Misplaced Pages

#24975

60-560: The LTE Lite series was the second generation of LTE , a notebook family introduced three years earlier in 1989. The first two entries in the LTE Lite series, the LTE Lite/20 and the LTE Lite/25, were the first computers released under Eckhard Pfeiffer 's tenure as CEO. Pfeiffer assumed the position on October 24, 1991; he replaced Compaq co-founder Rod Canion , who was ousted from the company

120-859: A second source for manufacturing of the entire systems. Citizen later became its sole manufacturer. Meanwhile, Compaq purchased the monochrome active -matrix panels used in the Lite/25E and Lite 4/25E from Hosiden . Production of the LTE Lite was again moved from Citizen in Japan to Compaq's overseas plant in Singapore in 1994—Compaq citing wanting to fill vacant production lines in that plant, which also manufactured its Contura line of budget notebooks. The LTE Lite sold very well and quickly became Compaq's flagship mobile computer, overtaking sales of their earlier luggable portables. The LTE Elite series, released in March 1994,

180-521: A second source for manufacturing of the entire systems. Citizen later became its sole manufacturer. Production of the LTE Lite was again moved from Citizen in Japan to Compaq's overseas plant in Singapore in 1994—Compaq citing wanting to fill vacant production lines in that plant, which also manufactured its Contura line of budget notebooks. The hard disk drives meanwhile were manufactured by Conner Peripherals . The monochrome passive-matrix LCDs used in

240-440: A 20-MB hard drive, or no hard drive. The LTE and LTE/286 feature monochrome LCD screens manufactured by Citizen Watch. The LCD measures 7.7 inches wide by 3.7 inches tall and is capable of displaying CGA graphics in four shades of gray. The screens contain a blue electroluminescent backlight, allowing users to read off the laptops in low-light conditions. The LTE sports an 80C86 clocked at 9.54 MHz, while

300-556: A contract with Citizen to allow the latter to manufacture models of the LTE and LTE/286 for distribution in certain territories. This was the first time that Citizen, primarily a manufacture of timepieces and precision electronics, had manufactured an entire computer system. In October 1990 the company unveiled the LTE/386s, featuring the Intel 386SX processor clocked at 20 MHz. The stock memory

360-399: A day after the company posted its first quarterly loss—$ 70.3 million—leading to Compaq's first ever round of layoffs. The LTE Lites improved the battery life and quality of its liquid-crystal display panels while reducing weight. The LTE Lite/20 and LTE Lite/25 introduced suspend and hibernation modes, as well as a BIOS password and a Kensington slot for added security. Starting with

420-498: A full-feature docking station that added several other MultiBay units to the machine, on top of additional PC Cards and an Ethernet port . The LTE 5000 series also abandoned the monitor-mounted trackballs of older models in favor of an implementation of IBM 's keyboard-mounted pointing stick technology. Because of the disappointing performance of the LTE Elite, Compaq hired Inventec of Taiwan to co-design and manufacture in full

480-491: A function utility. Caton called the case design "sturdy ... typical of Compaq notebooks" and the keyboard "well laid out". Caton found reservation with the keyboard's switches, which he deemed soft, and, the passive-matrix display, which exhibited ghosting most noticeably under Windows. Andreas Uiterwuk and Siobhan Nash of InfoWorld , reviewing the LTE Lite/25C, rated the active-matrix color LCD well, with brilliant colors and

540-513: A mixture of experienced technology journalists and working technology practitioners. The site averages 4.6 million monthly page views and 1.1 million monthly unique visitors. The magazine was founded by Jim Warren in 1978 as The Intelligent Machines Journal ( IMJ ). It was sold to IDG in late 1979. On 18 February 1980, the magazine name was changed to InfoWorld . In 1986, the Robert X. Cringely column began; for many, that pseudonymous column

600-407: A pair of full-length, 16-bit ISA slots to the machine and two 5.25-inch drive bays. Compaq shipped their docking station with a VGA monitor and a standard desktop keyboard. The docking station connected to the back of the LTE/386s via a new specialized connector on the rear of the laptop. Compaq also sold an internal CD-ROM adapter for the LTE/386s that fits into its modem expansion slot, allowing

