Compaq Portable

<h2 id="production-and-sales">Production and sales</h2>
The Compaq Portable was announced in November 1982 and first shipped in March 1983,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11">11</a> priced at US$2,995 (equivalent to $9,500 in 2024) with a single half-height 5+1⁄4" 360 KB diskette drive or US$3,590 for dual, full-height diskette drives. The 28 lb (13 kg)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12">12</a> Compaq Portable folded up into a <a href="/facts/Luggable/A4K69e4A">luggable</a> case the size of a portable <a href="/facts/Sewing_machine/dGsA53Tv">sewing machine</a>.
IBM responded to the Compaq Portable with the <a href="/facts/IBM_Portable_PC/6V5J9Yk7">IBM Portable PC</a>, developed because its sales force needed a comparable computer to sell against Compaq.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13">13</a>
Compaq sold 53,000 units in the first year with a total of US$111 million in revenue, an American Business record. In the second year revenue hit US$329 million setting an industry record. Third year revenue was at US$503.9 million, another US business record.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14">14</a>

<h2 id="design">Design</h2>
The Compaq Portable has basically the same hardware as an <a href="/facts/IBM_PC/yhcJGMPL">IBM PC</a>, with Compaq's <a href="/facts/BIOS/2RY3dzQe">BIOS</a> instead of IBM's, transplanted into a luggable case specifically designed to fit as carry-on luggage on an airplane,.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15">15</a> (An engineer said that the Portable fits under an airplane seat if no one too heavy sat above it.)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16">16</a> All Portables shipped with 128 KB of RAM and 1-2 double-sided double-density 360 KB disk drives. Like the non-portable IBM PC, the Compaq Portable runs on power from an AC outlet only; it has no battery.
The machine has a hybrid of the <a href="/facts/IBM_MDA/oUM5MT24">IBM MDA</a> and <a href="/facts/Color_Graphics_Adapter/zcX23HQo">CGA</a> which supports the latter's graphics modes, but uses the former's high-quality character set in 80x25 text mode.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17">17</a> (When <a href="/facts/Mitch_Kapor/jpSDKvVK">Mitch Kapor</a> saw the Portable use both standards while demonstrating <a href="/facts/Lotus_1-2-3/tnkvSG3M">Lotus 1-2-3</a> to <a href="/facts/Sears_Business_Centers/cFEFwARE">Sears Business Centers</a>, he stopped the presentation to explain his amazement at Compaq's achievement.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18">18</a>) When using the internal monochrome monitor the 9×14 font is used, and the 8×8 one when an external monitor is used (the user switches between internal and external monitors by pressing Ctrl+Alt+>). With a larger external monitor, the graphics hardware is also used in the original <a href="/facts/Compaq_Deskpro/h4fp2b1E">Compaq Deskpro</a> desktop computer.
Compaq used a "foam and foil" keyboard from Keytronics, with contact mylar pads that were also featured in the Tandy TRS-80, Apple Lisa 1 and 2, Compaq Deskpro 286 AT, some <a href="/facts/Mainframe/nrBR6rWa">mainframe</a> <a href="/facts/Computer_terminal/fSlx05qV">terminals</a>, <a href="/facts/Sun_Microsystems/VJ9EzEFd">SUN</a> Type 4, and some <a href="/facts/Wang_Laboratories/8xc1hoDz">Wang</a> keyboards. The foam pads the keyboards used to make contact with the circuit board when pressed disintegrate over time, due to both the wear of normal use and natural wear. The CRT display also suffered from a low <a href="/facts/Refresh_rate/7mGJs7Dz">refresh rate</a> and heavy <a href="/facts/Ghosting_(television)/oybe05LJ">ghosting</a>.

Various views
<h3>Software</h3>

Compaq's efforts were possible because IBM had used mostly <a href="/facts/Commercial_off-the-shelf/3VxTJYc6">off-the-shelf</a> parts for the PC and published full technical documentation for it, and because <a href="/facts/Microsoft/nGIDDXdx">Microsoft</a> had kept the right to license <a href="/facts/MS-DOS/fVrrz1uN">MS-DOS</a> to other computer manufacturers. The only difficulty was the BIOS, because it contained IBM's copyrighted code. Compaq solved this problem by producing a <a href="/facts/Clean_room_design/5t2ewW61">clean room</a> workalike that performed all documented functions of the IBM PC BIOS, but was completely written from scratch.
Although numerous other companies soon also began selling PC compatibles, few matched Compaq's achievement of essentially-complete software compatibility with the IBM PC (typically reaching "<a href="/facts/PC_compatible/zGUpl7Sh">95% compatibility</a>" at best) until <a href="/facts/Phoenix_Technologies/eD3JIYFW">Phoenix Technologies</a> and others began selling similarly reverse-engineered <a href="/facts/BIOS/2RY3dzQe">BIOSs</a> on the open market.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19">19</a>
The first Portables used Compaq DOS 1.10, essentially identical to PC DOS 1.10 except for having a standalone <a href="/facts/BASIC/ELoTkjnM">BASIC</a> that did not require the IBM PC's <a href="/facts/Read-only_memory/P9QMuDLH">ROM</a> Cassette BASIC, but this was superseded in a few months by DOS 2.00 which added hard disk support and other advanced features.
Aside from using DOS 1.x, the initial Portables are similar to the 16 KB – 64 KB models of the IBM PC in that the BIOS was limited to 544 KB of RAM and did not support expansion ROMs, thus making them unable to use <a href="/facts/Enhanced_Graphics_Adapter/VFU5QRyp">EGA</a>/<a href="/facts/VGA/8GGsGTSc">VGA</a> cards, hard disks, or similar hardware. After DOS 2.x and the <a href="/facts/IBM_XT/5uHxtq6H">IBM XT</a> came out, Compaq upgraded the BIOS. Although the Portable was not offered with a factory hard disk, users commonly installed them. Starting in 1984, Compaq began offering a hard disk-equipped version, the Portable Plus, which also featured a single half-height floppy drive. The hard disk offered would be 10 to 21 megabytes, although <a href="/facts/Bad_sector/XknkjnFj">bad sectors</a> often reduced the space available for use.
In 1985, Compaq introduced the Portable 286, but it was replaced by the more compact Portable II in a redesigned case within a few months. The Portable 286 featured a full-height hard disk, and the options of one half-height floppy drive, two half-height floppy drives, or a half-height floppy drive and a tape backup drive.

