The ProLinea was a line of budget
desktop computer
A desktop computer, often abbreviated as desktop, is a personal computer designed for regular use at a stationary location on or near a desk (as opposed to a portable computer) due to its size and power requirements. The most common configuratio ...
s released by
Compaq
Compaq Computer Corporation was an American information technology, information technology company founded in 1982 that developed, sold, and supported computers and related products and services. Compaq produced some of the first IBM PC compati ...
from 1992 to 1996. All the machines in the line were
x86
x86 (also known as 80x86 or the 8086 family) is a family of complex instruction set computer (CISC) instruction set architectures initially developed by Intel, based on the 8086 microprocessor and its 8-bit-external-bus variant, the 8088. Th ...
-based
IBM PC–compatible
An IBM PC compatible is any personal computer that is hardware- and software-compatible with the IBM Personal Computer (IBM PC) and its subsequent models. Like the original IBM PC, an IBM PC–compatible computer uses an x86-based central pro ...
systems, ranging from the
i386SX
The Intel 386, originally released as the 80386 and later renamed i386, is the third-generation x86 architecture microprocessor from Intel. It was the first 32-bit processor in the line, making it a significant evolution in the x86 archite ...
to
Pentium
Pentium is a series of x86 architecture-compatible microprocessors produced by Intel from 1993 to 2023. The Pentium (original), original Pentium was Intel's fifth generation processor, succeeding the i486; Pentium was Intel's flagship proce ...
s.
The ProLinea was succeeded by the
Presario line in 1993, although the two sold concurrently for a while.
Release and price war
The ProLinea was notorious for touching off a fierce price war in the personal computer market from its launch in June 1992.
Under a directive from Compaq's recent CEO
Eckhard Pfeiffer
Eckhard Pfeiffer (born August 20, 1941, in Lauban, Germany Lubań">ow_Lubań<_a>,_Poland.html" ;"title="Lubań.html" ;"title="ow ow Lubań, Poland">Lubań.html" ;"title="ow ow Lubań, Poland is a businessman of Germans">German ance ...
, the company originally sold lower-end models in the range for under US$900—a price that was virtually unheard of for brand-new desktops from a major PC vendor. Compaq's largest competitors—including
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
,
Apple
An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
,
DEC, and
Dell
Dell Inc. is an American technology company that develops, sells, repairs, and supports personal computers (PCs), Server (computing), servers, data storage devices, network switches, software, computer peripherals including printers and webcam ...
—immediately followed suit with budget, no-frills desktops of their own; IBM for example released the
PS/ValuePoint for under $1,000. Smaller manufacturers meanwhile struggled to compete against the major players in this price war, leading to dozens leaving the market or going bankrupt and dissolving.
Despite numerous parts shortages, Compaq sold nearly 400,000 units from the ProLinea line through to the end of 1992, helping the company come off its financial turmoil since the ouster of Compaq's original CEO,
Rod Canion
Joseph Rodney "Rod" Canion (born January 19, 1945) is an American computer scientist and businessman who co-founded Compaq Computer Corporation in 1982 and served as its first President and CEO.
Biography
A native of Houston, Canion graduated fr ...
, in 1991.
See also
*
Compaq Deskpro, the company's professional line of desktop computers
References
External links
*
{{Microcompu-stub
Computer-related introductions in 1992
ProLinea