Compaq's New One Weighs in at 6.7 Pounds, Even with Hard Disk
 
Copyright (c) 1989, McGraw-Hill, Inc.
NEW YORK (Microbytes Daily News Service) --- The best way to make
a small computer is to make it out of small parts, as Compaq
Computer demonstrated today when it introduced an AT-compatible
machine that weighs a bit less than 7 pounds even with a hard
disk. The new Compaq LTE is about the size of a thick notebook,
measuring 8 x 11 and just under 2 inches.
 
The computer comes in two versions: the 8086-based LTE and the
80C286-powered LTE/286. Both have a 3.5-inch 1.44-megabyte
floppy drive and are identical except for the CPU. Prices for
the LTE range from $2399 to $2999, depending on whether you get
a 20-megabyte hard disk or not.
 
The LTE/286 comes in three basic configurations: no hard disk
($3899), 20-megabyte hard disk ($4499), and 40-megabyte hard
disk drive ($4999). Only the LTE/286 accepts a math processor.
 
Compaq engineers have reduced the size of the LTE's motherboard
using surface-mount technology and experience gained designing
the SLT/286 (Compaq's first laptop), said director of product
development David Black. The double-sided motherboard measures
only 7.5 x 2.5 inches, minus a small notch to accommodate the
hard disk drive. It holds the CPU, math coprocessor socket, and
supporting chips. A second board on top of the motherboard
holds I/O and other miscellaneous circuitry.
 
But the most significant parts of Compaq's miniaturization
efforts are the disk drives. Compaq worked with Conner
Peripherals on the hard disk drive, and with Citizen on the
floppy drive, which uses standard 1.44-megabyte floppy disks.
Both measure only three-quarters of an inch high, which is
about one-quarter of an inch shorter than conventional drives.
According to Compaq, the hard drive can withstand a shock force
of 400Gs.
 
While other laptop makers are now building VGA-style displays
in their computers (resolution of 640 x 480), Compaq has chosen
a CGA-style backlit screen (640 x 200) for the LTE. The LTE has
an 80-key keyboard that's half-an-inch thick; function and
non-alphanumeric keys are about half the size of those on a
desktop keyboard.
 
Compaq rates the battery life at 3.5 hours. A power-management
utility, Powercon, lets you set the amount of idle time before
blanking the screen, putting the system to ``sleep,'' or
turning off the hard disk drive. A standby button next to the
video controls lets you shut down the LTE while maintaining the
memory contents in RAM.
 
Contact: Compaq Computer Corp, 20555 FM 149, Houston,
TX 77269-2000; (713) 370-0670.
 
                              --- Rich Malloy and Mike Nadeau
 
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