<h2 id="reception">Reception</h2>
<a href="/facts/Byte_(magazine)/xWovF95Q">BYTE</a> wrote, after testing a prototype, that the Compaq Portable "looks like a sure winner" because of its portability, cost, and high degree of compatibility with the IBM PC. Its reviewer tested <a href="/facts/IBM_PC_DOS/ScsfqAwQ">IBM PC DOS</a>, <a href="/facts/CP%2fM-86/x6BzDadH">CP/M-86</a>, <a href="/facts/WordStar/QWnaF7t7">WordStar</a>, <a href="/facts/SuperCalc/55lgIU0Y">SuperCalc</a>, and several other software packages, and found that all worked except one game.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20">20</a> "Compaq", <a href="/facts/InfoWorld/EJ0zA8FV">InfoWorld</a> said, "deserves the success it enjoys ... an excellent, convenient machine designed and priced for professional use".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21">21</a> <a href="/facts/PC_Magazine/uPNIj5y0">PC Magazine</a> also rated the Compaq Portable very highly for compatibility, reporting that all tested applications ran. It praised the "rugged" hardware design and sharp display, and concluded that it was "certainly worth consideration by anyone seeking to run IBM PC software without an IBM PC".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22">22</a>

<h2 id="successors">Successors</h2>

<h3>Upgrades</h3>
<h4>Compaq Portable Plus</h4>
Released in 1983 upgraded version; The Compaq Portable Plus simply had a <a href="/facts/Hard_drive/kekLSGSE">hard drive</a> to replace one floppy disk drive, and logos and badges with gold backgrounds instead of silver. Independent computer stores were previously doing this upon request of users, and Compaq saw this as a lost revenue opportunity.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:23" href="#fn:23">23</a>

<h4>Compaq Portable 286</h4>
The Compaq Portable 286, Compaq's version of the <a href="/facts/PC_AT/YEVHpWKF">PC AT</a>, was offered in the original Compaq Portable chassis;<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:24" href="#fn:24">24</a> it was equipped with a 6/8 MHz 286 and a high-speed 20 MB <a href="/facts/Hard_drive/kekLSGSE">hard drive</a>.

<h3>Compaq Portable series</h3>
Main article: <a href="/facts/Compaq_Portable_series/K9twm5EK">Compaq Portable series</a>
The Compaq Portable machine was the first of a <a href="/facts/Compaq_Portable_series/K9twm5EK">series of Compaq Portable machines</a>. The <a href="/facts/Compaq_Portable_II/QSj7w01e">Compaq Portable II</a> was smaller and lighter version of Compaq Portable 286; it was less expensive but with limited upgradability and a slower <a href="/facts/Hard_drive/kekLSGSE">hard drive</a>, The <a href="/facts/Compaq_Portable_III/Sk6uW6gC">Compaq Portable III</a>, <a href="/facts/Compaq_Portable_386/Yo6HLaQe">Compaq Portable 386</a>, <a href="/facts/Compaq_Portable_486/5DvnVRuK">Compaq Portable 486</a> and Compaq Portable 486c were later in the series.

<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Compaq Portable.

<ul><li><a href="http://oldcomputers.net/compaqi.html">Old Computers - Compaq Portable</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.cedmagic.com/history/compaq-portable.html">CED in the History of Media Technology - Compaq Portable</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.obsoletecomputermuseum.org/compaq/">Obsolete Computer Museum - Compaq Portable description</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
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<li id="fn:9">Review Responses: Seequa, By John Schaefer, Page 66, 30 January 1984, InfoWorld <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=fi4EAAAAMBAJ&dq=Seequa+Chameleon&pg=PA66" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=fi4EAAAAMBAJ&dq=Seequa+Chameleon&pg=PA66</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
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<li id="fn:12">Dahmke, Mark (January 1983). "The Compaq Portable". BYTE. pp. 30–36. Retrieved 27 July 2013. <a href="https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1983-01-rescan/1983_01_BYTE_08-01_Looking_Ahead#page/n31/mode/2up" target="_blank">https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1983-01-rescan/1983_01_BYTE_08-01_Looking_Ahead#page/n31/mode/2up</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
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</ol>

Compaq Portable open-in-new

Compaq Portable