660-563: A proportional shrinkage in Compaq's laptop market share, despite the company's total market share slightly increasing from 1993. In 1994, Toshiba overtook Compaq as the top manufacturer of laptops in the United States, helped along with their Satellite line of laptops. The LTE 5000 series, released in September 1995, was a top-to-bottom redesign. The last in the LTE line, the LTE 5000 series

SECTION 10

#1732890693025

720-570: A revolution in mobile computing . It was a direct influence on both Apple and IBM for the development of their own notebook computers. The first generation of LTE gave way to succeeding lines, including the LTE Lite in 1992, the LTE Elite in 1994, and the LTE 5000 series in 1995, all of which received mostly positive reviews. Compaq sold over two million units across the LTE's lifespan. They succeeded it with

780-611: A wide viewing angle, that exhibited no crosstalk interference patterns. The reviewers found the US$ 4,999 selling price "hefty" and found that it performed 9 percent slower than its monochrome counterpart but on par with its competitor in the active-matrix color notebook arena, NEC 's UltraLite SL/25C. Nash and Earl Angus of the same publication, reviewing the LTE Lite/25E, called the laptop's $ 2,917 selling price "a pretty good deal" with its active-matrix monochrome display and equivalent processor to

840-617: Is an American information technology media business. Founded in 1978, it began as a monthly magazine. In 2007, it transitioned to a web-only publication. Its parent company today is International Data Group , and its sister publications include Macworld and PC World . InfoWorld is based in San Francisco , with contributors and supporting staff based across the U.S. Since its founding, InfoWorld ' s readership has largely consisted of IT and business professionals. InfoWorld focuses on how-to, analysis, and editorial content from

900-526: Is instantly apparent ... the Elite is more convenient to carry than some of the so-called subnotebooks". Multiple reviewers also judged the battery life of the LTE Elite an improvement over the LTE Lite. Some considered the LTE Elite too expensive on launch. The LTE 5000 series' redesigned chassis and added multimedia capabilities received high marks. Dwight Silverman of the Houston Chronicle dubbed

960-615: The Armada line in 1997. The concept for the LTE line was originally drafted for Compaq in 1986 by Christopher J. Gintz, who was director of technical and planning development for the company at the time. Between this time and the unveiling of the LTE in October 1989, Compaq released the Portable 386 in 1987, another entry in Compaq's long line of portable computers that were compatible with IBM 's Personal Computer platform. In 1988, they released

1020-582: The SLT/286 , Compaq's first ever laptop . The notebook computer emerged as a size category of portable computer starting with Epson 's HX-20 in 1982. It was further popularized by Radio Shack 's TRS-80 Model 100 in 1983. In terms of footprint, these notebooks measured roughly the size of a sheet of ANSI Letter paper—8.5 by 11 inches (215.9 by 279.4 mm)—making them easy to slip into an average-sized briefcase , and were relatively lightweight, making them easy to lift with one hand. The first notebook on

1080-486: The backlight inverter of successor models with a higher-voltage unit in response to this criticism. Compaq began retiring the LTE line with the 5000 series after introducing the Armada line in 1996. The final LTE 5000 models rolled off the line in the middle of June 1997. The Armada series marked the return of Compaq manufacturing their own laptops; following the end of the LTE 5000 series, Compaq severed ties with Inventec. InfoWorld InfoWorld ( IW )

1140-458: The LTE 5000 series. The partnership not only hastened development of a successor but also gained Compaq access to Taiwan's more cutting-edge technologies in the field of mobile computer production. It was the first time in several years that Compaq relied on an outside company to design a portable computer of theirs and was the first machine Compaq had manufactured entirely in Taiwan. The LTE range

1200-474: The LTE Elite into a rectangular, VCR -like slot, allowing the laptop to be used like a desktop computer, with an external monitor perched on top of the docking station. The SmartStation added two 5.25-inch drive bays, two ISA slots for IBM PC –compatible expansion cards, SCSI-2 ports for parallel peripherals and external storage, and Ethernet ports for networking. The MiniStation/EN and MiniStation/TR meanwhile were simple port replicators adding one of each of

