<s>
The	O
Compaq	O
Portable	O
is	O
an	O
early	O
portable	B-Device
computer	I-Device
which	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
compatible	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
Compaq	O
Computer	O
Corporation	O
's	O
first	O
product	O
,	O
to	O
be	O
followed	O
by	O
others	O
in	O
the	O
Compaq	B-Device
Portable	I-Device
series	I-Device
and	O
later	O
Compaq	B-Device
Deskpro	I-Device
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
not	O
simply	O
an	O
8088-CPU	O
computer	O
that	O
ran	O
a	O
Microsoft	B-Application
DOS	I-Application
as	O
a	O
PC	O
"	O
work-alike	O
"	O
,	O
but	O
contained	O
a	O
reverse-engineered	O
BIOS	B-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
a	O
version	O
of	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
that	O
was	O
so	O
similar	O
to	O
IBM	O
's	O
PC	B-Operating_System
DOS	I-Operating_System
that	O
it	O
ran	O
nearly	O
all	O
its	O
application	B-Application
software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
computer	O
was	O
also	O
an	O
early	O
variation	O
on	O
the	O
idea	O
of	O
an	O
"	O
all-in-one	B-Device
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
became	O
available	O
two	O
years	O
after	O
the	O
similar	O
,	O
but	O
CP/M	B-Application
-based	O
,	O
Osborne	B-Device
1	I-Device
and	O
Kaypro	O
II	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Columbia	B-Device
Data	I-Device
Products	I-Device
 '	O
MPC	O
1600	O
"	O
Multi	O
Personal	O
Computer	O
"	O
had	O
come	O
out	O
in	O
June	O
1982	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
"	O
work-alikes	O
"	O
included	O
the	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
and	O
8088-based	O
,	O
but	O
not	O
entirely	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
software	O
compatible	O
,	O
Dynalogic	B-Device
Hyperion	B-Device
,	O
Eagle	O
Computer	O
's	O
Eagle	O
1600	O
series	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
Eagle	O
Spirit	O
portable	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Corona	O
personal	O
computer	O
The	O
latter	O
two	O
companies	O
were	O
threatened	O
by	O
IBM	O
for	O
BIOS	B-Operating_System
copyright	O
infringement	O
,	O
and	O
settled	O
out	O
of	O
court	O
,	O
agreeing	O
to	O
re-implement	O
their	O
BIOS	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
was	O
also	O
the	O
Seequa	B-Device
Chameleon	I-Device
,	O
which	O
had	O
both	O
8088	B-Device
and	O
Z80	B-General_Concept
CPUs	B-Device
to	O
alternately	O
run	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
or	O
CP/M	B-Application
OSes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
Compaq	O
,	O
many	O
of	O
these	O
companies	O
had	O
previously	O
released	O
computers	O
based	O
on	O
Zilog	O
's	O
Z80	B-General_Concept
and	O
Digital	O
Research	O
's	O
CP/M	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
Compaq	O
,	O
they	O
recognized	O
the	O
replicability	O
of	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
's	O
off-the-shelf	O
parts	O
,	O
and	O
saw	O
that	O
Microsoft	O
retained	O
the	O
right	O
to	O
license	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
to	O
other	O
companies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Only	O
Compaq	O
was	O
able	O
to	O
fully	O
capitalize	O
on	O
this	O
,	O
by	O
aiming	O
for	O
complete	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
and	O
PC	B-Operating_System
DOS	I-Operating_System
software	O
compatibility	O
,	O
while	O
reverse-engineering	O
the	O
BIOS	B-Operating_System
to	O
head	O
off	O
copyright	O
legal	O
claims	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
contemporary	O
systems	O
include	O
the	O
portable	O
Commodore	O
SX-64	O
,	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
Executive	O
64	O
,	O
or	O
VIP-64	O
in	O
Europe	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
briefcase/suitcase	O
-size	O
"	O
luggable	B-Device
"	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
popular	O
Commodore	O
64	O
home	O
computer	O
built	O
with	O
an	O
8-bit	O
MOS	B-General_Concept
6510	I-General_Concept
(	O
6502-based	O
)	O
CPU	B-Device
microprocessor	B-Architecture
,	O
and	O
the	O
first	O
full-color	O
portable	B-Device
computer	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
the	O
Z80	B-General_Concept
and	O
"	O
work-alike	O
"	O
portables	O
,	O
its	O
sales	O
fell	O
into	O
insignificance	O
in	O
the	O
face	O
of	O
the	O
Compaq	B-Device
Portable	I-Device
