Vadem Clio. The Vadem Clio is a handheld PC released by Vadem in late 1998. The Clio is based on an NEC MIPS VR4111 processor. All models use Windows CE H/PC Pro 3.0 (WinCE Core OS 2.11) as the operating system.

The Clio was rebranded by Sharp as the Mobilon TriPad in 1999. Data Evolution Corporation currently owns the rights to the Clio.

Overview
The Clio is a convertible tablet computer released by Vadem and designed by Sohela. The platform was conceived of and created within Vadem by a skunkworks team led by Edmond Ku. Clio was first developed without the knowledge of Microsoft, and after it was presented to Bill Gates and the CE team, it led to the definition of the Jupiter-class CE platform. 

The Clio's "SwingTop" has a pivoting arm with a 180-degree screen rotation. The Clio could run for 12 hours on a single charge. It is measured to be around an inch (2.2 cm) thick.

Handwriting software was from Vadem's ParaGraph group (acquired from SGI), the same team that provided handwriting recognition technology used in the Apple Newton.

Design
The swing arm and rotating screen concept was conceived by Edmond Ku, Vadem's engineering director. The physical design was the creation of frogdesign, Inc.'s industrial designers Sonia Schieffer and Josh Morenstein and mechanical engineers Richard Huang and Jenny Schlee.

The enclosure was made from plastic injection-molded carbon fiber-reinforced polyamide (nylon). The swing arm was die-cast aluminium for stiffness and strength. The video signals relied on a double-sided flex circuit that routed from the base up through the arm to the display panel.

Specifications

C-1000
Processor: NEC VR4111 (MIPS R4000-compatible) 84 MHz
ROM: 24 MiB (upgradable)
SDRAM: 16 MiB (upgradable to 32)
Display: 9.4" 640 × 480 DSTN, 256 colors, touch panel
Software screen Rotation: None
Contrast and Brightness Settings: Yes
Keyboard: 63 Key, US English—16.5 mm center-to-center
Battery: 12-hour lithium ion rechargeable battery pack
Power Supply: 120 volt
Ports:
1 × RS-232 serial port (Not built-in, available on travel dock only)
1 × Type II PC Card
1 × Type II Compact Flash (internal)
Modem: 33.6 kbit/s Lucent
IrDA support: SIR and FIR
Speaker
Microphone
Size/Physical Dimensions: 8.75 in × 11.25 in × 1 in
Weight: 3 lb., 5 oz. (Includes batteries and AC adapter)

C-1050
Processor: NEC VR4121 (MIPS R4000-compatible) 168 MHz
ROM: 24 MiB (upgradable)
SDRAM: 32 MiB
Display: 9.4" 640 × 480 DSTN, 65,000 colors, touch panel
Screen Rotation: 0–180° (90° and 270° screen orientation supported)
Contrast and Brightness Settings: Yes
Keyboard: 63 Key, US English—16.5 mm center-to-center
Battery: 10 hour lithium ion rechargeable battery pack
Power Supply: 120 volt
Ports:
1 × RS-232 serial port (Not built-in, available on travel dock only)
1 × Type II PC Card
1 × Type II Compact Flash (internal)
Modem: 56 kbit/s V.90 Lucent
IrDA support: SIR and FIR
Speaker
Microphone
Size/Physical Dimensions: 8.75 in × 11.25 in × 1 in
Weight: 3 lb., 5 oz. (Includes batteries and AC adapter)

See also 
ActiveSync
Personal digital assistant
SuperWaba

References

External links
Vadem, Ltd.
Data Evolution Corp.
Linux-VR Project

MIPS architecture
Windows CE devices
Computer-related introductions in 1998