1260-404: The LTE Elite was the ability of its processors to be upgraded and replaced, owing to its use of a socket rather than a soldered-on surface-mount package typical of laptops in the mid-1990s. The laptops' hard drives are also easily removable by the end user with the press of a button and can also be locked into the chassis with a security tab built into the drive's caddy. The LTE Elite retained

SECTION 20

#1732890693025

1320-477: The LTE Lite won out over the MastersPort under a stress test load: 3 hours compared to 2 hours and 11 minutes. Caton wrote that the power consumption modes were easy to configure. Similarly, the keyboard's hotkey functions allowed him to perform functions like disabling the external monitor or setting the speaker volume more easily compared to contemporaneous laptops, which required the user exit out to DOS and run

1380-518: The LTE Lite/25C and LTE Lite/25E, a trackball was built into the display housing on the right side, with the left- and right-click buttons on the reverse side of the housing. An internal modem , 9600-baud, was optional. Manufacturing of the LTE Lites was initially performed at Compaq's plant in Houston, Texas. Compaq used Citizen Watch of Japan as manufacturer for its monochrome passive-matrix LCDs and as

1440-469: The LTE Lite/25C. Like Caton the reviewers found the keyboard too soft, the key travel too shallow, but they were impressed with its display, which exhibited "little bleeding". Larry Blasko of the St. Petersburg Times , reviewing the LTE Lite 4/25E, found its relatively high price justified by its processing power, display, and keyboard and called the laptop overall a "first-rate job". In particular, Blasko found that

1500-429: The LTE Lites were a co-development between Compaq and Citizen, who developed ways to reduce motion persistence ("ghosting") and crosstalk interference patterns ("bleeding") common in their super-twisted nematic displays . The monochrome active -matrix LCDs used in the Lite/25E and Lite 4/25E were manufactured by Hosiden . These were the same LCDs used by Apple in some entries of their PowerBook 100 series . Compaq were

1560-551: The LTE line was a major factor in the development of notebook computers at both Apple and IBM . Apple released their first laptop, the Macintosh Portable , in September 1989—a little over a month before the LTE debuted. While in development longer than the LTE and with a far larger sales backlog, the LTE outperformed the Macintosh Portable in the marketplace by an order of magnitude due to customer preference for

1620-481: The LTE succeeded on account of its use of the conventional floppy drive and spinning hard drive, allowing users to transfer data to and from their desktop computers without any hassle. As well, Compaq began offering docking stations with the release of the LTE/386s in 1990, providing performance comparable to then-current desktop machines. The first LTEs received glowing praise among technology reviewers, who saw it as

1680-598: The LTE's smaller footprint and lower weight. In response, Apple developed what would become the PowerBook in 1990. Likewise, the LTE also spurred IBM to rush the development of a smaller laptop to compete with Compaq. This initiative eventually bore the PS/2 Model L40 SX in 1991—a predecessor to the ThinkPad line. The first generation of LTE received glowing praise in the computing press, where multiple reviewers dubbed

1740-715: The LTE/286 is based on the 80C286 clocked at 12 MHz. Both are respectively CMOS versions of Intel's 8086 and 80286 processors, intended for low-power applications such as battery-powered portable computers. The LTE and LTE/286 are equipped with 640 KB of internal RAM, expandable to 1.6 MB (for the LTE) or 2.6 MB (for the LTE/286) of RAM with the use of the use of 1- and 2-MB proprietary RAM cards that were sold by Compaq. The Compaq LTE and LTE/286 were primarily manufactured by Compaq at their Houston campus. Compaq later signed

1800-456: The LTE/386s made heavy use of rigid-flex interconnects between the different printed circuit boards , as well as custom ASICs , in order to save weight and reduce the amount of fragile wires and cables. Furthermore, the LTE/386s was the first of Compaq's laptops to use Conner's portable-oriented hard drives, whose platter diameters measured 2.5 inches across as opposed to 3.5 inches across. The LTE Lite, released in 1992, improved

