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` 1988
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`THE EXECUTIVE COMPUTER; Compaq Finally Makes a Laptop
`By PETER H. LEWIS OCT. 23, 1988
`About the Archive
`This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online
`publication in 1996. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter,
`edit or update them.
`
`Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems. Please send
`reports of such problems to archive_feedback@nytimes.com.
`
`A battery-powered laptop computer was finally introduced last week by the Compaq
`Computer Corporation. For several years, while other companies were reaping
`millions of dollars in the emerging market, Compaq steadfastly refused to bring out
`a laptop, saying it would not be content with the compromises that existing
`technology would require. Only when a laptop could equal the performance of a
`desktop model, Compaq said, would it produce a laptop.
`Now it has come up with the Compaq SLT/286, whose price starts at $5,399.
`That is on the high end of laptops, which are more expensive than comparable
`desktop computers. While it is not a breakthrough, it has enough innovations to set
`it apart from competitors. Judged simply as a portable, it is very impressive. Even
`measured against comparable desktop computers, as Compaq would like it to be, the
`SLT/286 holds it own.
`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.
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`It is only 8 1/2 inches deep - 2 to 3 inches less than the other leading laptops -
`and that makes it better suited for working on airline trays. While it is nearly an inch
`taller than similar machines, that difference has little practical consequence.
`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.
`Mr. Swavely also said the SLT/286 would be in short supply until next year
`because of limited supplies of major components, especially the Japanese-made
`screen and the new memory chips it uses.
`Despite those problems, the SLT/286 might be the machine that finally
`legitimizes the portable computer market. It would do so, oddly enough, by staying
`on the desktop most of the time. While most laptops are geared for the peripatetic
`executive who is always doing Lotus 1-2-3 recalculations at 30,000 feet, how many
`of those types do you see on your flights?
`The Compaq appears aimed at the more realistic work style of the executive who
`spends most of the time at the desk, making occasional forays for business travel
`and occasionally needing to take work home or on vacation.
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`Thus, when it is deskbound, the SLT/286 is designed to nestle in an optional
`cradle ($999) that contains slots for two expansion cards and extra ports for
`printers, a mouse or other peripheral devices. One slot might be used for a network
`card, which would allow the machine to be connected to other computers on a
`company's local area network system. Then, when portability is needed, the
`SLT/286 snaps out of its cradle.
`The Compaq and other such laptops might also signal a different direction for
`personal computers. Such machines used to be personal; a PC on the desk at work
`gave an individual the power to do single tasks more efficiently. But PC's are less
`personal these days, the result of proliferating local area networks, work groups, the
`OS/2 operating system, Unix multi-user systems and other strategies that tie many
`computer users together. Portable computers restore some of the personal nature of
`PC's. The entire machine can be locked in the user's desk drawer at night, or it can
`follow the executive home and when a new employee signs on, the technical support
`staff can say, ''Here, this is your computer.'' TRAVELERS' AID
`When traveling with a laptop, users might carry a survival kit that includes
`aspirin, for headaches caused by squinting at a screen; analgesic balm for soothing
`sore muscles caused by shouldering an overweight carrying case; aligator clips for
`hot-wiring hotel-room telephone systems, and legal pads and pens for word
`processing when the laptop's battery unexpectedly dies at 30,000 feet.
`To avoid the dreaded ''low power'' light when you are halfway between
`Cleveland and Albuquerque, an essential traveling companion is Battery Watch, by
`Traveling Software (206-483-8088). This $40 program acts as a pop-up ''gas gauge''
`to tell the user exactly how much time, in hours and minutes, is remaining on a
`battery charge. No more nasty surprises.
`It also allows more efficient charging of the Nicad batteries that most laptops
`use. Nicads are notorious for developing ''memory'' - if you use the battery for an
`hour and then recharge it, it will poop out the next time you use it after just an hour,
`even though it may be rated for three hours of life.
`Battery Watch has a ''deep discharge'' function that restores the battery to its
`full potential.
`A version of this article appears in print on October 23, 1988, on Page 3003011 of the National edition
`with the headline: THE EXECUTIVE COMPUTER; Compaq Finally Makes a Laptop.
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