You are right, it was Sony. But it was not based on the 170, as that launched in 1994, 3 years later. I think the models that influenced it were the 140 and 1

You are right, it was Sony. But it was not based on the 170, as that launched in 1994, 3 years later. I think the models that influenced it were the 140 and 170, both from 1991, and much chunkier than the 100.