Compaq Portable II
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Compaq Portable II is the fourth product in the Compaq Portable series to be brought out by Compaq Computer Corporation. Released in 1986 at a price of US$3499, the Portable II much improved upon its predecessor, the Compaq 286, which had been Compaq's version of the PC AT in the original Compaq Portable chassis;[5] Portable 286 came equipped with 6/8-MHz 286 and a high-speed 20-MB hard drive, while the Portable II included an 8 MHz processor, and was lighter and smaller than the previous Compaq Portables. There were four models of the Compaq Portable II. The basic Model 1 shipped one 5.25" floppy drive and 256 KB of RAM.[3] The Model 2 added a second 5.25" floppy drive and sold for $3599.[3] The Model 3 shipped with a 10MB hard disk in addition to one 5.25" floppy drive and 640 KB of RAM for $4799 at launch.[2][3] The Model 4 would upgrade the Model 3 with a 20MB hard drive and sold for $4999.[3] There also may have been a 4.1 MB hard drive included at one point.[6] The Compaq Portable II was significantly lighter than its predecessors, the Model 1 weighed just 23.6 pounds compared to the 30.5 pounds the Compaq Portable 286 weighed.[3] Compaq only shipped the system with a small demo disk, MS-DOS 3.1 had to be purchased separately.[3]
Manufacturer | Compaq Computer Corporation, United States |
---|---|
Type | Portable computer |
Release date | February 20, 1986; 38 years ago (1986-02-20)[1] |
Introductory price | US$3,499 (equivalent to $9,730 in 2023)[2] |
Operating system | MS-DOS 3.1[2] |
CPU | Intel 80286 @ 6 or 8MHz (dual-speed)[2] |
Memory | 256 KB – 640 KB[2] |
Storage | 360 KB 5.25" floppy drive optional 10MB hard drive |
Display | 9" Monochrome monitor |
Graphics | 720×350 (text mode), 640×200 (graphics mode) |
Sound | PC speaker |
Input | Serial mouse, 84-key keyboard, light pen[3] |
Connectivity | CGA, composite, serial, parallel |
Dimensions | 7.5" × 13.9" × 17.7" (10cm × 35.3cm × 45cm)[4] |
Mass | 23.6 lbs (10.7 kg)[2] |
Predecessor | Compaq Portable 286 |
Successor | Compaq Portable III |
There are at least two reported cases of improperly serviced computers exploding when the non-rechargeable lithium battery on the motherboard was connected to the power supply.[7] There were no recorded injuries. The Compaq Portable II was succeeded by the Compaq Portable III in 1987.