The Atari Portfolio (Atari PC Folio) is an

IBM PC-compatible IBM PC compatible computers are similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT, all from computer giant IBM, that are able to use the same software and expansion cards. Such computers were referred to as PC clones, IBM clones or IBM PC clones. ...

palmtop PC, released by

Atari Corporation Atari Corporation was an American manufacturer of computers and video game consoles. It was founded by Jack Tramiel on May 17, 1984, as Tramel Technology, Ltd., but then took on the Atari name less than two months later when Warner Communica ...

in June 1989. This makes it the world's first

palmtop computer A handheld personal computer (PC) is a miniature computer typically built around a clamshell form factor and is significantly smaller than any standard laptop computer, but based on the same principles. It is sometimes referred to as a ''palmto ...

.Atari's Portfolio: the world's first palmtop
By Tony Smith, 2007-06-07, reghardware

History

DIP Research Ltd. based in

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

, Surrey, UK released a product in the UK called the ''DIP Pocket PC'' in 1989. Soon after its release, DIP licensed this product to Atari for sale as the ''Portfolio'' in the UK and US.Image of Original DIP Pocket PC
/ref> In Italy, Spain and Germany, it was originally marketed as ''PC Folio'' instead. DIP officially stood for "Distributed Information Processing", although secretly it actually stood for "David, Ian and Peter", the three founding members of the company who were former employees of Psion. The original founder of the company (first called "Crushproof Software") was

Ian H. S. Cullimore Ian H. S. Cullimore is an English-born mathematician and computer scientist who has been influential in the pocket PC arena. Biography Cullimore has a degree in mathematics from King's College London, and a PhD in cognitive and computer science ...

, and the other two David Frodsham and Peter Baldwin. Cullimore was involved in designing the early Organiser products at Psion before the DIP Pocket PC project. The technologic successor of the Portfolio was the also DIP-developed

Sharp PC-3000 The Sharp PC-3000 was a palmtop computer introduced in 1991. The "SPC" was designed and developed by Distributed Information Processing Research Ltd. ("DIP") in the UK. DIP had earlier designed the Atari Portfolio and the two machines shared many ...

/ 3100. DIP Research was later acquired by

Phoenix Technologies Phoenix Technologies Ltd is an American company that designs, develops and supports core system software for personal computers and other computing devices. The company's products commonly referred to as BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) or fir ...

in 1994.

Technology

The Portfolio uses an Intel 80C88 CPU running at 4.9152 MHz and runs "DIP Operating System 2.11" (DIP DOS), an operating system mostly compatible to MS-DOS 2.11, but with some DOS 2.xx functionality lacking and some internal data structures more compatible with DOS 3.xx. It has 128 KB of RAM and 256 KB of ROM which contains the OS and built-in applications. The on-board RAM is divided between system memory and local storage (the C: drive). The LCD is monochrome without backlight and has pixels or 40 characters × 8 lines. The sound is handled by a small Dual Tone Multi Frequency speaker capable of outputting tones between 622 and 2,489Hz, the same range as touch tone telephones, so users could not only use the address book app to store phone numbers, but actually speed dial them too by holding the device up to a telephone handset. Power is supplied by three AA size removable alkaline batteries. The computer's memory is preserved during battery changes. There is also an optional AC adapter (120V: HPC-401, 230V: HPC-402)."About Atari Portfolio"
, ''atari-portfolio.co.uk'' There is an expansion port on the right side of the computer for parallel (HPC-101), serial (HPC-102), modem or

MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, an ...

expansion modules. It uses a

Bee Card A is a ROM cartridge developed by Hudson Soft as a software distribution medium for MSX computers. Bee Cards are approximately the size of a credit card, but thicker. Compared to most game cartridges, the Bee Card is small and compact. Bee C ...

expansion port for removable memory (aka Credit Card Memory or CCM), which is not compatible with

PC card In computing, PC Card is a configuration for computer parallel communication peripheral interface, designed for laptop computers. Originally introduced as PCMCIA, the PC Card standard as well as its successors like CardBus were defined and devel ...

as it predated that standard. Expansion cards were available in sizes of 32 KB (HPC-201), 64 KB (HPC-202), and 128 KB (HPC-203) initially, and later were available in capacities up to 4 MB. The expansion cards were backed up by a replaceable battery, which last approximately two years. Built-in applications include a text editor, spreadsheet (

Lotus 1-2-3 Lotus 1-2-3 is a discontinued spreadsheet program from Lotus Software (later part of IBM). It was the first killer application of the IBM PC, was hugely popular in the 1980s, and significantly contributed to the success of IBM PC-compatible ...

compatible), phone book and time manager. Expansion cards contain programs such as a chess game (HPC-750), a file manager (HPC-704), and a finance manager (HPC-702). Most text-based DOS applications can run on the Portfolio as long as they did not directly access the hardware and could fit into the small memory. Other expansion modules include a floppy drive, and a memory expansion unit (HPC-104). The memory expansion unit gives the Portfolio an additional 256 KB of RAM, which can be partitioned into several drives. It also features a pass-through expansion connector, allowing the use of more than one expansion unit. In theory, multiple memory expanders can be attached, increasing the available storage to over 640 KB. A card reader (HPC-301) connects to a desktop PC to read and write to the expansion cards. The kit contains an ISA card, a special cable, the card reader, and software distributed on floppy disk. A modem expansion module converts the portfolio into a miniature

computer terminal A computer terminal is an electronic or electromechanical hardware device that can be used for entering data into, and transcribing data from, a computer or a computing system. The teletype was an example of an early-day hard-copy terminal a ...

