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^[1]

Datapad-SS — Anakin Skywalker's datapad in 19 BBY

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 packs.

Description and usage[]

Clone using a datapad — A clone trooper using a model of datapad used by the Confederacy of Independent Systems and Galactic Republic

Datapads were small, handheld computers that were used for data gathering and storage. Capable of being customized to run specialized programming, datapads were generally used for organizing and recording information. A common datapad was the Companion2000, which weighed less than one kilogram, and cost around one hundred credits. It was manufactured by MicroData Technologies,^[2] which offered a wide range of other datapad models such as the Versafunction88.^[1] Personal datapad assistant could manage electronic information through an interactive holographic heads-up display. ^[3]

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 be loaded into a datapad for easy access. Many planetary governments were legally obligated to provide such materials (especially regarding local laws) to all offworlders.

Star Wars RPG Datapad — Another type of datapad

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

Some datapads could be rather sensitive; a datacard with dirt on its surface could ruin such a datapad's electronics.

Coronet cargo manifest — A manifest of the cargo on the starship *Coronet*

Some datapads designed for use in colder climates had oversized keys to ease key manipulation for users wearing thermal gloves.^[4]

Thanks to a stolen datapad, the primitive species known as Menahuun learned a lot about the Republic-level technology used by alien settlers.^[5]

Notable models[]

Versafunction88 Datapad — A Versafunction88 datapad

History[]

Bounty hunters often used datapads to store mission information on their targets, locations, or other vitals. Personal datapads of this kind were designed to erase all stored information if not handled correctly.

Doctors use a lightpad to monitor their patients' vitals^[6] or most of the galactic hospitals, including the Mah Dala Infirmary use a medical datapad to analysis and detection of diseases before they could act on the body of the infected beings.

Scouts use a survey datapad that was specially adapted to record survey data collected. This datapad had a flat computer that could be coupled to a special sensor array to record accurate geographical information as the scout moved across uncharted terrain by bouncing electromagnetic rays off a scout vessel in orbit. The mapping features of the datapad were also uninterrupted by the scout using it to call up preloaded encyclopedic information.^[7]

Behind the scenes[]

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.

Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game contains the earliest mention of datapads, though that book spelled the term "data pads."^[8] The novel Heir to the Empire marks their first in-universe appearance. They are one of the items that first appeared in the Expanded Universe that would later appear in the films.