series	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Compaq	O
Portable	O
was	O
announced	O
in	O
November	O
1982	O
and	O
first	O
shipped	O
in	O
March	O
1983	O
,	O
priced	O
at	O
with	O
a	O
single	O
half-height	O
"	O
diskette	B-Device
drive	O
or	O
US$	O
3,590	O
for	O
dual	O
,	O
full-height	O
diskette	B-Device
drives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Compaq	O
Portable	O
folded	O
up	O
into	O
a	O
luggable	B-Device
case	O
the	O
size	O
of	O
a	O
portable	O
sewing	O
machine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
responded	O
to	O
the	O
Compaq	O
Portable	O
with	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
Portable	I-Device
PC	I-Device
,	O
developed	O
because	O
its	O
sales	O
force	O
needed	O
a	O
comparable	O
computer	O
to	O
sell	O
against	O
Compaq	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Compaq	O
Portable	O
has	O
basically	O
the	O
same	O
hardware	O
as	O
an	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
,	O
transplanted	O
into	O
a	O
luggable	B-Device
case	O
(	O
specifically	O
designed	O
to	O
fit	O
as	O
carry-on	O
luggage	O
on	O
an	O
airplane	O
)	O
,	O
with	O
Compaq	O
's	O
BIOS	B-Operating_System
instead	O
of	O
IBM	O
's	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
the	O
non-portable	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
,	O
the	O
Compaq	O
Portable	O
runs	O
on	O
power	O
from	O
an	O
AC	O
outlet	O
only	O
;	O
it	O
has	O
no	O
battery	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
machine	O
uses	O
a	O
unique	O
hybrid	O
of	O
the	O
IBM	O
MDA	O
and	O
CGA	B-Device
which	O
supports	O
the	O
latter	O
's	O
graphics	O
modes	O
,	O
but	O
contains	O
both	O
cards	O
 '	O
text	O
fonts	O
in	O
ROM	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
using	O
the	O
internal	O
monochrome	B-Device
monitor	I-Device
the	O
9×14	O
font	O
is	O
used	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
8×8	O
one	O
when	O
an	O
external	O
monitor	O
is	O
used	O
(	O
the	O
user	O
switches	O
between	O
internal	O
and	O
external	O
monitors	O
by	O
pressing	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
a	O
larger	O
external	O
monitor	O
,	O
the	O
graphics	O
hardware	O
is	O
also	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
original	O
Compaq	B-Device
Deskpro	I-Device
desktop	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Compaq	O
used	O
a	O
"	O
foam	O
and	O
foil	O
"	O
keyboard	O
from	O
Keytronics	O
,	O
with	O
contact	O
mylar	O
pads	O
that	O
were	O
also	O
featured	O
in	O
the	O
Tandy	O
TRS-80	O
,	O
Apple	O
Lisa	O
1	O
and	O
2	O
,	O
Compaq	B-Device
Deskpro	I-Device
286	O
AT	O
,	O
some	O
mainframe	O
terminals	O
,	O
SUN	O
Type	O
4	O
,	O
and	O
some	O
Wang	O
keyboards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Compaq	O
's	O
efforts	O
were	O
possible	O
because	O
IBM	O
had	O
used	O
mostly	O
off-the-shelf	O
parts	O
for	O
the	O
PC	O
and	O
published	O
full	O
technical	O
documentation	O
for	O
it	O
,	O
and	O
because	O
Microsoft	O
had	O
kept	O
the	O
right	O
to	O
license	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
to	O
other	O
computer	O
manufacturers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
only	O
difficulty	O
was	O
the	O
BIOS	B-Operating_System
,	O
because	O
it	O
contained	O
IBM	O
's	O
copyrighted	O
code	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Compaq	O
solved	O
this	O
problem	O
by	O
producing	O
a	O
clean	O
room	O
workalike	O
that	O
performed	O
all	O
documented	O
functions	O
of	O
the	O
IBM	B-Operating_System
PC	I-Operating_System
BIOS	I-Operating_System
,	O
but	O
was	O
completely	O
written	O
from	O
scratch	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
numerous	O
other	O
companies	O
soon	O
also	O
began	O
selling	O
PC	O
compatibles	O
,	O
few	O
matched	O
Compaq	O
's	O
achievement	O
of	O
essentially-complete	O
software	O
compatibility	O
with	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
(	O
typically	O
reaching	O
"	O
95%	O
compatibility	O
"	O
at	O
best	O
)	O
until	O
Phoenix	O
Technologies	O
and	O
others	O
began	O
selling	O
similarly	O
reverse-engineered	O
BIOSs	O
on	O
the	O
open	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
Portables	O
used	O
Compaq	O
DOS	B-Device
1.10	O
,	O
essentially	O
identical	O
to	O
PC	B-Operating_System
DOS	I-Operating_System
1.10	O
except	O
for	O
having	O
a	O
standalone	O
BASIC	O
that	O
did	O
not	O
require	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
's	O
ROM	O
Cassette	O
BASIC	O
,	O
but	O
this	O
