© 1997-2006
Gareth Knight
All Rights reserved
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Portable 68k Amigas
At one time or another the majority of Amiga owners have wished
that a portable Amiga had been released. Its omission from the
Commodore line-up has been puzzling, most of its competitors have
developed a portable machine at one stage or another. Even Atari
had some success in the laptop market! Unfortunately, the Amigas
custom chipset has proven to be a hindrance to those who want a
cost-effective 'Classic' Amiga laptop. For the moment, the only
viable alternative is to use a Mac or PC laptop and a copy of UAE.
SX-Amiga
The first portable Amiga was built by one of the Amigas creators,
Dale Luck, while he was still working for Commodore-Amiga. The
machine was built into an old SX-64 case but he indicated the small
screen was far from satisfactory.
| Retail Price (circa 1988?): |
Unreleased |
| Source: |
AmiExpo, Marriott Marquis Hotel, New York, 1989 |
Edotronic
A second portable SX64-inspired machine was demonstrated by the
German-based Edotronic in Munich during 1989. The SX-64 casing
features a standard Amiga 2000 motherboard.
| Retail Price (circa 1989?): |
Unreleased |
| Source: |
AmigaHistory.de |
The JourneyMan
The second portable Amiga to be created was sold by Micro Momentum
during the AmiExpo 1989 show. The emphasis is upon a 'luggable'
machine rather than a laptop. The Amiga fits into a briefcase
design and uses an amber monitor for display. Reports of the show
are surprisingly skimpy on the exact specifications of the machine,
although a standard A500 motherboard would be the most likely
candidate.
| Retail Price (circa 1989): |
2495 US Dollars |
| Source: |
AmiExpo, Marriott Marquis Hotel, New York, 1989 |
Gigatron
A German company called Gigatron announced their aim to launch a
portable Amiga at the Hanover 1990 computer fair. Reports indicated
that the machine was based upon an entirely new motherboard that
the company had created. Expansion was via a single expansion slot,
presumably Zorro, that would allow the use of all A2000-compatible
peripherals.
The machine was planned to use an gas plasma or 16 grey scale LCD
display. The cost would vary according to the individuals' choice:
the LCD display would cost £1,700, while the more expensive
gas plasma would retail at £2,500. In addition, there was a
choice of 20, 40, or 100Mb 2.5-inch hard drive. The machine was
expected to go on sale between April and July 1990, but Commodore
intervened and threatened to take the company to court if they
released the machine.
| Retail Price: (circa 1990): |
LCD display: £1,700
Gas Plasma: £2,500 |
| Source: |
Amiga Computing March 1990 |
Newer Technologies Model-10
The Model-10 was the only portable Amiga to have development
completed. The machine was based upon an entirely new motherboard
design but used the existing Amiga chipset and operating system to
ensure compatibility. The $1,800 portable was developed by
Kansas-based Newer Technologies and was due to be distributed by
Briwall. The machine was slightly smaller than an A3 piece of paper
and about 2-3 inches thick, which would unfold to reveal a 10-inch
colour or mono screen. A high end version was quoted as using a
"fast" version of the 68030 processor.
Reports at the time suggest that the company denied Commodore
access rights to the portable design. In turn, Newer Technologies
was refused a licence to manufacture the required Amiga chips and
ROMs. Both companies were within their rights to pursue these
actions, but they both lost.
| Retail Price: (circa 1990): |
$1,800 |
| Source: |
Various Amiga titles, especially Amiga Format No. 32 |
Silent PAWS
The PAWS (Portable Amiga Workstation) from US-based Silent Paws was
an hardware upgrade to the existing A1200 system. The kit rehoused
the Amiga motherboard and keyboard inside a portable case and used
the LCD display via some tweaking of the VGAOnly monitor driver
settings. An interesting effort to utilise existing PC technology
and avoid licencing difficulties. The A4000 version turned the
machine into a luggable unit.
| Retail Price: (circa 1996): |
? |
| Source: |
Various Amiga magazines, Internet |
Puma
After developing the PAWs upgrade kit for existing Amigas (see
above), Silent PAW Productions cited their desire to produce
a true Amiga laptop called the Puma. However, a lack of
funding prevented them.
| Retail Price: (circa 1996): |
Unreleased |
| Source: |
Various Amiga magazines |
A4030L and A4060L Portable
The portable Amigas in development were a source of great
excitement for Amiga owners towards the end of 1996. The 'luggable'
systems, developed by Quikpak, were the
first official Amiga clones to be aimed at the portable video
market. For a time it even appeared that Quikpak would buy the
Amiga itself. Unfortunately, the Gateway
purchase and a lengthy legal battle with Escom representatives
shrunk the company to a one-man operation. Read more.
| Retail Price: (circa 1997): |
A4030L (030 version) - $3997
A4060L (060 version) - $4497 |
| Source: |
Quikpak web site |
SUZANNE
Suzanne is the product of an article by Simon Archer on his efforts
to create an Amiga laptop. The DIY machine is based upon an
expanded A600 motherboard and the combination of cheap PC hardware.
Since the article was written, Simon has replaced the greyscale
screen with a colour unit. Read
more.
| Retail Price: (circa 1996): |
Under £500 |
| Source: |
CU Amiga Magazine, October 1997 |
BoXeR Laptop
A rumour quotes Joe Torre as saying the BoXeR development team were
working on a Boxer-derived Amiga laptop during 2000 .
| Retail Price: (circa 2000): |
? |
| Source: |
Amiga Network News- August 2000 |
Wooden Amiga laptop
In the same creative spirit that produced the Suzanne, Volker
Mohr created a portable A1200 unit that fits inside a wooden case.
Read more.
| Retail Price: (circa 2002): |
? |
| Source: |
Aminet |
BACK
Last Update: 1/11/2001
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