Let’s talk about one of those ideas technological which, if we’re being honest, turned out to be pretty disastrous?
In the vast world of innovation, some proposals simply fail to take off, and one of them was a mini mouse integrated into laptops.
Anyone born in the mid-90s will probably remember this case.
HP innovates with integrated mouse, but ends up ‘flopping’
More than 20 years ago, HP decided to create a revolution in the world of notebooks with the launch of the HP OmniBook 800CT, which, at the time, was almost like having a piece of gold in your hands, as it cost the equivalent of something around $4,000.
Imagine a notebook with a 166 MHz Intel Pentium processor with MMX technology, PCI-Bus architecture and an incredible 16 MB of RAM, expandable up to 48 MB. That would be a clear definition of high performance in the 1990s.
The big star of the show, however, was the mini mouse integrated. The idea was interesting: a ‘little mouse’ that hid in the notebook’s housing and jumped out when you pressed a button.
Notebook launched in 1997 by HP – Image: eBay/Reproduction
Why didn’t the idea take off?
Despite the idea, not everything is rosy. This mini mouse, in practice, was very small, not to say microscopic.
He was so tiny that doing anything that required precise movements became practically an impossible mission. Play then? Even worse!
Despite all the excitement about the OmniBook’s ‘top of the line’ status, the public simply didn’t buy into the idea of the mini mouse.
You consumersaccustomed to traditional touchpads and mice, did not adapt to the small size and practical limitations of the small new device.
Therefore, it ended up becoming another one of those experiments that we would all like to forget.
To see more details of this powerful and innovative notebook from 1997, YouTuber LGR made a video that shows this innovation in rich detail, which didn’t go over very well. Check out:
Nowadays, any smartphone makes that HP OmniBook 800CT cry in the corner. But at least we learned that not every brilliant idea becomes a craze.
Ultimately, the technological evolution It’s like that, full of ups and downs.
But who knew a mini mouse could cause such a stir?
Support our work ❤️
If you enjoyed this article, consider leaving a tip to help us keep publishing great content.
