Compaq Portable
SLT/286
Article extracted from
http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/index.htm.
The Compaq SLT/286 (1990), prices
starts at
$5,399. I can assure you I didn't pay this !
The machine offers a bright high-resolution display that supports the VGA
video standard, the first laptop with that feature. It has a 12-megahertz
80C286 processor, a new low-power chip that is among the faster 80286
microprocessors, and it is certainly capable of handling most applications.
And it has a detachable keyboard, another first among laptops.
It is 8 1/2 inches deep - 2 to 3 inches less than the other leading laptops
at the
time
The SLT/286 provides mass storage
in the form of a 20-megabyte or 40-megabyte hard disk drive. The shock-mounted
drive is a new design that can withstand up to 80 G's of impact, or a ride
in the trunk of a New York
City taxi, whichever comes first. Data is transferred
through a high-capacity (1.44 megabyte) 3.5-inch diskette drive. An optional
2,400-baud internal modem is
$599.
At 14 pounds, including the battery and the hard disk, the
SLT/286 strains the definition
of laptop. Still, it is five pounds lighter than Compaq's
lunchpail-shaped Portable III, a significant difference
among portables. Most important, it runs for three hours on one battery charge.
An optional backup battery pack ($129) weighs two pounds.
One drawback of the machine is that it does not support
color, but then neither does any other laptop.
(High-resolution flat-panel color displays will
begin arriving next year.) Another surprise is that Compaq, which has forged
its reputation for high-performance machines around the 80386 microprocessor
from the Intel Corporation, did not introduce an
SLT/386. While the 12-megahertz
80C286 is a better-than-average chip, it is no match for the 386 chip. Michael
Swavely, Compaq's vice president for marketing,
suggested in an interview that the power demands of the 386 chip had reduced
the
SLT's battery life to unacceptably short periods. The fast
286 chip, he said, offered the best balance of performance and battery
life.
Compaq Portable
SLT/286 Manuals
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