It had licensed DOS from a little-known third party called Microsoft after being unable to form a deal with CP/M maker Digital Research, and more importantly, it had allowed IBM had instantly become a front-runner when it entered the personal computer business, but at it had underestimated the importance of the computer’s operating system, DOS. IBM PC compatibleīut the Portable – Compaq’s first product – had an ace up its sleeve: not only did it feature an all-in-one design, it also ran essentially all the software written for the IBM PC, which had been introduced in 1981. It ran Intel’s 8088 processor, which delivered a whopping 4.77MHz of processing power. Read also : PC Shipments Worldwide Drop 15.3 Percent In Q2, IDC Warns Storage was initially limited to the built-in 128k of RAM and 5 1/4-inch floppy disks, although a software upgrade soon added support for a 10MB hard drive. Panels on either side of Compaq’s beige machine slid down to reveal connector ports and the AC power socket. It followed not long after the Osborne 1, generally considered the first commercially successful portable computer, which had launched in 1981 using the CP/M operating system.īoth took their design inspiration from Xerox’s NoteTaker, a prototype developed in 1978 that had never entered production. You would need to be fairly fit to make such a voyage, however, with the gadget weighing 28 pounds. Resembling a portable sewing machine when folded up, the device was designed to be usable as carry-on luggage on a plane, back when such an idea was a marvelous novelty. In a day when people commonly carry around tiny Internet-connected supercomputers in their pockets, it’s difficult to recall the excitement caused by the Compaq Portable when it began shipping in March 1983.Ĭommonly known as the “Compaq luggable”, it was one of the first IBM PC-compatible computers, made all the more flash by the fact that you could attach the keyboard to form the base of the machine, and then carry it around like a suitcase using the built-in handle.
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