Toshiba launched the Rupo JW-V850 and Rupo JW-V855 personal word processors in 1997. The JW-V855 featured an internal 33.6 Kbps modem (data: 33.6 Kbps, fax: 14.4 Kbps) where the JW-V850 did not. Otherwise, both models were standard equipped with a high-resolution 400 dpi color scanner, dye-sublimation photo-quality printing, and an 11.3-inch DSTN color LCD screen, enabling the processing of photos and other color images. Photos could be imported via the color scanner or from a digital camera through the RS-232C interface.
The built-in OCR function could read scanned documents. This allowed users to scan and edit documents written in Japanese, business cards, lists and charts, and documents written in Western languages. Even multi-column documents, such as newspaper articles, could be read and imported column by column. After converting scanned text into a Rupo document, the text could be easily revised or cited. Data from scanned business cards could be stored in the Rupo address book and used to print addresses on envelopes.
The JW-V850 and JW-V855 featured very accurate kana-kanji conversion because of their huge 2.32-million-word dictionary and detailed grammatical parsing. Document creation was made that much easier with the inclusion of frequently used colloquial expressions, corporate names, and popular katakana words. The new Shift-Typo Correction function made it possible to correct Japanese documents after the fact for accidental entries made with the alphanumeric shift key.
The JW-V850 / JW-V855’s color scanner and color printer could be used from a computer by connecting the computer to the word processor with the optional interface kit.
| Model | JW-V850 | JW-V855 |
|---|---|---|
| External dimensions [mm] and weight | 376 x 370 x 85 (w x d x h) | |
| Weight | ~4.8kg | ~4.9kg |
| Power supply | 100 VAC, 50 / 60 Hz, 17 W (50 W max.) | 100 VAC, 50 / 60 Hz, 18 W (51 W max.) |
| Display device | 11.3-inch DSTN color LCD screen 40 characters x 24 lines |
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| Color scanner | Resolutions: 400 dpi, 200 dpi, 100 dpi Scanning size: postcards to A4 |
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| Optical character recognition (OCR) | Scanning modes: Japanese documents, English documents, business cards, addresses Character sizes: documents — 5 to 20 points, business cards — 5 to 40 points |
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| Printer | Dye sublimation (photo prints) and thermal transfer 56 x 56 dot characters (10 point) 225 characters/sec (thermal transfer printing) B4 auto sheet feeder (up to 30 sheets) Contoured outline fonts (Mincho, Gothic, Sei Kaisho Mouhitsu, Souei Pop, Souei Shinedo, Light Maru Gothic) Outline fonts (Elite 12, Courier 10, ten proportional spaced fonts) |
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| Modem | Sold separately | Internal 33.6 Kbps modem |
| Character entry | Whole paragraph conversion (up to 60 characters) Conversion dictionary: 801,000 words AI conversion: 1.407 million candidate words Postal code dictionary: 117,000 entries |
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| User-defined dictionary | 2,000 words | |
| Document length | Long document: 48,000 words Normal document: 16,000 words | |
| Color image editing functions | Displayable colors: 4,096 Extract area, background combination, graphic editing (color fill, invert, move / copy, resize, rotate, merge, add effects / change image quality) |
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| Data processing functions | Address book, graphs (22 varieties), spreadsheets, conversion to other document formats, MS-DOS text conversion |
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| Internet / communication functions | Easy Internet (preferences, online sign-up, Web access, email), word processor-computer communications, fax communications (sold separately on the V850) |
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