Editing Compaq Portable (section)

{{Short description|Early portable computer}}
{{infobox computer
| name          = Compaq Portable
| logo          = 
| image         = Compaq portable.jpg
| caption       = A Compaq Portable with the keyboard detached ready for use. This machine has an aftermarket hard disk and floppy disk drives added.
| developer     =
| manufacturer  = [[Compaq Computer Corporation]]
| carrier       = 
| family        = [[Compaq Portable series]]
| type          = [[Portable computer]]
| generation    = 
| releasedate   = {{Start date and age|1983|03}}
| lifespan      = 
| price         = {{US$|2995|1983|round=-1}}
| discontinued  =
| unitssold     = 
| unitsshipped  =
| media         = 
| os            = [[MS-DOS]]<!-- operating system -->
| power         = 
| cpu           = [[Intel 8088]], 4.77&nbsp;MHz
| storage       = Two 5.25" [[floppy disk]] drives or, optionally, one floppy drive and a 10 MB hard drive
| memory        = 128&nbsp;KB (expandable to 640 KB)
| display       = Built-in 9" [[Green screen display|green screen]] monitor
| graphics      = Unique [[Color Graphics Adapter|CGA]]-compatible video card
| sound         = 
| input         =
| controllers   =
| output        =
| dimensions    = 
| weight        = {{convert|28|lb|abbr=on}}
| topgame       = 
| compatibility = [[IBM PC]] compatible
| successor     = [[Compaq Portable Plus]]
| related       = 
| website       = 
}}

The '''Compaq Portable''' is an early [[portable computer]] which was one of the first [[IBM PC compatible]] systems.  It was [[Compaq Computer Corporation]]'s first product, to be followed by others in the [[Compaq Portable series]] and later [[Compaq Deskpro]] series.  It was not simply an [[8088]]-[[CPU]] computer that ran a [[Microsoft]] [[DOS]] as a PC "work-alike", but contained a [[reverse-engineered]] [[BIOS]], and a version of [[MS-DOS]] that was so similar to [[IBM]]'s [[PC DOS]] that it ran nearly all its [[application software]]. The computer was also an early variation on the idea of an "[[all-in-one computer|all-in-one]]".

It became available two years after the similar, but [[CP/M]]-based, [[Osborne 1]] and [[Kaypro II]]. [[Columbia Data Products]]' [[MPC 1600]] "Multi Personal Computer", the first IBM PC compatible system, had come out in June 1982.<ref>{{Cite web|title=History of the Microprocessor and the Personal Computer, Part 3|url=https://www.techspot.com/article/893-history-of-the-personal-computer-part-3/|access-date=2021-08-23|website=TechSpot|date=8 May 2020 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=14Kfbrc6cbAC&pg=PA451 Aboard the Columbia], By Bill Machrone, Page 451, June 1983, PC Mag</ref> Other "work-alikes" included the [[MS-DOS]] and 8088-based, but not entirely IBM PC software compatible, Dynalogic [[Hyperion (computer)|Hyperion]],<ref>David Thomas, ''Knights of the New Technology: The Inside Story of Canada's Computer Elite'', Key Porter Books, 1983 {{ISBN|0-919493-16-5}}  pp. 172-179</ref> [[Eagle Computer]]'s Eagle 1600 series, including the Eagle Spirit portable,<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Pournelle |first=Jerry |author-link=Jerry Pournelle |date=September 1983 |title=Eagles, Text Editors, New Compilers, and Much More |url=https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1983-09/page/n321 |magazine=BYTE |page=307 |access-date=2021-05-14}}</ref> and the [[Corona Data Systems|Corona]] personal computer.<ref>{{Citation | title = Corona advertisement | newspaper = InfoWorld | pages = 50 | date = July 18, 1983 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=xi8EAAAAMBAJ&q=%22corona%20data%20systems%22%20infoworld%201983&pg=PA50 | access-date=14 May 2021 }}</ref> The latter two companies were threatened by IBM for BIOS copyright infringement, and settled out of court, agreeing to re-implement their BIOS.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sanger |first=David E. |date=1984-06-09 |title=EAGLE'S BATTLE FOR SURVIVAL |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/09/business/eagle-s-battle-for-survival.html |access-date= |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> There was also the [[Seequa Chameleon]], which had both 8088 and Z80 CPUs to alternately run MS-DOS or CP/M.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=sy8EAAAAMBAJ&dq=Seequa+Chameleon&pg=PA132 Hardware:Review:Seequa Chameleon], By Russ Adams, Page 132, 28 November 1983, InfoWorld</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ATAEAAAAMBAJ&dq=Seequa+Chameleon&pg=PA5 The Chameleon mystery], By David Needle, Page 5, 31 January 1983, InfoWorld</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=fi4EAAAAMBAJ&dq=Seequa+Chameleon&pg=PA66 Review Responses: Seequa], By John Schaefer, Page 66, 30 January 1984, InfoWorld</ref> Unlike Compaq, many of these companies had previously released computers based on [[Zilog]]'s [[Z80]] and [[Digital Research]]'s [[CP/M]] operating system. Like Compaq, they recognized the replicability of the IBM PC's off-the-shelf parts, and saw that [[Microsoft]] retained the right to license MS-DOS to other companies. Only Compaq was able to fully capitalize on this, by aiming for complete IBM PC and PC DOS software compatibility, while [[reverse-engineering]] the BIOS to head off copyright legal claims.

Other contemporary systems include the portable [[Commodore SX-64]], also known as the Executive 64, or VIP-64 in Europe, a briefcase/suitcase-size "luggable" version of the popular [[Commodore 64]] [[home computer]] built with an [[8-bit]] [[MOS 6510]] ([[6502]]-based) CPU [[microprocessor]], and the first full-color portable computer.<ref name="vintage-computer_commodoresx64">{{Cite web |title=Compaq Commodore 64 |url=http://www.vintage-computer.com/commodore64.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703082915/http://www.vintage-computer.com/commodore64.shtml |archive-date=3 July 2018 |access-date=6 December 2022 |website=www.vintage-computer.com}}</ref> Like the Z80 and "work-alike" portables, its sales fell into insignificance in the face of the [[Compaq Portable series]].