Acorn NewsPad

Acorn NewsPAD

Acorn publicity photograph of the NewsPAD showing a Spanish newspaper page
Specifications
Manufacturer	Acorn RISC Technologies (prototype)
Type	Tablet computer (technology demonstrator)
CPU	40 MHz ARM7500 (ARM7500FE according to Chris's Acorns)
Memory	Two SODIMM sockets, 4 to 128 MB each; 496 bytes of non-volatile RAM
Storage	2.5-inch IDE hard disc (420 MB); floppy drive through the docking station
Display	10.4-inch 800 × 600 active-matrix LCD, 32K colours, resistive touch screen
Sound	16-bit stereo output and capture; built-in speaker
ROM	4 MB
Dimensions	215 × 300 × 38 mm
Weight	2.0 kg
OS / Firmware	—

The Acorn NewsPAD is a touch-screen tablet computer that Acorn RISC Technologies (ART) built in the mid-1990s as a technology demonstrator for the European Union's OMI-NewsPAD project (ESPRIT project EP9252), which was trialling an electronic alternative to the printed newspaper. ART's April 1996 factsheet offered it in sample form, as a licensable design, or in full production to order. Chris Whytehead, who never found one, suspects that only a few prototypes were made. Wikipedia lists the NewsPad among the prototype machines that ran RISC OS.

Specification

ART factsheet DS003 technical overview

Area	Detail
Processor	40 MHz ARM7500, 35.9 MIPS (Dhrystone 2.1) peak, 4 KB cache, write buffer
Memory	Two SODIMM sockets, each 4 to 128 MB; 4 MB ROM; 496 bytes non-volatile RAM
Storage	2.5-inch IDE hard disc, 420 MB; 1.6 MB floppy through the docking station
Display	10.4-inch 800 × 600 SVGA active-matrix LCD, 32K colours; resistive analogue touch screen
External video	Up to 1600 × 600 in 16 colours, and up to 16 million colours, through the dock or a cable adaptor
Sound	16-bit stereo output, 16-bit variable-rate capture, built-in speaker, headphone output
Expansion	Two type II or one type III PCMCIA cards; bi-directional infra-red; provision for a CCD camera
Docking station	Parallel port, floppy interface, serial, keyboard, PS/2 mouse, monitor and AC adaptor connections
Power	AC adaptor; suspend mode (processor clock halted) and stop mode (all clocks stopped, DRAM in self-refresh)
Size	215 × 300 × 38 mm, 2.0 kg

Source: ART factsheet DS003.

The factsheet names the processor as an ARM7500; Chris Whytehead gives the ARM7500FE, the version with the floating point accelerator used in the Acorn Network Computers. He gives 8 MB of RAM expandable to 256 MB, which matches two fully populated 128 MB sockets.

Surviving examples and repair

The Acorn publicity photograph shows a Spanish newspaper page on the screen, and Chris Whytehead suggests that the prototypes may all have gone to the trials in Spain. ART's factsheet is the only NewsPAD technical document on Chris's Acorns. It lists power-saving technology "for increased battery life" and an AC adaptor connection, but gives no circuit, parts list or battery specification. Check the battery pack and its surroundings for leakage before powering a surviving unit; see Battery Explosion, Capacitor or Corrosion Damage.

Documentation

• ART NewsPAD factsheet DS003 (April 1996).

Related pages

• Acorn Network Computer
• Acorn NetStation
• Acorn Stork, Acorn's ARM7500-based portable prototype of the same period
• Acorn A7000