TANDY INTRODUCES LIGHTWEIGHT, COMPATIBLE LAPTOP PORTABLE COMPUTER
 
SEPTEMBER 28, 1989
Fort Worth, TX -- John V. Roach, chairman and chief executive
officer of Tandy Corporation, introduced today the new, ultra-
light Tandy 1100 FD laptop portable computer, to leading industry
analysts meeting in Fort Worth.
 
The 1100 FD with DOS and DeskMate built-in may be the industry's
first "ideal solution" for portable computer users who need PC
compatibility but do not want the trade-off of a heavier weight,
higher cost, larger size and shorter battery life.
 
Weighing less than 6.5 pounds, the 1100 FD is one of the lightest
PC-compatible computers on the market.  It is the first portable
computer to build in the ease-of-use and friendly look and feel
of the DeskMate graphical user interface.
 
The 1100 FD's unique design features the MS-DOS 3.3 operating
system, the DeskMate Desktop, DeskMate's TEXT application and
DeskMate's 90,000-word spell checker in ROM (Read-Only Memory).
With these features, one industry-standard 3.5-inch 720K
(Kilobyte) disk drive gives the 1100 FD more functionality than
any other portable with the same drive -- or even desktop systems
with dual 360K drives.
 
The 1100 FD operates on a removeable, rechargeable and
inexpensive battery for more than five hours -- longer than most
PC-compatible battery-operated portables.  An AC adapter/
recharger is included.
 
The 1100 FD has an 80 x 25, high-contrast liquid crystal display
with 640 x 200 resolution.  The fold-over display measures
approximately nine inches diagonally and closely resembles the
aspect ratio of conventional video monitors.
 
Other features of the 1100 FD include a NEC V-20 microprocessor
with a clock speed of 8MHz (megahertz), 640K of available memory,
a full-size 84-key keyboard with enhanced keypad emulation, low-
battery indicator, battery-saving standby mode, built-in real
time clock, parallel printer port, serial communications port and
one dedicated internal modem slot.
 
In addition to its built-in ROM features, the standard array of
DeskMate applications, accessories and utilities -- Worksheet,
Filer, Telecom, Calendar, Address Book, PC-Link and more -- are
included on floppy disks with the 1100 FD.
 
The 1100 FD's "clamshell" design has a small footprint of 12.1 x
2.4 x 9.8 inches.
 
Options for the 1100 FD laptop portable are a 2400 bps (bits per
second) internal modem (catalog #25-3538) for $199.95; a
replacement battery (catalog #25-3536) for $29.95; and, a choice
of durable carrying cases.
 
Retail priced at $999, the Tandy 1100 FD portable laptop computer
(catalog #25-3530) is expected to be available by December.
Prices are good at more than 7,000 Radio Shack Computer Centers,
Radio Shack stores and participating dealers nationwide.
 
###
Tandy and DeskMate are registered trademarks of Tandy
    Corporation.
Radio Shack Computer Center and Radio Shack are registered
    service marks of Tandy Corporation.
MS-DOS is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
NEC is a registered trademark of NEC Home Electronics, Inc.
PC-Link is a service mark of Quantum Computer Services, Inc.