was	O
superseded	O
in	O
a	O
few	O
months	O
by	O
DOS	B-Device
2.00	O
which	O
added	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
support	O
and	O
other	O
advanced	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Aside	O
from	O
using	O
DOS	B-Device
1.x	O
,	O
the	O
initial	O
Portables	O
are	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
16KB	O
–	O
64KB	O
models	O
of	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
in	O
that	O
the	O
BIOS	B-Operating_System
was	O
limited	O
to	O
544KB	O
of	O
RAM	O
and	O
did	O
not	O
support	O
expansion	O
ROMs	O
,	O
thus	O
making	O
them	O
unable	O
to	O
use	O
EGA/VGA	O
cards	O
,	O
hard	B-Device
disks	I-Device
,	O
or	O
similar	O
hardware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
DOS	B-Device
2.x	O
and	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
XT	I-Device
came	O
out	O
,	O
Compaq	O
upgraded	O
the	O
BIOS	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
the	O
Portable	O
was	O
not	O
offered	O
with	O
a	O
factory	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
,	O
users	O
commonly	O
installed	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starting	O
in	O
1984	O
,	O
Compaq	O
began	O
offering	O
a	O
hard	O
disk-equipped	O
version	O
,	O
the	O
Portable	O
Plus	O
,	O
which	O
also	O
featured	O
a	O
single	O
half-height	O
floppy	B-Device
drive	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
offered	O
would	O
be	O
10	O
to	O
21	O
megabytes	O
,	O
although	O
bad	O
sectors	O
often	O
reduced	O
the	O
space	O
available	O
for	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Portable	O
286	O
featured	O
a	O
full	O
height	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
,	O
and	O
the	O
options	O
of	O
one	O
half-height	O
floppy	B-Device
drive	I-Device
,	O
two	O
half-height	O
floppy	B-Device
drives	I-Device
,	O
or	O
a	O
half-height	O
floppy	B-Device
drive	I-Device
and	O
a	O
tape	O
backup	O
drive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BYTE	O
wrote	O
,	O
after	O
testing	O
a	O
prototype	O
,	O
that	O
the	O
Compaq	O
Portable	O
"	O
looks	O
like	O
a	O
sure	O
winner	O
"	O
because	O
of	O
its	O
portability	O
,	O
cost	O
,	O
and	O
high	O
degree	O
of	O
compatibility	O
with	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
reviewer	O
tested	O
IBM	B-Operating_System
PC	I-Operating_System
DOS	I-Operating_System
,	O
CP/M	B-Operating_System
-86	I-Operating_System
,	O
WordStar	B-Application
,	O
SuperCalc	B-Application
,	O
and	O
several	O
other	O
software	O
packages	O
,	O
and	O
found	O
that	O
all	O
worked	O
except	O
one	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
praised	O
the	O
"	O
rugged	O
"	O
hardware	O
design	O
and	O
sharp	O
display	O
,	O
and	O
concluded	O
that	O
it	O
was	O
"	O
certainly	O
worth	O
consideration	O
by	O
anyone	O
seeking	O
to	O
run	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
software	O
without	O
an	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Released	O
in	O
1983	O
upgraded	O
version	O
;	O
The	O
Compaq	B-Device
Portable	I-Device
Plus	I-Device
simply	O
had	O
a	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
to	O
replace	O
one	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drive	I-Device
,	O
and	O
logos	O
and	O
badges	O
with	O
gold	O
backgrounds	O
instead	O
of	O
silver	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Compaq	O
Portable	O
286	O
,	O
Compaq	O
's	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
PC	B-Operating_System
AT	I-Operating_System
,	O
was	O
offered	O
in	O
the	O
original	O
Compaq	O
Portable	O
chassis	O
;	O
it	O
was	O
equipped	O
with	O
a	O
6/8MHz	O
286	O
and	O
a	O
high-speed	O
20MB	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Compaq	O
Portable	O
machine	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
of	O
a	O
series	B-Device
of	I-Device
Compaq	I-Device
Portable	I-Device
machines	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Compaq	B-Device
Portable	I-Device
II	I-Device
was	O
smaller	O
and	O
lighter	O
version	O
of	O
Compaq	O
Portable	O
286	O
;	O
it	O
was	O
less	O
expensive	O
but	O
with	O
limited	O
upgradability	O
and	O
a	O
slower	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
,	O
The	O
Compaq	B-Device
Portable	I-Device
III	I-Device
,	O
Compaq	B-Device
Portable	I-Device
386	I-Device
,	O
Compaq	B-Device
Portable	I-Device
486	I-Device
and	O
Compaq	B-Device
Portable	I-Device
486c	I-Device
were	O
later	O
in	O
the	O
series	O
.	O
</s>