. The modem is powered from the portfolio and came with an acoustic coupler consisting of two round shells that could be mounted over both ends of a handset with the aid of

velcro Velcro, officially known as Velcro IP Holdings LLC and trading as Velcro Companies, is a British privately held company, founded by Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral in the 1950s. It is the original manufacturer of hook-and-loop fast ...

strips. A direct connection to a telephone with a standard telephone lead is also possible. The complete terminal and coupler are portable, weighing only a few hundred grams. Also, using the parallel port expansion module (HPC-101), a standard parallel cable and the software supplied (DOS based), the Portfolio can be connected to a PC for transferring files to and from the unit. Credits for the development of the product can be found in an

easter egg Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest trad ...

if one selects Setup, then Help, and then presses + ("Alt" plus "left square bracket").

Versions

* Atari Portfolio HPC-003: ROM version 1.052 * Atari Portfolio HPC-004: ROM version 1.056 * Atari Portfolio HPC-005: ROM version 1.130 * Atari Portfolio HPC-006: ROM version 1.072 * Atari Portfolio HPC-007: ROM version 1.130 * Atari PC Folio HPC-008: ROM version 1.130 * Atari Portfolio HPC-009: ROM version 1.130? * Atari Portfolio HPC-010: ROM version 1.130? * Atari Portfolio HPC-011: ROM version 1.130?, 512 KB

Accessories

* Atari HPC-101 Smart parallel interface * Atari HPC-102 Serial interface * Atari HPC-103 Memory expansion * Atari HPC-104 Memory expander+ * Atari HPC-201 Memory card 32 KB * Atari HPC-202 Memory card 64 KB * Atari HPC-203 Memory card 128 KB * Atari HPC-204 OTPROM card 512 KBit * Atari HPC-205 OTPROM card 1 MBit * Atari HPC-301 PC Card drive for PC

ISA bus Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) is the 16-bit internal bus of IBM PC/AT and similar computers based on the Intel 80286 and its immediate successors during the 1980s. The bus was (largely) backward compatible with the 8-bit bus of the ...

* Atari HPC-401 Mains adapter 110 V * Atari HPC-402 Mains adapter 220 V * Atari HPC-406 Parallel cable * Atari HPC-407 Serial cable * Atari HPC-408 Parallel printer cable * Atari HPC-409 Null modem cable * Atari HPC-501 OTPROM adapter 512 KBit * Atari HPC-502 OTPROM adapter 1 MBit * Atari HPC-701 ROM card "Utility" * Atari HPC-702 ROM card "Finance" * Atari HPC-703 ROM card "Science" * Atari HPC-704 ROM card "File Manager" * Atari HPC-705 ROM card "Power BASIC" * Atari HPC-709 ROM card "Instant Spell" * Atari HPC-711 ROM card "U.S. Traveller's Guide)" * Atari HPC-713 ROM card "Hyperlist" * Atari HPC-715 ROM card "Language Translator" * Atari HPC-724 ROM card "Bridge Baron" * Atari HPC-725 ROM card "Wine Companion" * Atari HPC-726 ROM card "Diet / Cholesterol Counter" * Atari HPC-728 ROM card "Astrologer" * Atari HPC-729 ROM card "Stock Tracker" * Atari HPC-750 ROM card "Chess" * Atari HPC-803 Portfolio system case

In popular culture

The Atari Portfolio was used by the character

John Connor John Connor is a fictional character in the ''Terminator'' franchise. Created by writer and director James Cameron, the character is first referred to in the 1984 film ''The Terminator'' and first appears in its 1991 sequel '' Terminator 2: Judg ...

to crack PINs in two scenes in the 1991 film '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day''.

Gallery

File:Atari Portfolio Photomanipped.jpg File:Atari Portfolio Rama.jpg File:Atari Portfolio.jpg File:ATARI Portfolio.jpg File:ATARI-Portfolio ad ons.jpg File:ATARI-Portfolio open.jpg File:ATARI-Portfolio.jpg

References

External links

Unofficial Atari Portfolio sitePortfolio FAQScanned Atari Portfolio Technical Reference Guide
*
The Atari Portfolio
Resources, The Concealed College

Photos, programmation, peripherals {{Authority control Atari hardware Personal digital assistants Handheld personal computers Products introduced in 1989 IBM PC compatibles