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RandomOpinion | 8 years ago

There wasn't any real reason to use the 80186 in a PC; it was meant for embedded devices. The only major feature that it had was some additional hardware for timers and DMA built in. Everything else was (more or less) architecturally the same as the 8086.

Probably the last series of 80186 PCs ever made were HP's 100LX / 200LX, a palmtop DOS based PDA that was released in the mid-'90s IIRC. It was an amazing little gadget for its time.

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cestith|8 years ago

Those were compatible but actually used the NEC V20 processor. I have a 95LX, 100LX, a couple 200LX and I'm in the market for a 4MB 200LX and maybe the 1000CX (which lacks the built-in spreadsheet).

girvo|8 years ago

My other major hardware hobby project is a custom clone of a 100LX, based on a PIC32 running RetroBSD! Wire-wrapping tiny membrane keys is damned painful however so it’s been on the back burner for a while

cestith|8 years ago

Actually, I'm partly mistaken. The 95LX had the V20. The 100LX, 200LX, and 1000CX it seems had an Intel 80c186 codenamed "Hornet" which competed with the V20.