InfoWorld . 20 (13). IDG Publications: 1, 99 – via Gale.
^ Staff writer (November 23, 1998). "Sojourn ends its travels" . PC Week . Ziff-Davis: 6 – via Gale.
^ HP OmniBook Sojourn Troubleshooting Guide (PDF) . Hewlett-Packard. 1998. p. 1-3. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 7, 2008.
^ Staff writer (September 9, 1998). "Raft of 300 MHz PII Notebooks Hits Market" . Newsbytes . The Washington Post Company: NEW09090036 – via Gale.
^ Caton, Michael (November 2, 1998). "...But Latest OmniBook Doesn't Stand Out" . PC Week . Ziff-Davis: 60 – via Gale.
^ Staff writer (January 18, 1999). "Pipeline" . InfoWorld . 21 (3). IDG Publications: 29 – via Google Books.
^ a b HP OmniBook 900 Reference Guide . Hewlett-Packard. 1999. pp. 128–129. Archived from the original on June 14, 2016.
^ Staff writer (February 1, 1999). "Pipeline" . InfoWorld . 21 (5). IDG Publications: 25 – via Google Books.
^ a b Tips for Using the OmniBook XE and XE2 . Hewlett-Packard. 1999. pp. 43–46. Archived from the original on March 22, 2016.
^ Schwartz, Ephraim (May 3, 1999). "Customers clamor for mobile diversity" . InfoWorld . 21 (18). IDG Publications: 16 – via Gale.
^ "HP Increases Computing Mobility, Unveils High-Performance HP OmniBook 6000 Notebook PC, Security and Wireless Initiatives" . EDGE . EDGE Publishing: 1. May 1, 2000 – via Gale.
^ Thomas, Daniel (September 21, 2000). "HP to offer wireless LAN on notebooks" . Computer Weekly . TechTarget: 60 – via Gale.
^ HP OmniBook XE3 Notebook PC (PDF) . Hewlett-Packard. 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 30, 2003.
^ Popovich, Ken (November 13, 2000). "Hardware takes the stage" . eWeek . QuinStreet: 20 – via Gale.
^ HP OmniBook 500 Notebook PC (PDF) . Hewlett-Packard. January 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 1, 2003.
^ Neel, Dan (August 6, 2001). "Laptops sport new Intel chip" . InfoWorld . 23 (32). IDG Publications: 20 – via Gale.
^ a b Shaw, Keith (March 11, 2002). "The arrival of Penium 4 notebooks" . Network World . IDG Publications: 56 – via Gale.
^ Low, Cherlynn (May 20, 2024). "HP Omnibook X hands-on: Vintage branding in the new era of AI" . Engadget . Yahoo! Inc. Archived from the original on May 20, 2024.
^ "HP Virtual Museum: Hewlett-Packard OmniBook 300, 1993" . Hewlett-Packard . Retrieved February 20, 2012 .
^ "The OmniBook 600: Cute but Quirky" . Cs.hmc.edu. Retrieved February 20, 2012 .
^ "Hardware" . The HP Palmtop Paper . Thaddeus Computing . Retrieved February 20, 2012 .
^ "HP Computer Museum" . Hpmuseum.net. Retrieved February 20, 2012 .
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