{"id":35282,"date":"2025-03-28T20:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-28T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/?p=35282"},"modified":"2026-06-03T11:22:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T09:22:42","slug":"highscreen-386-sx-20-pc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/en\/highscreen-386-sx-20-pc\/","title":{"rendered":"Highscreen 386 SX 20 [Vobis]"},"content":{"rendered":"
Vobis, Highscreen, and the 386SX Laptop \u2013 A Journey into the 90s<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Anyone who had contact with computers in the 1990s is highly likely to be familiar with the company Vobis and the brand Highscreen. At the time, Vobis was one of the largest computer retail chains in Europe, and in the early 1990s, it had around 800 branches across eleven countries. By 1996, more than half of all German households had purchased their first PC at a Vobis store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Success Story of Vobis<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Vobis placed an early bet on the IBM-compatible PC running MS-DOS as its operating system. While new and interesting computers were hitting the market in the USA, it often did not take long before they could also be found on the shelves at Vobis. The brand achieved its major breakthrough with the introduction of Highscreen\u2014its own PC series, which was manufactured in the Far East. While this was no longer an uncommon practice at the time, Vobis succeeded in offering high-performance computers at affordable prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

A particularly remarkable model was the Colani PC, designed by the German designer Luigi Colani. This futuristically shaped computer won the \"PC of the Year\" award from *Chip* magazine in 1994. I myself owned one of these computers back then\u2014it wasn't cheap, but it was perfectly configured for getting started in the world of computing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starting in 1992, Vobis placed increased emphasis on Windows 3.1, which proved to be significantly more user-friendly than its predecessors. This led to Vobis becoming one of the largest licensees of Microsoft Windows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Highscreen
Highscreen 386 SX 20<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Vobis and OS\/2 \u2013 A Brief Excursion<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, Vobis (much like its competitor ESCOM) also placed its bets on the alternative operating system IBM OS\/2. The exact reasons remain unclear: one theory suggests that Microsoft took too long to ship Windows 95, while another speculates that Vobis did not wish to contribute to the further consolidation of Microsoft's monopoly. A subsequent legal dispute between Microsoft and Vobis was ultimately settled\u2014Microsoft presumably realized that it would not be prudent to pick a fight with one of Europe's largest computer retailers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1996, co-founder Theo Lieven left the company and sold his shares\u2014a pivotal moment, as Aldi began offering low-cost PCs en masse shortly thereafter. I, too, was affected by this, for at the time I ran a small computer shop and repaired some of the Aldi PCs that were popular back then. The retail giant Metro, which backed Vobis, was unable to compete against the discount strategy employed by Aldi and its supplier, Medion. The company Vobis was broken up in 1999 and finally wound down in 2000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Highscreen
Highscreen 386 SX 20 \u2013 Power Supply (Top View)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Highscreen
Highscreen 386 SX 20 \u2013 Power Supply (Bottom View)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Personal Memories of Vobis<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Vobis was always a highlight for me. The nearest store was 50 kilometers away\u2014but a true Eldorado for computer enthusiasts. I found the \"Denkzettel\" particularly exciting; it was a promotional flyer that was regularly delivered along with the daily newspaper. In it, you could marvel at the latest computers and components. Among other things, I bought OS\/2 and Linux there (back then, still on floppy disks!)\u2014and, later on, a computer tower featuring a Colani design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Highscreen 386SX-20 laptop<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Driven by this nostalgia, I acquired a Highscreen device\u2014not the \"Colani,\" admittedly, but a typical DOS laptop from 1991.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Highscreen 386SX-20 notebook was sold by Vobis, but was also offered under other brand names\u2014for instance, as the OKANO at Karstadt or as a Halikan model from Chaplet Systems. Its specifications were quite solid for the standards of the time:<\/p>\n\n\n\n