Gateway Solo
Series of laptop computers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Solo was a line of laptop computers sold by Gateway, Inc. (originally Gateway 2000), from 1995 to 2003. All models in the range were equipped with Intel x86 processors and came preinstalled with the Windows operating system.
- Gateway, Inc. (formerly Gateway 2000)
- Sanyo (early models)
 | |
 Solo 2200 | |
| Developer |
|
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Sanyo (early models) |
| Type | Laptop |
| Released | September 1995 |
| Lifespan | 1995–2003 |
| Discontinued | December 2002 |
| CPU | |
History
Gateway unveiled the Solo line of laptops on August 15, 1995, shortly before Microsoft's Windows 95 operating system became generally available for sale on August 24, 1995.[1] Initial entries in the Solo line-up were manufactured on an OEM basis by the Japanese company Sanyo.[2] The Solo was the first laptop to have a Windows key and a Menu key, which respectively activate the Start menu and context menus on Windows (the Start menu first appeared in Windows 95).[3] Gateway worked closely with Microsoft on development of the Solo to make it fully optimized with Windows 95, which was a nearly top-down redesign of Microsoft's previous Windows 3.1x operating systems.[4] The Solo replaced Gateway's earlier ColorBook and Liberty line of laptops and were the first of the company's laptops to feature Intel's x86-based Pentium processor, for which Windows 95 was optimized during its development.[1][5]
The Solo was released to retailers and corporate resellers in September 1995. The first two models—the V75 and the S90—came with Pentium processors clocked at 75 MHz and 90 MHz respectively.[6] Both Solos were multimedia-oriented and came with a Sound Blaster–compatible sound chip and removable CD-ROM drives bays as standard;[4] Gateway later made the CD-ROM drives an optional add-on to reduce cost at the entry level.[6] The company marketed the Solo at the cost-conscious businessperson and positioned it as a budget version of the more upscale IBM ThinkPad and Toshiba Satellite lines of laptops.[2]
Later entries in the Solo line featured the Pentium II, Pentium III's, and various P6-based Celerons.[7][8][9][10] The Solo line was retired in December 2002.[11] Gateway sold refurbished units of the Solo line on their website until 2003.[12][13]
Models
| Model | Release date | Processor | Clock speed (MHz) |
Graphics | LCD technology | LCD size (in.) | LCD resolution | Stock RAM (max., in MB) | Storage (HDD) | Audio | Operating System | Notes/ref(s). |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| V75 | September 1995 | Intel Pentium | 75 | Color TFT | 10.4 | 640×480 | 8 (40) | 540 MB | [3][2] | |||
| S90 | 90 | 800×600 | 16 (40) | 720 MB | [3][2] | |||||||
| 2100 | June 1996 | 100 or 120 or 133 | Cirrus Logic GD7548 | 11.3 | 810 MB or 1.2 GB | [14] | ||||||
| 2200 | January 1997 | Intel Pentium MMX | 120 or 133 or 150 or 166 | Chips & Technologies 65554 | 12.1 | 16 (80) | 2 GB | ESS AudioDrive 1878 with built-in stereo speakers and microphone | [15][16][17] | |||
| 9100 | May 1997 | 150 or 166 |
|
13.3 | 48 (164) | 3 GB | Yamaha OPL-SA3 with built-in stereo speakers and microphone | [18][19] | ||||
| 2300 | July 1997 | 150 or 166 or 200 or 233 |
|
12.1 | 32 (192) | 2 GB | Yamaha YM715 with built-in stereo speakers and microphone | [20][21][22][23] | ||||
| 5100 | January 1998 | 166 or 200 or 233 or 266 | Chips & Technologies 65555 | 14.1 | 1024×768 | 16 (144) | 2 GB or 3 GB or 4.2 GB | ESS AudioDrive 1879 with built-in stereo speakers and microphone | [24][25] | |||
| 2500 | May 1998 | Intel Pentium MMX or Mobile Pentium II or Celeron | 233 (Pentium MMX) 233 or 266 or 300 or 333 or 366 (Pentium II) 266 or 300 (Celeron) |
12.1 (LS) 13.3 (XL) | 800×600 (LS) 1024×768 (XL) | 64 (288) | 3 GB or 4.2 GB | [26][27][28][29] | ||||
| 5150 | August 1998 | Intel Mobile Pentium II | 233 or 266 or 300 or 333 or 366 | NeoMagic MagicMedia 256AV (NM2200) | 14.1 | 1024×768 | 32 (288) | 2 GB or 4 GB or 6.4 GB | [28][30] | |||
| 9150 | April 1999 | 300 or 333 or 366 | 15.1 | 1024×768 | (384) | 14 GB (up to) | [31] | |||||
| 3300 | May 2000 | Intel Mobile Pentium III | 500 | 12.1 | 1024×768 | 64 (128) | 6 GB or 12 GB | [32] | ||||
| 9300 | August 1999 | 400 | ATI Rage Mobility-P | 15.1 | 1024×768 | 128 | 10 GB | [33] | ||||
| 2150 | October 1999 | Intel Celeron or Mobile Pentium III | 400 (Celeron) 450 (Pentium III) |
12.1 14.1 | 800×600 1024×768 | 32 | 6 GB | [34][35][36] | ||||
| 2550 | Intel Celeron or Mobile Pentium II or Mobile Pentium III | Various 600 or 650 (Pentium III) |
15.7 | 1280×1024 | (288) | 4–18 GB | [37][38] | |||||
| 3350 | September 2000 | Intel Celeron or Pentium III-M | 500 (Celeron) 600 (Pentium III) |
12.1 | 1024×768 | 64 (256) | 6–20 GB | [39][40] | ||||
| 5300 | August 2000 | 500–600 (Celeron) 700 (Pentium III) |
64 (512) | 6–20 GB | [41][42] | |||||||
| 1150 | Intel Celeron | 500 or 550 | 32 (512) | 5 GB or 6 GB | [43] | |||||||
| 9500 | March 2001 | Intel Pentium III-M | 700–1000 | 15.1 15.7 (XL Deluxe) | 1280×1024 | 256 (512) | 6 GB or 10 GB | [44][9] | ||||
| 1200 | July 2001 | Intel Celeron | 800 | S3 Savage4 | 12.1 | 1024×768 | 64 (192) | 10 GB | Conexant with built-in stereo speakers | [45] | ||
| 3450 | Intel Mobile Pentium III | 750 | 12.1 | 192 (192) | 10 GB | [45] | ||||||
| 9550 | August 2001 | 933 or 1000 or 1130 | 15.7 | 1280×1024 | 128 (512) | 10 GB or 20 GB or 30 GB | [46][47] | |||||
| 1400 | December 2001 | Intel Celeron | 850 | 14.1 | 1024×768 | 128 (512) | 10 GB | [48][49] | ||||
| 5350 | December 2001 | Intel Pentium III-M | 733–1000 | Intel 830MG | 256 (512) | 20 | ESS Allegro-1 (ES1988) with built-in stereo speakers and microphone | [48][50] | ||||
| 1450 | April 2002 | Intel Celeron | 1200 | 14.1 15.1 | 1024×768 (14.1) 1280×1024 (15.1) | 128 (512) | 20 GB | [51] |