Franklin Electronic Publishers
Encyclopedia
Franklin Electronic Publishers, Incorporated (formerly Franklin Computer Corporation) is an American
consumer electronics
manufacturer based in Burlington, New Jersey
, founded in 1981. Since the mid-1980s it has primarily created and sold hand-held electronic references, such as spelling correctors, dictionaries, translation devices, medical references and Bibles. It was publicly traded on the American Stock Exchange
under the symbol FEP until September 30, 2009 when it merged with Saunders Acquisition Corporation.
computer, which it first marketed in 1982.
In early 1982, Franklin released the Franklin Ace 100, and in March of the same year, the Franklin Ace 1000; they were very close copies of the Apple II Plus
computer, respectively. The motherboard
design is nearly identical and Franklin also copied Apple's ROM
s. Two months later, Apple Computer
sued Franklin for copyright
violation. Franklin initially won. (See Apple Computer, Inc. v. Franklin Computer Corp.
.)
Franklin followed with the Ace 1200, which included two built-in 5¼" floppy drives and a Zilog Z80
processor for CP/M
compatibility—a popular third-party option for the Apple II. The Ace 1200 was identical to the Ace 1000, but with the addition of a built-in floppy drive and four expansion cards pre-installed (one of which offered color video; the 1000 was monochrome).
In August 1983, a court ruled against Franklin, which had argued that because computer code generally did not exist in printed form, it could not be copyrighted. Franklin freely admitted it had copied Apple's ROM and operating system code. However, Franklin was able to get an injunction that allowed it to continue marketing its computers. This case had lasting implications, setting precedent for copyright and reverse engineering
. The case was still frequently cited more than 20 years after the August 1983 ruling.
Starting in October 1985, Franklin released a second-generation line of Apple II clones, consisting of the Ace 2000 (based on the Apple IIe
) and Ace 500 (based on the Apple IIc
). These included more memory, as well as offering many features unique to the Apple IIe and Apple IIc, all while undercutting Apple's price. Franklin's last Apple II clone, the Ace 2200, sported a detached keyboard and dual internal 5.25-inch floppy disk
drives. It was released in the 1987–1988 time frame.
Franklin also released a pair of IBM PC compatible
computers, the Franklin PC6000 and PC8000, during 1986–1988. Both were based on the Intel 8088
running at 4.77 MHz. The PC6000 had 512K of RAM and a single floppy drive, while the PC8000 had 640K and dual drives. These matched the most common configurations of the time.
Soon after the Ace 2200's release, Apple was able to force Franklin out of the desktop computer market entirely, including its IBM-compatible PCs. As a result, the only Apple-compatible computer that remained on the market was VTech
's Laser 128
.
With the loss of its desktop computer business, Franklin concentrated on its handheld line, which it had introduced in 1986.
In 1987, Franklin released the Spelling Ace, which could provide spelling corrections to 80,000 English words based on technology from Proximity Technology. Franklin also released its Language Master device, which included spelling correction, dictionary definitions and a thesaurus. In 1988, Franklin acquired Proximity Technnology. In 1989, Franklin released an electronic version of the Bible in King James and Revised Standard versions.
In 1995 Franklin launched its Bookman product line, which came with an installed database and included a slot for plugging in a second electronic book. Prices varied depending on the title. Previously, the Digital Book System (DBS) product was a player only, with two slots for electronic book cards. Franklin collaborated with Bien Logic
to create educational titles for the Bookman platform.
organizers, calculators, books.
s, such as the REX 5000
. That product line was later sold to Xircom
.
The company also designs and licenses linguistic software to third party software application providers through its Proximity Technology Division.
The company's first product for the Asian market, the Japanese-English Electronic PageMark Dictionary, was distributed through its partner Seiko Instruments
, Inc.
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
consumer electronics
Consumer electronics
Consumer electronics are electronic equipment intended for everyday use, most often in entertainment, communications and office productivity. Radio broadcasting in the early 20th century brought the first major consumer product, the broadcast receiver...
manufacturer based in Burlington, New Jersey
Burlington, New Jersey
Burlington is a city in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States and a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 9,920....
