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Datapad

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"You don't realize how important a datapad is until you're stranded on Raxus Prime with nothing but your boots and a blaster."

―Han Solo^[src]

A datapad was a small, usually low-cost, electronic device used for storing information. Taking the place of the more primitive book, a datapad could store textual, graphic, and holographic data. They were commonly used as notebooks, day planners, calculators, and sketchpads. Some models could interface with and download information from larger computer networks. Most datapads came standard equipped with a touch-sensitive color screen, audio pickups, headphone ports, and power paks.

1 Description and usage
2 Notable models
3 Behind the scenes
4 Appearances
5 Sources
6 Notes and references
- 6.1 In other languages

Description and usageEdit

Datacards with specific information stored on them (for example, star charts, encyclopedias, tour guides, law books, works of fiction) were widely available. These datacards could then be loaded into the datapad for easy access. Many planetary governments were legally obligated to provide such materials (especially regarding local laws) to all offworlders.

Datapads also varied in size, from palm-sized devices to larger units designed for two hands. A common datapad was the Companion2000, which weighed less than 1 kg, and cost around 100 credits. It was produced by MicroData Technologies, which offered a wide range of datapad models.

Datapads were essential as notebooks. Revan and the Jedi Exile frequently used their datapads to take notes and store information concerning their missions and tasks.

Other uses of datapads included their employment by beings such as bounty hunters. Bounty hunters often used datapads to store mission information on their targets, locations, or other vital pieces of information. Personal Datapads of this kind were designed to erase all stored information if not handled correctly.

Some datapads could be rather sensitive; any datacards that had dirt on their surface stood a good chance of ruining a datapad's electronics completely.

Some datapads were manufactured with oversized keys for use in colder climates to ease key manipulation while wearing thermal gloves.^[1]

Thanks to a stolen datapad, the primitive species Menahuun learned a lot about the Republic-level technology used by alien settlers.^[2]

Notable modelsEdit

Behind the scenesEdit

In many LucasArts games, an on-screen datapad interface is used to show the game menu, which includes inventory, mission objectives, level maps, and other information.

The Datapad first appeared in the Expanded Universe novel Heir to the Empire. It is one of the items that first appeared in the Expanded Universe that would eventually appear in the films.