Q: What is the HP100LX?
A: Depending on your point of view, it's either an IBM PC-XT stuffed
into a very tiny case with some Personal Information Management (PIM)
software and Lotus 1-2-3 built into ROM, or it's a high-end electronic
organizer that also runs MS-DOS software.

Q: What is the HP200LX?
A: It's the successor to the 100LX.  It's essentially a 100LX with 
cosmetic changes and the addition of Pocket Quicken, LapLink Remote,
and some feature enhancements for the PIM applications in the ROM.

Q: What is the HP1000CX?
A: It is basically a 100LX/200LX, but without the PIM software in
ROM.  Its only built-in software is MS-DOS.  Hardware is essentially
identical to the 100LX/200LX.  It was originally only available in
lots of 50 or more, made to order by HP, but some places (Educalc, et
al) currently sell individual ones.  It's not targeted directly at
the consumer market.  HP seems to intend for third party
manufacturers to bundle it with add-on hardware/software on a PCMCIA
card for specialized applications.  Contact HP directly for more info.

Q: What's the difference between the 100LX and the 200LX?
A: Pocket Quicken from Intuit has been added to the 200LX.  This is a
limited version of the Quicken financial management software sold for
MS-DOS and Windows.  It does not use the same file format as Quicken
for DOS or Windows. but if you buy the 200LX connectivity kit, you
can share data with the full DOS or Windows version of Quicken. (Like
the 100LX, the 200LX can also run the full version of Quicken for DOS
outright.)

The DataComm application is faster in the 200LX. It can pretty much
keep up with a 9600 or 14.4 modem.  The painfully slow DataComm
application was a notorious deficiency in the 100LX, so this is a
welcome fix.

The case has changed color.  The keyboard layout has changed slightly,
in order to give Pocket Quicken its own dedicated key.  The labels on
the keycaps have a slightly different, italic, look to them.

The topcard (picture displayed when the machine is turned on, and the
system manager is running, but no apps are yet activated) looks
different.

There is an extra megabyte of ROM (3M in the 200LX, vs 2M in the
100LX).  This is how they managed to add the new built-in software
to the 200LX without deleting any of the old 100LX features.

There is a power-on password feature.

Some extra goodies have been added to the d:\bin drive (in ROM).
Hearts & Bones and Lair of the Squid are two games that are included.
A hexadecimal calculator is also included.

LapLink Remote has replaced the redirector for use with the
connectivity pack.

The appointment manager has a daily pop-up message reminding
users of "to do's" and appointments.

The on-line help has been improved.

The phonebook can present phone and address details in
"business-card" or the 100LX-style "form" format.

Q: What is the same between the 100LX and the 200LX?
A: Most things.  Hardware is virtually identical, including size,
batteries, AC adapter, serial port, PCMCIA port, display, keyboard
(except very minor changes to keyboard layout, and cosmetic changes
to the labels on the keycaps), processor, RAM, availability of 1MB
and 2MB versions, etc.  DOS compatibility is unchanged; both machines
use MS-DOS 5.0 and CGA.  Lotus is the same.  All the same PIM apps
are included, and they can share data between the 100LX and 200LX,
but the 200LX versions have a few enhancements here and there.

Most software written for the 100LX will run on the 200LX.  All
vanilla DOS software should run exactly the same.  Most
100LX-specific software will probably run the same.

Q: What's the difference between the HP-100/200LX and HP-95LX?
A: The short answer is that the HP-100/200LX is faster, has better
and more powerful software, much more MS-DOS compatibility (full CGA
compatiblity), fully standard serial port with hardware handshaking,
longer battery life, and has a PCMCIA Release 2.x slot.

Q: Where's the best place to buy a 100/200LX?  A RAM Card?
A: The answer changes too quickly to put into this FAQ.  Netiquette
suggestion: Read the newsgroup for a few days. If the question hasn't
been asked recently, call around to your local stores, call the
dealers on hpdealer.txt, and post a note listing the best deal you
found, asking if anyone can beat it.  In other words, do a little
homework yourself before asking the net for help.  Consider giving
your local dealer a chance to try and match or beat a mail-order
price.

List price of the 200LX-2MB is $699 (U.S.), $50 less than the
100LX-2MB list.  The 200LX-1MB lists at $549, the same as the
100LX-1MB.  Of course, actual selling prices vary, and they change
too quickly to report in this FAQ.

When pricing memory cards, be aware that some manufacturers package
disk compression software with their cards, and some of these may
advertise a 5MB card with compression software as a "10 MB" card.
(or "10 MB compressed", or "Up to 10MB", etc.)  Quoted disk
compression numbers tend to be optimistic, especially if you're
storing executables or compressed files.  Be sure you do an "apples
to apples" price comparison between different vendors.

Q: How can I upgrade my 100LX to a 200LX?
A:  You can't.  However, it's reported that Edu-Calc is offering a
$225 trade-in allowance for a 100LX, good toward a 200LX.  This is
presumably for a limited time only.