1860-471: The aforementioned SCSI-2 ports and networking ports. The MiniStation/EN provided a Ethernet port, while the MiniStation/TR provided a Token Ring port. The OptiByte Media Station, meanwhile, was the most expensive but added a 16-bit sound card, a double-speed CD-ROM drive and built-in speakers, as well as providing a free ISA slot. This added sound synthesis capability to an otherwise silent laptop (barring

Compaq LTE Lite - Misplaced Pages Continue

1920-469: The ambitious internal AC adapter of the Elite line in favor of the familiar power brick. In its stead was what Compaq termed the MultiBay : a multipurpose, hot-swappable expansion slot in the front of the machine that allowed users to slot in a floppy drive, a CD-ROM drive (a first for the LTE line), a second hard drive for more disk storage, or a second battery for frequent travelers. Compaq also offered

1980-404: The battery life "somewhat lackluster" but praised the versatility of the user-definable power consumption modes and found the display bright and sharp with minimal ghosting. Michael Caton of PC Week , reviewing the LTE Lite/25, praised its battery life, case design, ease of use, and keyboard layout. PC Week 's test lab compared it to Zenith Data Systems ' MastersPort 386Le and found that

2040-414: The battery life and quality of its predecessors' LCD panels while reducing weight. The LTE Lite/20 and LTE Lite/25 introduced suspend and hibernation modes, as well as a BIOS password and a Kensington slot for added security. Starting with the LTE Lite/25C and LTE Lite/25E, a trackball was built into the display housing on the right side, with the left- and right-click buttons on the reverse side of

2100-524: The built-in trackball of the LTE Lite. The LTE Elite series was manufactured in large part in Compaq's facility in Singapore. Certain surface-mount PCBs were manufactured in Compaq's factory in Erskine , while final assembly of each LTE Elite was completed in Houston . The LTE Elite line was plauged with manufacturing issues and technical faults, leading to several recalls. These factors and more contributed to

2160-483: The company conceived it as their first attempt at a truly lightweight portable computer, aiming to replace their Portable and SLT lines. The first two models in the LTE line—the LTE and LTE/286 —competed with other notebook computers such as NEC 's UltraLite and Zenith 's MinisPort . However, whereas the UltraLite and MinisPort failed to gain much uptake due to their novel but nonstandard data storage technologies,

2220-585: The computer to be used with an optional external CD-ROM drive, making it one of the first laptops to natively support CD-ROM. Compaq introduced four new docking stations for the LTE Elite line: the SmartStation, the MiniStation/EN, the MiniStation/TR, and the OptiByte Media Station. The SmartStation was the second-most-expensive and feature-packed; like Apple 's Duo Dock , the SmartStation loaded

2280-402: The desktop drives of its day. This allowed Compaq to fit a spinning hard drive within the confines of the notebook-sized computer. Compaq offered the baseline, 8086 -equipped LTE with either an internal 20-MB Conner hard drive or no hard drive at all (while still possessing a floppy drive). On the other hand, Compaq offered users the option to buy the 286 -based LTE/286 with a 40-MB hard drive,

2340-464: The end of the year, it had become Compaq's flagship mobile computer, overtaking sales of their earlier luggable portables . Between 1992 and 1993, Citizen had manufactured between 20,000 and 25,000 LTE Lite units each month. The LTE Lite series was replaced by the LTE Elite series in March 1994. The LTE Elite series increased the memory, processors, and networking capabilities and moved the AC adapter to within

2400-458: The forthcoming Windows 95 . VLSI Technology , whose largest customer at the time was Compaq, worked closely with the latter to design the PC Card controller ASIC. The LTE Elite also integrated the AC adapter into the main body of the laptop, eliminating the need for an external power brick . This was the first time this approach had been done in a notebook-sized computer. Another new feature of

