Packard Bell Statesman

Packard Bell Statesman

Manufacturer	Packard Bell Zenith Data Systems
Type	Notebook Computer
Release date	October 4, 1993; 28 years ago (1993-10-04)
Introductory price	Starting at US$1,500 (equivalent to $2,619 in 2020)
Media	Floppy Disk
Operating system	MS-DOS Windows 3.1x
CPU	Cyrix Cx486SLC @ 33/50 MHz
Memory	4-12 MB
Graphics	Chips & Tech - 65520/525/530
Input	Built-in Keyboard J-Mouse 1 x VGA Port 1 x Serial port 1 x Parallel port 1 x PS/2 port

The Packard Bell Statesman was an economy line of notebook computers introduced in 1993 by Packard Bell. They were slower in performance and lacked features compared to most competitor products, but they were lower in price.^[1] It was created in a collaboration between Packard Bell and Zenith Data Systems. The Statesman series was essentially a rebrand of Zenith Data Systems Z-Star 433 series, with the only notable difference of the logo in the middle and text on the front bezel.

History[]

Introduction[]

The Statesman was first introduced on October 4th, 1993. Prices started at $1,500 for a monochrome or color DSTN model with a 33 MHz Cyrix Cx486SLC, 4 MB of ram, 200 MB hard disk drive, internal 1.44 MB floppy disk drive, and MS-DOS 6.0 and Windows for the included software. The Statesman used a "J mouse" pointing device working similar to IBM's ThinkPad TrackPoint. The Statesman was expected to begin shipping within the next few weeks.^[2]

Hardware[]

Specifications[]

The first models in the series, the 200M and 200C, used a Cyrix Cx486SLC, which was actually a 386SX with on-board L1 cache and 486 instructions. The processor was clocked at 33MHz and had 1 KB of L1 cache. On the bottom of the device, the motherboard had an empty socket for a co-processor, which could improve floating-point math performance.

The 200M and 200C plus models were the same but with a Cyrix Cx486SLC2 which was clocked at 50 MHz.

Standard ram included was 4-8 MB of EDO RAM. The ram was on a proprietary SIMM that could only be upgraded to 12 MB maximum if the user had compatible modules.

For storage a hard drive was included with a size was 100 or 200 MB, and all models had an internal 1.44 MB floppy disk drive.

The series shipped with MS-DOS and Windows 3.11 as the included operating system.

One interesting feature of the series is that the J key also acted as a mouse, working similar to IBM's ThinkPad track-point. On some models additional keys such as S, D, F, G and space let you do other mouse actions such as right click, left click, double click, and middle mouse click.

The J mouse along with its additional mouse control keys.

Comparison[]

Statesman 200M — The first Statesman model, it featured a Cyrix Cx486SLC running at 33 MHz, 4 MB of ram, and a 200 MB hard drive. The 200M also came with a DSTN monochrome display, and the battery could last up to 4 hours. The 200M weighed 7.4 lb and was $1500.^[3] Additional features included: Nickel-cadmium battery, 1.44 MB floppy disk drive, 1 Type II PCMCIA slot.

Statesman 200C — The second Statesman model, it was the same as the 200M with the only notable differences of a passive color display and slightly decreased battery life of about 3 hours. It cost $700 more than the 200M at $2200.^[4]

Statesman 200M/200C Plus — The 200M/200C Plus were both identical to their previous base models, with the only difference of them having a Cx486SLC2 running at 50 MHz.^[5] In 1994 it cost around $2,295 for the 200C plus with 4 MB of ram, with 8 MB costing an extra $400.^[1]

See also[]

• PB286LP, Packard Bell's first laptop

References[]

External links[]

• LGR: $2,400 Laptop From 1994: Packard Bell Statesman, YouTube, 8 May 2020
• Statesman drivers and software