, founded in 1981. Since the mid-1980s it has primarily created and sold hand-held electronic references, such as spelling correctors, dictionaries, translation devices, medical references and Bibles. It was publicly traded on the American Stock Exchange
American Stock Exchange
NYSE Amex Equities, formerly known as the American Stock Exchange is an American stock exchange situated in New York. AMEX was a mutual organization, owned by its members. Until 1953, it was known as the New York Curb Exchange. On January 17, 2008, NYSE Euronext announced it would acquire the...
under the symbol FEP until September 30, 2009 when it merged with Saunders Acquisition Corporation.
Early history
Franklin was originally named Franklin Computer Corporation. It was a manufacturer of clones of the Apple II seriesApple II series
The Apple II series is a set of 8-bit home computers, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977 with the original Apple II...
computer, which it first marketed in 1982.
In early 1982, Franklin released the Franklin Ace 100, and in March of the same year, the Franklin Ace 1000; they were very close copies of the Apple II Plus
Apple II Plus
The Apple II Plus was the second model of the Apple II series of personal computers produced by Apple Computer, Inc. It was sold new from June 1979 to December 1982.-Features:...
computer, respectively. The motherboard
Motherboard
In personal computers, a motherboard is the central printed circuit board in many modern computers and holds many of the crucial components of the system, providing connectors for other peripherals. The motherboard is sometimes alternatively known as the mainboard, system board, or, on Apple...
design is nearly identical and Franklin also copied Apple's ROM
Read-only memory
Read-only memory is a class of storage medium used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be modified, or can be modified only slowly or with difficulty, so it is mainly used to distribute firmware .In its strictest sense, ROM refers only...
s. Two months later, Apple Computer
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
sued Franklin for copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
violation. Franklin initially won. (See Apple Computer, Inc. v. Franklin Computer Corp.
Apple Computer, Inc. v. Franklin Computer Corp.
Apple Computer, Inc. v. Franklin Computer Corp., 714 F.2d 1240 , was the first time an appellate level court in the United States held that a computer's operating system could be protected by copyright....
.)
Franklin followed with the Ace 1200, which included two built-in 5¼" floppy drives and a Zilog Z80
Zilog Z80
The Zilog Z80 is an 8-bit microprocessor designed by Zilog and sold from July 1976 onwards. It was widely used both in desktop and embedded computer designs as well as for military purposes...
processor for CP/M
CP/M
CP/M was a mass-market operating system created for Intel 8080/85 based microcomputers by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Inc...
compatibility—a popular third-party option for the Apple II. The Ace 1200 was identical to the Ace 1000, but with the addition of a built-in floppy drive and four expansion cards pre-installed (one of which offered color video; the 1000 was monochrome).
In August 1983, a court ruled against Franklin, which had argued that because computer code generally did not exist in printed form, it could not be copyrighted. Franklin freely admitted it had copied Apple's ROM and operating system code. However, Franklin was able to get an injunction that allowed it to continue marketing its computers. This case had lasting implications, setting precedent for copyright and reverse engineering
Reverse engineering
Reverse engineering is the process of discovering the technological principles of a device, object, or system through analysis of its structure, function, and operation...
. The case was still frequently cited more than 20 years after the August 1983 ruling.
Starting in October 1985, Franklin released a second-generation line of Apple II clones, consisting of the Ace 2000 (based on the Apple IIe
Apple IIe
The Apple IIe is the third model in the Apple II series of personal computers produced by Apple Computer. The e in the name stands for enhanced, referring to the fact that several popular features were now built-in that were only available as upgrades and add-ons in earlier models...
) and Ace 500 (based on the Apple IIc
Apple IIc
The Apple IIc, the fourth model in the Apple II series of personal computers, was Apple Computer’s first endeavor to produce a portable computer. The end result was a notebook-sized version of the Apple II that could be transported from place to place...
). These included more memory, as well as offering many features unique to the Apple IIe and Apple IIc, all while undercutting Apple's price. Franklin's last Apple II clone, the Ace 2200, sported a detached keyboard and dual internal 5.25-inch floppy disk
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
drives. It was released in the 1987–1988 time frame.
Franklin also released a pair of IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
computers, the Franklin PC6000 and PC8000, during 1986–1988. Both were based on the Intel 8088
Intel 8088
The Intel 8088 microprocessor was a variant of the Intel 8086 and was introduced on July 1, 1979. It had an 8-bit external data bus instead of the 16-bit bus of the 8086. The 16-bit registers and the one megabyte address range were unchanged, however...
running at 4.77 MHz. The PC6000 had 512K of RAM and a single floppy drive, while the PC8000 had 640K and dual drives. These matched the most common configurations of the time.
