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Morrow Pivot

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Pivot
A Morrow Pivot II from 1985
Developer
TypePortable computer
Release dateNovember 1984; 40 years ago (1984-11)
Introductory priceUS$2,995 (equivalent to $8,780 in 2023)
Operating systemMS-DOS 2.11
CPU8088
Memory256 KB (expandable to 640 KB) RAM
32 KB ROM
Display10-inch monochrome LCD
Graphics
  • 80×16 lines, 480×128 pixels (Pivot I)
  • 80×25 lines, 640×200 pixels (Pivot II)
Mass13 pounds (5.9 kg)

The Pivot is a family of early IBM PC–compatible portable computers first released in 1984 by Morrow Designs, a company founded by George Morrow. It was the first lunchbox-style portable computer, with a vertically configured case that has a fold-down keyboard.[1][2]: 2240  The only external component is a single AC adapter. It would have been a little top heavy except for the large camcorder-style battery loaded into its base. The Pivot was designed by Chikok Shing of Vadem Inc.[3]

The IBM-compatible Pivot was Morrow's first non-Z80 machine.[4] While modern laptops do not necessarily share its design, it was arguably the most practical machine until desktops embraced 3.5-inch floppies. Robert Dilworth went from being General Manager of Morrow Designs to being CEO of Zenith Data Systems for years as part of Zenith's paying him to talk George Morrow into licensing the Pivot to them.[5]

Specifications

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The original model, retrospectively called the Pivot I,[6] was unveiled at COMDEX/Spring '84 in May 1984 and released in November that year.[7][8] The Pivot I has one 5.25-inch floppy drive, 256 KB of RAM, and an LCD capable of displaying bitmapped graphics at an abridged resolution of 480 by 128 pixels or text at 80 columns by 16 lines. Because these resolutions were smaller than standard CGA, a pop-up TSR utility built into ROM allows the user to scroll the screen in the four cardinal directions dynamically, while a program is running. Instead of sculpted plastic keys for the ten F-keys, these keys are located on a membrane keypad, with four additional photographic keys corresponding to different TSR utilities. These include the calculator button, which loads a calculator app; a clock button, which loads a clock/calendar app; a phone button, which loads a modem utility for terminal emulation; and a floppy icon, which either boots the floppy currently loaded into drive A or starts the aforementioned screen-scrolling utility.[9]

The Pivot I had an original list price of US$2,995. In February 1985, they revised the LCD to have an electroluminescent backlighting panel, allowing users to operate the computer in the dark. With this adjustment, the Morrow Pivot became the first battery-powered portable computer with a backlit display.[8]

The Pivot II, introduced in May 1985, improved the LCD to support native CGA resolutions—that is, 320 by 200 pixels in graphics mode and 80 columns by 25 lines in text mode.[10] The Pivot II was optioned with either one or two 5.25-inch floppy drives.[11][12] In March 1986, Morrow introduced the Pivot XT, including an internal 3.5-inch, 10-MB hard disk drive on top of two 5.25-inch floppy drives.[13]

Clones

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The Pivot II design was licensed to Zenith Data Systems in February 1985 for $1.5 million[14] and sold as the Zenith Z-171. Zenith sold over US$27 million worth of ZFL-171s to the United States government, mainly to the Internal Revenue Service—notably beating out IBM and their PC Convertible clamshell laptop.[15][16][17]

Osborne Computer Corporation licensed the original Pivot (not backlit, 80x16 line/480x128 display, 128 KB RAM, 16 KB ROM) from 1984 as the basis for their Osborne 3, known as the Osborne Encore in Europe.[18]

See also

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  • Sharp PC-7000, a later lunchbox portable PC, released in 1985 and also designed by Vadem

References

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  1. ^ Staff writer (October 1989). "George Morrow Readying New Computer". Byte. 14 (10). McGraw-Hill: 22, 26 – via the Internet Archive.
  2. ^ Król, Karol (September 2021). "Hardware Heritage—Briefcase-Sized Computers". Heritage. 4 (3). MDPI: 2237–2252. doi:10.3390/heritage4030126 – via ProQuest.
  3. ^ Plunkett, R. B. Jr. (February 27, 1986). "Zenith wins IRS contract". Daily News: 51 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Markoff, John (May 9, 2003). "George Morrow, a Personal Computer Visionary, Dies at 69". The New York Times. p. A29. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  5. ^ Wilder, Clinton (August 24, 1987). "Zenith Data president leaves for start-up". Computerworld. XXI (34). CW Communications: 8 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ Caruso, Denise (December 9, 1985). "Morrow Quits Retailing for Value-Added Market". Electronics. 58. Endeavor Business Media: 59 – via Gale.
  7. ^ Dodge, J. M. (May 29, 1984). "Comdex: A Few Important Products – 7 Compatibles Make Debuts at Spring Show". PC Week. 1 (21). Ziff-Davis: 1 – via Gale.
  8. ^ a b Chin, Kathy (February 25, 1985). "Morrow Shows New Flat Panel". InfoWorld. 7 (8). IDG Publications: 16 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ Ahl, David H. (April 1985). "Morrow Pivot". Creative Computing. 11 (4): 32.
  10. ^ Sullivan, Kathleen (May 6, 1985). "Morrow unveils IBM-compatible portable". Computerworld. XIX (18). CW Communications: 60 – via Google Books.
  11. ^ Casella, Phil (September 23, 1985). "A Portable and Legible MS-DOS PC with Pivot II". InfoWorld. 7 (38). IDG Publications: 51–52 – via Google Books.
  12. ^ McCarthy, Michael (December 2, 1985). "Pivot II Update: Warning Signal Gives Portable a Higher Score". InfoWorld. Vol. 7, no. 48. p. 46. ISSN 0199-6649.
  13. ^ Kanzler, Stephen (March 4, 1986). "Morrow offers hard-disk Pivot model". PC Week. 3 (9). Ziff-Davis: 6 – via Gale.
  14. ^ Staff writer (January 7, 1985). "Morrow, Zenith Data Systems Enter into Licensing Agreement". Computer Systems News (193). UBM LLC: 18 – via Gale.
  15. ^ Lewis, Peter H. (March 11, 1986). "Surprising Zenith Portable". The New York Times: C6. Archived from the original on May 24, 2015.
  16. ^ Barney, Douglas (June 1986). "Zenith laptop boasts 3½-in. drives, full-size LCD screen". Computerworld. XX (24). IDG Publications: 15. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023 – via Google Books.
  17. ^ Mel, Mandell (February 23, 1987). "The Secrets of Silent Success". Computer Decisions. 19 (4). Family Media: 72. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023 – via ProQuest.
  18. ^ Watt, Peggy (November 12, 1984). "Osborne Shows New Computer". InfoWorld. p. 15.
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