Launched in 1996, the Libretto 20 was world’s smallest and lightest mini-notebook computer. Mobile computing was beginning to gain mainstream acceptance at the time as an efficient, portable work modality made possible by subnotebooks and mobile information tools (such as personal digital assistants). Expectations were mounting for truly mobile information devices that could fit in a briefcase and were light enough to be carried easily (i.e., under a kilogram) while being easy to use, expandable, and able to run the same software and databases as office computers.
- The Libretto 20 had the following features.
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- 1. The Libretto 20 was about one-third the size of an A4 page (210 x 115 x 34 mm) and weighed about 840 grams thanks to the inclusion of high-performance LSI chips and an ultra-slim hard drive. This made the Libretto 20 the world’s smallest and lightest computer running Microsoft Windows 95.
- 2. The Libretto 20 offered the same operating environment as a standard notebook with a new pointing device (the Aqu Point stick) and an 88-key keyboard (with a 13 mm key pitch) that was functionally compatible with the OADG DOS/V 106-key keyboard, the standard on DOS/V computers.
- 3. The mini-notebook could display up to 65,536 colors simultaneously on its 6.1-inch TFT color LCD screen. It also came with a high-speed graphics accelerator.
- 4. It was standard equipped with a compact-designed AC adaptor (100 x 50 x 25 mm) and a rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack that gave two to three hours of operating time. Using the optional add-on battery pack (which weighed about 270 grams) gave a total of about six hours of battery life.
- 5. The Libretto 20 had a high-performance CPU equivalent to a 75 MHz DX4 processor and came with 8 MB of main memory standard. The main memory could be expanded up to 20 MB.
- 6. It came with a PCMCIA-compliant Type II PC card slot that could accept a PC-card SCSI for connectivity with CD-ROM drives and other devices or a PC-card asynchronous modem (either a fax or a data modem) for networking with other computers. It could also accept an optional PC-card Type III adaptor.
- 7. The Libretto 20 also featured an ultra-slim 270 MB 2.5-inch hard drive with the world’s first 8.45 mm profile.
