The Pedion was a subnotebook computer developed by Mitsubishi Electric with Hewlett-Packard in 1998.[1][2] Hewlett-Packard marketed a rebadged version of the Pedion under their OmniBook brand of notebooks and subnotebooks, called the OmniBook Sojourn, in the same year.[3][4][5] Mitsubishi's subnotebook is named after the Greek word pedion (πεδίον), meaning "plain", "flat", "field".
Developer | |
---|---|
Manufacturer | Mitsubishi Electric |
Type | Subnotebook |
Release date | 1998 |
CPU | Pentium MMX at 233 MHz |
Memory | 64 MB of RAM |
At 0.7244 inches (18.40 mm) thick, the Pedion was the thinnest notebook computer in the world, even thinner than 2008's MacBook Air 0.75 inches (19.05 mm); the MacBook Air was 4 mm at its thinnest point, however. The Pedion included a Pentium MMX processor clocked at 233 MHz, 64 MB of RAM, and a 1 GB hard disk drive.[6]
The Pedion was the first laptop on the market to feature an island-style keyboard—a design for laptop keyboards in which they contain scissor-style switches with low travel and simplified flat keycaps separated from each other by a plastic bezel.[7][8] This style of keyboard technology would not proliferate on laptop keybords until nearly a decade later.[9]
Mitsubishi ceased production and withdrew the notebook from the market due to "mechanical problems".[1]
References
edit- ^ a b Kanellos, Michael (2008-01-15). "MacBook Air: Not the thinnest notebook ever". CNET News.com. Archived from the original on 2018-01-18. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
- ^ Kanellos, Michael (2008-01-16). "Update: Thinnest notebook crown belongs to Sharp". CNET News.com. Archived from the original on 2018-09-13. Retrieved 2008-01-16.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Mitsubishi Pedion review". Alphr. Retrieved 2018-07-19.
- ^ Crothers, Brooke (March 16, 2008). "MacBook Air rivals, past and present". CNET. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021.
- ^ Forbes, Jim (1998). "Pedion Proves Thin Is In". Windows Magazine. 9 (3). CMP Media: 128. Archived from the original on 2023-03-09. Retrieved 2021-11-17 – via Google Books.
- ^ "What the Vaio Z says about Sony's little design problem". November 15, 2011. Archived from the original on June 21, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.