Librex Computer Systems: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|American computer manufacturer}}

{{Infobox company

| name=Librex Computer Systems Inc.

| logo=Librex Computer Systems wordmark.svg

| founded={{start date and age|1990|06}} in [[San Jose, California]]

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In November 1991, Librex unveiled the M486 and M386SL lines of notebooks. They were based on Intel's [[Intel 80486|486]] and [[Intel 80386SL|386SL]] processors respectively and were compatible with an optional [[docking station]]. Interfacing to the laptop through a 130-pin connector, the docking station added two 16-bit [[Industry Standard Architecture|ISA]] expansion slots, a [[SCSI]] hard drive adapter, a passthrough for serial, parallel, and external monitor cables, and three 3.5-inch disk drive bays. Slated for an early 1992 release,<ref name=Quinlan1991>{{cite journal | last=Quinlan | first=Tom | date=November 4, 1991 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xz0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA32 | title=Librex moves to desktop with batch of portables | journal=InfoWorld | publisher=IDG Publications | volume=13 | issue=44 | page=32 | via=Google Books}}</ref> they were shortly followed up by the introduction of the Librex T386SX, featuring a modular design that extended into the design of the caddy for the internal hard drive, which could be removed toollessly for replacement or stored away as a security precaution. It took proprietary [[Random-access memory|RAM]] modules for memory upgrades, supporting up to 12&nbsp;MB of RAM from the stock 4&nbsp;MB. The T386SX's floppy drive was external only, connected to the notebook via a detachable cable.<ref name=Lee1992>{{cite journal | last=Lee | first=Yvonne | date=March 16, 1992 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3D0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA30 | title=Librex introduces mix, match notebook | journal=InfoWorld | publisher=IDG Publications | volume=14 | issue=11 | page=30 | via=Google Books}}</ref> The T386SX's case bore a rubberized coating to make it scratch-resistant and slip-proof.<ref name=Levin1992 /> It was the first and only Librex laptop to feature [[PC Card]] slots.<ref name=Fitzgerald1992>{{cite journal | last=Fitzgerald | first=Michael | date=March 23, 1992 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6fxsaF0QuVEC&pg=PA36 | title=i486-based notebooks hit market | journal=Computerworld | publisher=IDG Publications | volume=XXVI | issue=12 | page=36 | via=Google Books}}</ref> Like the Librex 386SX, it received mostly good reviews.<ref name=Levin1992>{{cite journal | last=Levin | first=Carol | date=August 1992 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hqQJaNzN9IcC&pg=PA40 | title=First Looks: Librex T386SX | journal=PC Magazine | publisher=Ziff-Davis | volume=11 | issue=14 | pages=40–41 | via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name=Mass1992>{{cite journal | editor-last=Mass | editor-first=Debra Cassens | date=September 1992 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NUPdREzSRGkC&pg=PA89 | title=Of First Impressions: New Products for Attorneys | journal=ABA Journal | publisher=American Bar Association | volume=79 | pages=89–90 | via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name=Howard1992b>{{cite journal | last=Howard | first=Bill | date=December 22, 1992 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v9TVJ_G_sk8C&pg=PA238 | title=Portable Computers: On the Road | journal=PC Magazine | publisher=Ziff-Davis | volume=11 | issue=22 | pages=153–265 | via=Google Books}}</ref>{{rp|238}}

Although Librex's laptops continued to receive high marks for their build quality, the company saw pressure in the crowded notebook market by the beginning of 1992.<ref name=Eisenstodt1992>{{cite web | last=Eisenstodt | first=Gale | date=January 24, 1992 | url=https://www.afr.com/companies/nippon-steel-learns-from-diversification-19920124-kaoas | title=Nippon Steel Learns from Diversification | work=Australian Financial Review | agency=Forbes Reprint | publisher=Nine Entertainment | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221011033237/https://www.afr.com/companies/nippon-steel-learns-from-diversification-19920124-kaoas | archivedate=October 11, 2022}}</ref> Amid falling profit margins, Nippon Steel announced in August 1992 that they would dissolve both Librex in the U.S. and Nippon Steel Computer PLC in the United Kingdom,<ref name=New_York_Times1992 /> in what was called "the first visible fallout from the [[price war]]" hitting the portable computer market in the early 1990s, according to [[International Data Corporation|IDC]].<ref>{{cite journal | last=Lee | first=Yvonne | date=September 7, 1992 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DVEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA26 | title=Librex shuts down its U.S. operations | journal=InfoWorld | publisher=IDG Publications | volume=14 | issue=36 | page=26 | via=Google Books}}</ref> Librex pulled their products from the market that month but continued to support customers until March 1993 while they discussed selling their capital and intellectual property to potential buyers.<ref name=Wall_Street_Journal1992>{{cite journal | last=Staff writer | date=August 31, 1992 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/398376981/ | title=Nippon Steel to Close Computer Subsidiaries In U.S. and Britain | journal=The Wall Street Journal | publisher=Dow Jones & Company | page=1 | viaid={{ProQuest|398376981}} }}</ref> Librex partially reversed its stance, releasing the R386SL notebook—its last product—in late 1992 and slightly postponing its dissolution date to April 1993.<ref name=Howard1992b />{{rp|240}} Polywell Computers of San Francisco ultimately bought the tooling for Librex's notebook computers, selling Librex-based Polywell notebooks in the United States in 1993.<ref name=Howard1993>{{cite journal | last=Howard | first=Bill | date=August 1993 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H53CIZnYLZwC&pg=PA224 | title=The Portable Puzzle | journal=PC Magazine | publisher=Ziff-Davis | volume=12 | issue=14 | pages=126–269 | via=Google Books}}</ref>

In its three years of existence, Librex managed to attain the rank of the 47th largest personal computer maker in the United States by August 1992.<ref name=New_York_Times1992 /> Dan Crane, vice president of sales and marketing for Librex, reflected in 1996 that Nippon Steel's remote management imposed handicaps in selling Librex's products at attractive prices: "Nippon Steel simply didn't have the cultural infrastructure needed to compete here ... [having a] rather cool, ultraslim notebook for 1992 with quantities and prices that were [arbitrarily] set in 1991", in part due to management honoring the initial quotes it gave to retail and direct sales partners, refusing to ask for adjustments after the fact.<ref name=Doyle1996>{{cite journal | last=Doyle | first=T. C. | date=July 1, 1996 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/194167590/ | title=Pacific Power | journal=VARbusiness | publisher=CMP Publications | page=68 | viaid={{ProQuest|194167590}} }}</ref>

Librex's San Jose headquarters at 1140 Ringwood Court later became home to [[Synaptics]].<ref name=Krohn1990 /><ref>{{cite journal | last=Donato-Weinstein | first=Nathan | date=January 28, 2014 | url=https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2014/01/27/synaptics-grows-again-with-10-million.html | title=Synaptics grows again with $10 million property purchase | journal=Silicon Valley Business Journal | publisher=American City Business Journals | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913234027/https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2014/01/27/synaptics-grows-again-with-10-million.html | archivedate=September 13, 2014}}</ref>

==References==

{{reflist|colwidth=30em|refs= }}

{{Nippon Steel|state=expanded}}

[[Category:1990 establishments in California]]

[[Category:1993 disestablishments in California]]