Look Who's Got New Laptops: Texas Instruments
 
Microbytes Daily News Service Copyright (c) 1989, McGraw-Hill, Inc. Like
fellow Texans Compaq and Tandy, Texas Instruments must believe that traveling
computers have a good future. After ducking out of the personal computer market
and concentrating on bigger machines like the Explorer workstation, Texas
Instruments is got into the portable computer business this week with two new
systems: a notebook-size unit and a more traditional, heavier laptop. (See "A
Notebook With Desktop Punch," by Roger K. Adams BBX News, 30 October 1989.)
 
The diminutive TravelMate LT 286/12 is a feature-packed 6.7-pound computer
with a 12-MHz 80286 processor, 20-megabyte hard disk, and CGA-type display. The
$4199 machine is similar to Compaq's new 6.7-pound LTE/286 ($4499 with 20-meg
hard disk), except the thinner Compaq has a floppy drive built in. Based on
preliminary tests using the BYTE Lab benchmarks, performance is comparable.
Where the  Compaq system scored slightly better on the CPU and Video indices
(1.59 to 1.45 and 1.43 to 1.32), disk I/O was better on the TI (1.53 to 1.26).
 
Standard equipment on the TravelMate LT includes the 10-inch CGA backlit LCD
screen (with a programmable power-saver), 1 megabyte of RAM that's expandable
to 4 megabytes, an 84-key keyboard, a socket for an  80287 coprocessor, and a
NiCad battery that's rated at two to three hours of use before recharging.
Optional equipment includes a $399 snap-on external 3.5-inch 1.44-megabyte
floppy disk drive that's as deep and almost as thick as the computer itself, an
internal 2400-bps modem, and SRAM memory cards (the size of credit cards) in
128K or 256K configurations. Texas Instruments promises a 5.25-inch floppy
drive during the first quarter of 1990.
 
The 14-pound TravelMate LT 286/25 and 286/45 are 12-MHZ 286-based systems that
come with 20- and 40-megabyte hard-disk drives, respectively, and a VGA-type
display. They're priced at $4999 and $5599. Standard equipment on the
TravelMate LT 286s includes a 79-key keyboard, an 80287 socket, a 3.5-inch
1.44-megabyte floppy disk drive, and RAM that's upgradable from 1 to 4
megabytes. In these configurations, the Models 25 and 45 will be competing with
Compaq's higher-priced SLT/286 ($5999) and Zenith's SupersPort 286. In
preliminary tests using BYTE Lab benchmarks, the TI 286/45 outdid the Compaq in
all but video performance. The TI CPU benchmark was slightly better at 1.63
compared to the Compaq's 1.59; the Disk I/O rating was 1.96 compared to 1.77;
and the Video rating was 1.18 compared to 1.43.
 
From what we've seen of these two new computers, Texas Instruments has joined
the vanguard  of companies offering lightweight computers. TI could use its
technical know-how and its chip-engineering capabilities to give Compaq and
other laptop makers a run for their money. (Imagine a small computer with TI's
340x0 graphics processors designed into it.) But this time around, for its
entry into the mainstream portable computer market, TI has matched the
competition rather than surpassed it.
 
Contact: Texas Instruments, PO Box 655012, Mail Stop 57, Dallas, TX 75265;
(800) 527-3500.
 
                              --- BYTEWeek Staff
 
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