Kaypro 2000+
Model # 81-050
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The KAYPRO 2000+ is the bright choice in laptop computing. Here is the first laptop with all the power and performance of a desktop PC. The KAYPRO 2000+ delivers 50 percent more contrast and readability than conventional electroluminescent displays. And the Kaypro screen has a lifespan of 20,000 hours, compared with the three- to four-thousand hours typical of most other laptops.
Standard Specifications for the KAYPRO 2000+
| Processor: | NEC V20 Kayboard-selectable 4.77/8.0 MHz |
| Video/Display: | High Contrast, EGA-compatible Supertwist LCD Cold-catode flourescent backlit |
| Memory | 768 KB |
| Drives: | Dual 3.5 (720 KB each) |
| Ports: | Serial, parrellel, 5 1/4-inch floppy drive, monitor |
| Modem: | 300/1200 Hayes-Comatible, built-in |
(Charger is 81-1190-1)
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Kaypro intensified competition in the portable computer market yesterday by unveiling a new laptop model. Dubbed the Kaypro 2000+, the 16-pound IBM PC-compatible machine features an improved, full-sized screen and is expected to provide more than 20 percent of the company's revenues when full production begins later this year.
Kaypro's marketing strategy for the new computer is to avoid the low end of the market and instead bundle the laptop with an array of standard features. Thus the basic 2000+ comes equipped with operating system, word processing software, modem and more random access memory than most competitors. With a suggested retail price of $2,795, Kaypro says the machine will cost consumers less than comparably equipped laptops from IBM, Zenith and NEC.
Initial customers for the new machine, said David Kay, the company's president, will be sophisticated computer users seeking a second machine. "But as the technology becomes known... there will be as wide an acceptance as desktops," he said.
The Solana Beach computer maker says its machines are the first to incorporate two aspects of advanced technology. The 2000+ is the first marketed with a cold cathode backlit screen, as opposed to the electroluminescent screens offered by most competitors. The cold cathode screens have an estimated lifespan of 20,000 hours, at least five times longer than the estimated lifespan for screens with older technology, according to Kay. In addition, he said the cold cathode screens, which are manufactured by Sharp, are significantly brighter than other units.
The 2000+ is also the first laptop to offer full EGA capability (enhanced graphics adaptor), which provides higher-resolution graphics. Kay said this is particularly important because much of the most popular business used by the large companies exploits this graphics enhancement.
"The new technology puts laptops in a class with desktop personal computers," said Kay. He added that while he expected competitors to also include the new technology, he believes Kaypro has at least a nine-month lead in offering the advances.
(San Diego Union, Aug 27, 1987)
Kaypro has introduced its new laptop, the Kaypro 2000+, in two models. The 2000+ utilizes a revolutionary new screen technology that makes it twice as readable as previous LCD screens. The 2000+ has a high-contrast, "super twist" LCD backlit screen, with full EGA capability as a standard feature. It also includes a connector for an external EGA, CGA, or MDA monitor.
The first model, due out in late summer, comes with two built-in 720K, 31/2-inch disk drives and 768K of RAM. A second model, to follow, is equipped with a 10 megabyte hard disk drive. Both models are powered by a built-in rechargeable battery pack. By using an optional battery carrier the 2000+ can be run temporarily on D-cell batteries. A selection of name-brand software, including WordStar, Polywindows, MailMerge, GW-BASIC, and MS-DOS, is bundled with the Kaypro 2000+.
(Profiles, September 1987)
Kaypro Corp. unveiled a new and improved version of its laptop computer at the La Jolla Marriott yesterday in a bid to stay at the forefront of the increasingly competitive portable personal computer market.
The 16-pound? Kaypro 2000+ updates the company's original laptop introduced two years ago. The now model features a new "supertwist" LCD cold cathode backlit screen and improved graphics capability!
"The benefit is much higher resolution," said Karen Mock, Kaypro product manager.
The original Kaypro 2000. was criticized for having a difficult-to-read screen.
More memory, 768 KB of RAM, and the ability to plug the laptop into a conventional PC monitor are among the other features of the new computer. Dual processing speeds - 4.77 MHz or 8.0 MHz - allow users to take advantage of currently available hardware and software.
"Unlike many of the laptops on the market, there's a full package of software," Mock said, "including a communications program."
The 2000+ is also equipped with an internal Hayes-compatible 1200/300 baud modem. Mirror II communications software is included with the computer.
Kaypro is well-known for promoting its "bundled software," a package of various programs included with each computer, as a price advantage over the competition.
The new unit has a suggested list price of $2,795, including software, Mock said.
A Kaypro comparison shows the 2000+ list price is lower than similar products made by IBM, Zenith and NEC.
