Introducing SPARCbook
Written on February 18th, 2026 by Tech Ads
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Introducing
Prices start at $4950
Meet the Notebook that Breaks the Mold
At just 6.8 pounds, SPARCbook 1 is light enough to
carry comfortably and small enough to fit in your
briefcase. Yet it incorporates the same power as the
world's most popular desktop workstations from Sun
Microsystems, including: a SPARC RISC processor
sustaining 18 MIPS, 8 to 32 MB of fast DRAM and up
to 240 MB of disk space.
Now you can run UNIX and DOS applications
unmodified— anywhere. SPARCbook comes with
Solaris 2.0, SunSoft's UNIX SVR4 implementation,
enhanced for battery operation and Insignia Solutions’
MS-DOS emulation software.
In the office, SPARCbook is a powerful desktop work-
station. It connects to your corporate Ethernet net-
work and simultaneously supports a VGA display for
high-resolution color graphics.
On the road, it travels with you to business meetings
and into the field for sales, service and maintenance
calls. SPARCbook's innovative MouseKey integrates
the convenience of an external mouse into the key-
board. An internal 2400-baud modem with SendFax®
capability puts you in touch with information and
people at the office—or around the world.
A sophisticated power management system ensures data
integrity and maximizes the life of your battery. For
T A D P
Processor 25 MHz SPARC™
DRAM 8MBor 32 MB
Disk Orrions 85 MB to 240 MB hard disk;
1.44 MB 3.5" floppy drive
LCD 640x480 monochrome resolution;
color available Q1'92
Communication Ethernet and modem with SendFax
Barrery Power Removeable NiCad battery:
4 hours normal operating time
Kevnoarn _82-keys with integrated MouseKey,
12 function keys
85" x1
Dimensions
18
Warcirr 6.8 pounds (with battery)
Bunpiep SoFrwaRE Solaris 2.0: SunOS SVR¢ operating system,
Open Network Computing (ONC),Open
Windows V3 and DeskSet Tools; SunOS
4.1 and SunView Binary Compatibility
Packages; modem, Ethernet and power
‘management software: 80386 DOS emulation
less demanding applications, you can conserve
battery power by switching the processor's speed
from 25 MHz to 12.5 MHz. While automatic SAVE
and RESUME functions protect your system from
unexpected power down.
Tadpole's limited warranty protects your productivity
with toll-free technical support and prompt hardware
repair free for one year.
SPARChbook 1 is the only workstation that offers the
performance and versatility you need—whether
you're in the office or on the move.
Find out more about SPARCbook today. Fax us at
512-338-4462 or call:
800-232-6656
O [E E
SPARCbook is a registered trademark licensed to Tadpole Technology by SPARC International, Inc. General Notice: Some of the product names used herein are used for identification
purposes only and are trademarks of their respective companies. Copyright© 1991 by Tadpole Technology Inc.
CIRCLE NO. 245 ON INQUIRY CARD
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‘Introducing SPARCbook’
Tadpole Technology’s SPARCBook 1 was a laptop with a 25MHz CPU based on the SPARC CPU instruction set. Paired with either 8MB or 32MB of RAM, a colour or monochrome screen, and a hard disk from 80MB upwards, the SPARCBook was capable of around 2 hours of runtime when powered solely from the internal battery. As a non-intel compatible SPARC-based system, the SPARCBook 1 shipped with SUN’s Solaris version 2.0 and was capable of running the X-Windows display system. The SPARCBook 1 reviewed well, with the reviewer in the July 1992 edition of SunExpert describing themselves as ‘impressed’.
Prices started at 4,950 USD for a basic monochrome model with 8MB of RAM and an 80MB hard drive and rose to 15,700USD for a model with 32MB of RAM, a colour display, and 2*120 MB hard drives.
A copy of the Tadpole SPARCbook 1 Technical Reference Manual can be found at the Internet Archive.
Taken from: Unix World - Volume VIII, Number 12 (December 1991)