PEN / GEOS
PEN / GEOS is a graphical user interface . It was mainly used on mobile devices such as smartphones , including the first versions of the Nokia Communicator and PDAs . It is a descendant of the PC / GEOS .
PEN / GEOS history
Due to the supremacy of Microsoft, "GeoWorks" developed a new system called PEN / GEOS for use on portable computers between 1992 and 1995 on the basis of PC / GEOS. In 1993, the company "NewDeal" acquired a license for the future development and marketing of PC / GEOS.
PEN / GEOS had an optional user interface that could be operated with a special pen, was largely PC / GEOS compatible, and was based on ROMDOS , an embedded DOS from "Datalight". The scalability of PC / GEOS makes it possible to develop GEOS-based user interfaces (GUIs) for a wide variety of x86- compatible hardware and applications.
PEN / GEOS devices
Tandy Z-PDA, AST GridPAD 2390, Casio Z-7000 & XL-7000
PC / GEOS 2.0 was on 9 April 1992 under the name PEN / GEOS 1.0, in addition to Newton the company Apple , a pioneer first PDA technologies. The first PEN / GEOS version became the operating system of the Tandy Z-PDA , called Zoomer , which appeared shortly after the first Apple Newton. This Zoomer PDA was the forefather of all Palm PDAs and was also released under license as AST GridPAD 2390 and in the best-selling version as Casio Z-7000 , which outside the USA as Casio XL-7000 with a multi-lingual interface, but without AOL client and some US-specific information texts was sold. These devices, called zoomers, were the first PDAs with a connection to the online services of the time Compuserve and AOL . This was made possible by pre-installed dial-in software. Switching to the Internet, WWW or Gopher was not yet possible due to the lack of software.
HP OmniGo 100 & 120
GeoWorks developed PEN / GEOS 2.0 in 1993, based on PC / GEOS 2.0 for the pocket computer HP OmniGo 100 and its successor -120, which was equipped with background lighting .
Brother LW writing system
In the years that followed, PEN / GEOS appeared in Brother LW electronic screen typewriters with an integrated office software package and Nike UI interface. This PEN / GEOS, which is located in the typewriter, is still the only version that had a driver provided by the manufacturer for hand-held scanners including the associated GEOS application. The LW750ic system equipped with PEN / GEOS was available in Germany.
Nokia Communicator 9000 (i) & 9110 (i)
From 1996 PEN / GEOS 3.0 was used in the Nokia Communicator smartphone models 9000, 9000i, 9110 and 9110i and established the smartphone market.
Brother GeoBook
Brother launched a series of notebooks called GeoBook in 1997 in collaboration with IBM . A modified PEN / GEOS version with Yago UI was used in the NB-60 , NB-80C and PN-9100GR models . The GeoBook series was mainly marketed in the education sector and was part of the "IBM Eduquest School View" strategy.
Downfall of PEN / GEOS
When Nokia later relied on 32-bit RISC CPUs for a new series of communicators, GeoWorks came under strong pressure, as PEN / GEOS was an x86-compatible system that was limited to 16-bit. GeoWorks hectically bought Risc software, such as the Eden OS from the Eden Group , called it GEOS-E and started on its basis and with the experience from PC / GEOS and PEN / GEOS, the new GEOS-SC , a 32-bit RISC -Develop successors. GeoWorks missed the contractually agreed deadline for GEOS-SC at Nokia. This meant the end for PEN / GEOS in Nokia Communicator and established the beginning of the demise of the GeoWorks company.
Later she was able to license GEOS-SC for some i-mode mobile phones and for the first GSM- enabled smartphone with route planner, Toshiba Genio and the first mobile phone with integrated digital camera Toshiba Camesse for the Japanese market.