WHEN is a palmtop not a palmtop? When is a notebook not a notebook? Olivetti has provided the answer to these two questions with its Quaderno, a hybrid of a personal computer (PC) that, because of its size and functions, can be best described as a cross between a palmtop and notebook computer.
With dimensions of 21 cm by 14.8 cm by 3.2 cm and weighing one kilogram, the Quaderno may not be big enough to slide neatly into the inside of your jacket pocket, but this inconvenience is more than made up for by its myriad functions.
And if that is not enough to impress - or confuse - this nifty-looking PC also has the ability to get its message across with an added feature: the ''voice manager''. This is sophisticated voice recording software that works along the same lines as a cassette recorder, the difference being no cassette tape is needed.
Instead, it stores voice data on standard MS-DOS files (MS-DOS 5 is the in-built operating system) on the computer's hard disk.
Along with the voice manager, the Quaderno comes with the standard palmtop modules: note, calculator, phone book, file manager and organiser, collectively called ''Personal Accessories'' (PA) software.
It can also handle desktop applications of a notebook computer, including spreadsheets, database and word processing packages, that run XT-compatible machines and operational peripheral devices such as a modem, mouse and printer.