An even more advanced, 2000+ model with a 10 megabyte Winchester hard disk built-in is expected to be introduced sometime this fail, Mock said.
Kaypro's original laptop model sold less than expected, according to published reports, but Kaypro officials are optimistic about the 2000+ because of its price, improved screen, increased memory and a new feature allowing the computer to run on its internal six-volt removeable rechargeable battery, D-cell batteries or house current.
(Robert Scally, Likely San Diego Daily Transcript)
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A major glitch in getting parts has put the Kaypro Corp. three months behind on production of its new 2000+ laptop computer and dampened the company's chances of showing a profit in the first quarter that ended Nov. 30.
The Solana Beach personal computer manufacturer says it now has fixed the parts supply problem and, despite the delay, maintains a lead over other competitors in the market.
When it introduced the state-of-the-art laptop last August, Kaypro was banking on the 2000+ as a key element of its strategy for returning to profitability. The company, which lost $9.6 million for the year ended Aug. 28, estimated then that the laptop would generate 20 percent of its sales when it reached full production later in the year.
But company President David Kay said yesterday that parts ordered from an overseas supplier were defective and had to be sent back for retooling.
"We've had some production snafus that have prevented us from shipping in volume," Ray said. "The problem is mainly in parts ordered from overseas that were not made correctly."
The company has been shipping the laptops on a limited basis, but some local computer dealers, while enthusiastic about the product, say they haven't been able to keep the machines in stock.
"We're out of them now," said John Perty, owner of the Byte Shop in Clairemont, which has sold about "half a dozen" of the machines so far.
The 2000+ features a state-of-the art screen that the company claims is the most readable screen available, as well as more memory than other laptops.
Kay wouldn't say yesterday whether or not the company showed a profit in the first quarter, but he acknowledged that the problems with the laptop will have a negative impact on the results. "That will help," he said.
Kaypro has preliminary sales and earnings figures for the first quarter which ended Nov 30, but Kay declined to comment on them yesterday saying only that he would reserve his remarks until the official, figures are released, probably sometime in mid January.
The company's hopes for the new laptop not withstanding, the 2000+ so far has been nothing but trouble for Kaypro. A prototype of the laptop was unveiled last May at the Comdex trade show.
(Kaypro lags on laptop due to parts problems, David Coburn, Tribune Financial Writer, Clipping from David Kay's Collection)
Years later, we have the Kaypro 2000 Plus, the direct descendant of Darth Vader's lunchbox. The body is still alumi-num, but the sewing machine-style case has given way to a clamshell design, and the screen incorporates advances in display technology. So in some ways, at least, Kaypro has conformed. ...
Kaypro also veered away from the mainstream in its choice of display— again with mixed results. As far as we know, the 2000 Plus has perhaps the only EGA-compatible display in the portable market. (Datavue's 386-based Smoke also has an EGA screen, but as of this writing the machine is still plagued with problems and is not yet shipping.) The 2000 Plus uses a new Japanese cold cathode tube that produces clearer, less diffuse characters and draws less power than conventional screens.
In a well-lit room, the display is very bright but seems to lack contrast. Turn down the lights, and the screen becomes a gem. Regardless of the lighting, however, you notice the higher resolution immediately. The characters are dense and solid with none of the spidery, fragmented look you get on other portable LCD screens. The overall effect makes the display much easier on the eyes than even the brilliant backlit screens of the Zenith Z-183 and NEC MultiSpeed HD. ...
The Kaypro 2000 Plus comes with an unusually broad complement of software. In addition to DOS 3.2 and GW-BASIC, you get WordStar 2000 and the Word-Finder thesaurus. WordStar may not be your ideal in WP software, but at least Kaypro is trying: this is the only machine reviewed here that's bundled with a WP package. It's also the only one that comes with a 1,200-bps modem as standard equipment. A fifth piece of software, Mirror ll, is provided to run the modem.
The 2000 Plus sports two 760K 3½-inch floppy disk drives, mounted on either side of the machine; no hard drive is avail-able. The NEC V-20 processor performed on a par with other portables using the same chip.
This machine has a Spartan appeal. Its no-nonsense styling and reasonable price ($2,795) should commend it to people who want a no-frills traveling machine that will get the job done with a minimum of fuss.
(PC Magazine, March 29, 1988)
"Part of the problem with the original 2000+ laptop was that it lacked a hard disk, said Kay, who blamed the problem on a former employee who "kept insisting that you couldn't put hard disks in a laptop." A new hard-disk model called the 2020 is due out next month, Kay said." (Kaypro: Looking for a star performer, clipping from David Kay)