Soon after the Ace 2200's release, Apple was able to force Franklin out of the desktop computer market entirely, including its IBM-compatible PCs. As a result, the only Apple-compatible computer that remained on the market was VTech
VTech
VTech is the common name of Video Technology Ltd. , a Hong Kong-based manufacturer of consumer electronics...
's Laser 128
Laser 128
The Laser 128 was a clone of the Apple II series of personal computers, first released by VTech in 1984. Unlike the Apple II clones from Franklin, VTech reverse-engineered the Apple ROMs using a clean room design rather than copying them...
.
With the loss of its desktop computer business, Franklin concentrated on its handheld line, which it had introduced in 1986.
In 1987, Franklin released the Spelling Ace, which could provide spelling corrections to 80,000 English words based on technology from Proximity Technology. Franklin also released its Language Master device, which included spelling correction, dictionary definitions and a thesaurus. In 1988, Franklin acquired Proximity Technnology. In 1989, Franklin released an electronic version of the Bible in King James and Revised Standard versions.
In 1995 Franklin launched its Bookman product line, which came with an installed database and included a slot for plugging in a second electronic book. Prices varied depending on the title. Previously, the Digital Book System (DBS) product was a player only, with two slots for electronic book cards. Franklin collaborated with Bien Logic
Bien Logic
Bien Logic, Inc. was one of the first interactive marketing agencies based in San Diego, California. In the mid-1990s it was also the largest such company. It pioneered several innovations in web development and internet software industry. Throughout the years 1993 to 1997, over 80 professionals...
to create educational titles for the Bookman platform.
Products
Currently FEP makes electronic versions of dictionaries, translators, tutors, puzzles, bibles, RolodexRolodex
A Rolodex is a rotating file device used to store business contact information currently manufactured by Newell Rubbermaid. The Rolodex holds specially shaped index cards; the user writes the contact information for one person or company on each card...
organizers, calculators, books.
PDA
In the past, it also made the Rex line of personal digital assistantPersonal digital assistant
A personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet...
s, such as the REX 5000
REX 5000
The Franklin REX 5, was one of the Rex line of Personal Digital Assistants, each a PCMCIA PC card and thus the size of a credit card, built around a Toshiba microprocessor emulating a Zilog Z80...
. That product line was later sold to Xircom
Xircom
Xircom, Inc. was based in Thousand Oaks, California, with manufacturing facilities located in Penang & Malaysia and international offices throughout Europe and Asia Pacific. They were one of the first companies to develop network computing products for notebook computers. Products included...
.
Language products
The company marketed its first handheld reference device, the Spelling Ace spelling corrector, in 1986.The company also designs and licenses linguistic software to third party software application providers through its Proximity Technology Division.
The company's first product for the Asian market, the Japanese-English Electronic PageMark Dictionary, was distributed through its partner Seiko Instruments
Seiko Instruments
, or SII, is a Japanese company, renowned for developing and commercializing semiconductor, micromechatronics, and precision timepiece technology...
, Inc.
eBook
The eBook products are sold in BOOKMAN Book Card, digital download (Franklin Reader, Mobipocket Reader, or other file formats) formats. They also made an eBook reader called eBookManFranklin eBookMan
The Franklin eBookMan is a discontinued handheld device made to read ebooks. This gadget, made from 1999 until 2002, has standard PDA functions and can play and record sounds. It has a black on green touchscreen, contains 8 or 16 MB of RAM, and uses its own proprietary operating system...
.
Outsourced R&D
Franklin Electronic Publishers outsourced all of its R&D to Hong Kong, with the last day of U.S. R&D operations being March 31, 2009.External links
- Franklin official home page
- After the Franklin affair, Apple added a backdoor into their ROMs so that stolen Apple code could be detected
- A timeline of Apple II products, including mention of compatible Franklin computer products
- Another timeline of Apple II and competing products
Apple–Franklin Lawsuit Articles
- A brief recap of the lawsuit
- IMPACT OF APPLE VS. FRANKLIN DECISION By Rob Hassett
- Refusal of Apple's injunction request
- The Making of a Computer by Perry Greenberg