2460-506: The housing. The LTE Lite/20 and LTE Lite/25 used Intel's low-powered, portable-specific 80386SL processor. The LTE Lite 4/25, announced in November 1992, was the first laptop to feature Intel's later portable-specific i486SL . Manufacturing of the LTE Lites was initially performed at Compaq's plant in Houston, Texas. As with the preceding LTEs, Compaq used Citizen Watch of Japan as manufacturer for its monochrome passive-matrix LCDs and as

Compaq LTE Lite - Misplaced Pages Continue

2520-466: The internal PC speaker). The OptiByte Media Station was designed and manufactured by AccuMem Systems and resold by Compaq. The LTE was the first commercially successful IBM PC–compatible notebook computer and helped jump-start the burgeoning notebook industry. Compaq was helped in no small part by their decision to incorporate both a 3.5-inch floppy disk drive and a conventional spinning hard disk drives on higher-end models—data storage mediums that

2580-441: The lack of an internal floppy drive. Zenith Data Systems ' notebook-sized MinisPort , released slightly after the UltraLite in 1989, did little to ameliorate this issue despite offering an internal floppy drive due to its non-standard, 2-inch format. The LTE and LTE/286, released in October 1989, were true notebooks, each occupying exactly the footprint of ANSI Letter paper while measuring 1.9 inches (48 mm) thick. The LTE

2640-469: The lineup received generally positive reviews from the technology press, with PC World writing that the LTE Elites "push[ed] beyond the basic requirements of mobile computing" and "move[d] the mobile computing standard forward". Critics generally appreciated the convenience of the integrated AC adapter, with PC Week writing that "the convenience of carrying just the notebook and small power cord

2700-417: The machines "an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach to computer design [that] virtually bludgeons the competition with a mass of features". Many reviewers found the active-matrix LCDs of the higher-end models uncharacteristically dim, due to Compaq coating their polarizers with a dark film intended to increase contrast when looked at straight-on while reducing visibility from far angles. Compaq replaced

2760-419: The machines breakthroughs in mobile computing . Mitt Jones of PC Magazine called the LTE and LTE/286, "without reservation, the most exciting and usable laptops on the market", albeit expensive at launch. Of the 80C86-based LTE, Jones wrote called the machine "somewhat miraculous ... In the same way the UltraLite seemed impossible for its size [in 1988], the LTE seems impossible now". Fredric Burke of

2820-614: The majority of customers using desktop computers had built their entire computing ecosystem around by that point in 1989. From its introduction in 1989 to its discontiuation in 1997, Compaq sold over two million units of the entire LTE lineup, generating over US$ 1.5 billion in revenue for the company. The company sold the first 100,000 units of the LTE in December 1990. The LTE Lite in particular sold very well for Compaq, Citizen manufacturing between 20,000 and 25,000 LTE Lite units each month between 1992 and 1993. The unexpected success of

2880-484: The market compatible with the IBM PC was NEC 's UltraLite in 1988. Weighing in at 4.4 pounds (2.0 kg), the UltraLite eschewed from conventional floppy and hard disk drives for software and data storage, in favor of proprietary ROM and RAM cards. This approach was technically impressive but led to slow adoption rates by consumers due to the difficulty of transferring data to and from IBM PCs and compatibles because of

2940-583: The monochrome, active-matrix panel rendered "nice, crisp text and graphics" and that the keyboard had a "crisp touch" that held up under his heavy typing style. Blasko's unit scored 53.4 on the Norton index, meaning that it was over 50 times faster than a PC XT and 1.5 times faster than a 33-MHz Compaq Deskpro 386, which had a rating of 34.7. Blasko wrote that the LTE Lite was snappy running Windows 3.1. The LTE Lite series proved very successful for Compaq, accounting for half of their entire notebook sales in 1993 alone. By

3000-461: The notebooks' chassis, eliminating the need for external bricks. Compaq LTE The LTE is a line of notebook-sized laptops manufactured by Compaq Computer Corporation , introduced in 1989 and discontinued in 1997. It was the first notebook computer sold by Compaq and the first commercially successful notebook that was compatible with the IBM PC . Development of the LTE line began in 1986;

