Momenta Corp. plans to unveil notepad model

Momenta Corp, a fledgling computer venture, introduces its first portable computer that uses pen-based technology. The $5,000, 6-pound electronic notepad recognizes handwriting and doubles as a conventional portable computer. It will be shipped in Nov 1991. The Momenta notepad, which faces competition from Tandy Corp, NCR Corp and IBM products, is unique because it is bundled with software and applications new users need. It also comes with a keyboard because Momenta views the pen as a companion to the keyboard rather than a replacement for it. Momenta hopes to attract people who do not currently use computers. The company's backers have invested $30 million in the start-up, and its managers includes veteran computer executives from Atari Corp, Zenith Datasystems Inc and Cirrus Logic Inc.