3060-441: The only notebook manufacturer besides Apple to make use of active-matrix monochrome LCDs. The LTE Lite/20 and LTE Lite/25 (including all submodels) used Intel's low-powered, portable-specific 80386SL processor. Compaq became the first laptop to feature Intel's later portable-specific 80486SL with the announcement of the LTE Lite 4/25 in November 1992. Reviewing the LTE Lite/25 and LTE Lite/20, Rick Ayre of PC Magazine called

SECTION 50

#1732890693025

3120-517: The same publication, reviewing the LTE/286 a year after its release, called it "the class act in its field", praising its expandability, the legibility of the LCD, and the performance of the battery. Both PC Magazine and InfoWorld rated the LTE/386s the fastest 386-class notebook those magazines had reviewed up to that point in early 1991. Critics rated the initial LTE Lites among the top-performing 386 laptops in terms of graphics performance and among

3180-482: The top five of 386 laptops in terms of rendering graphics within Windows. The battery life of these machines received mixed assessments, however, as did the feeling of the keyboard switches and the quality of the passive-matrix LCDs. Reviewers preferred the active-matrix LCDs of the later LTE Lites, which they gave high marks for their greater viewing angles and sharpness. Despite the LTE Elite's technical issues,

3240-535: The two laptops "state-of-the-art" and high-priced, with a good display and keyboard but with compromised battery life compared to their predecessor, the LTE 386s/20. The LTE Lites were the top-performing 386 laptops in terms of graphics performance and among the top five of 386 laptops in terms of rendering graphics within Windows. The magazine also rated it among the fastest in its processor class in terms of memory speed and data processing but found its hard disk performance mediocre. Mitt Jones, also of PC Magazine , called

3300-512: Was Compaq's first product with slots for PC Cards (known contemporaneously as PCMCIA cards, after the association who founded the card standard). Unlike other vendor's implementation of PC Cards, the LTE Elite's was largely plug and play , allowing cards to be removed and new cards to be inserted without rebooting the machine. Compaq worked closely with Microsoft to develop the necessary support drivers for plug-and-play PC Cards in Windows 3.1 and

3360-454: Was bumped up to 2 MB, expandable to 10 MB, with the same proprietary RAM cards as its predecessor; the number of card slots was increased to two for the LTE/386s. The LTE/386s also replaced the stubbly display panel of the older models with a full-sized, 9-inch-diagonal LCD capable of displaying VGA graphics in sixteen shades of gray, in a return to form from the SLT. The designers behind

3420-426: Was marketed as a desktop replacement ; with its optional docking stations , it allowed peripherals to be permanently connected. The LTE laptop would be simply removed from the docking station to be used on the go and then docked to use in the office. The LTE/386s was the first LTE offered with an optional docking station, allowing the computer to be used more or less like a desktop computer. The docking station added

3480-500: Was the debut of Intel 's multimedia-oriented Pentium processor in a Compaq laptop. It was also Compaq's first laptop with built-in 16-bit audio synthesis and playback (beyond the PC speaker ); hardware acceleration for video; and an infrared port for communicating with PDAs . An optional MPEG decoder card also allowed the laptop to stream MPEG video in real-time as well as output video to television sets and projectors. Compaq abandoned

3540-442: Was the face of InfoWorld and its close ties to Silicon Valley in particular. Up to and including the 15 June 1987 issue 24, volume 9, InfoWorld was published by Popular Computing, Inc. , a subsidiary of CW Communications, Inc. Since then it has been published by InfoWorld Publishing, Inc., a subsidiary of IDG Communications, Inc. Ethernet inventor Bob Metcalfe was CEO and publisher from 1991 to 1996, and contributed

3600-453: Was the first notebook on the market with conventional 3.5-inch floppy disk drives, as well as the first with optional hard disk drives. Compaq sourced their floppy drives from Citizen Watch and their hard drives from Conner Peripherals . Despite the drive's platters measuring 3.5 inches in diameter, as had been typical of desktop computers since the late 1980s, the drive's casing measured 0.75 inches (19 mm) thick—much thinner than

#24975