The Hyperion is an early

portable computer A portable computer is a computer designed to be easily moved from one place to another, as opposed to those designed to remain stationary at a single location such as desktops and workstations. These computers usually include a display a ...

that vied with the

Compaq Portable The Compaq Portable is an early portable computer which was one of the first IBM PC compatible systems. It was Compaq Computer Corporation's first product, to be followed by others in the Compaq Portable series and later Compaq Deskpro series. ...

to be the first portable

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 p ...

. It was marketed by Infotech Cie of

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, a subsidiary of Bytec Management Corp., who acquired the designer and manufacturer Dynalogic Corporation, in January 1983. In 1984, the design was licensed by

Commodore International Commodore International Corporation was a home computer and electronics manufacturer with its head office in The Bahamas and its executive office in the United States founded in 1976 by Jack Tramiel and Irving Gould. It was the successor compan ...

in a move that was forecast as a "radical shift of position" and a signal that Commodore would soon dominate the PC compatible market. Despite computers being "hand-assembled from kits" provided by Bytec and displayed alongside the Commodore 900 at a German trade show as their forthcoming first portable computer, it was never sold by Commodore and some analysts downplayed the pact. The Hyperion was shipped in January 1983 at C$4995, two months ahead of the Compaq Portable.

Brand name

The name "Hyperion" was invented by Taylor-Sprules Corporation in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. They also designed the retail packaging, all marketing materials and the tradeshow exhibit at Comdex in

Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...

where Hyperion was first introduced in 1982. Two prototypes were shown. The amber graphics screens, and a built-in modem, were notable features that attracted comment at the show.

Design

The machine featured 256 KB

RAM Ram, ram, or RAM most commonly refers to: * A male sheep * Random-access memory, computer memory * Ram Trucks, US, since 2009 ** List of vehicles named Dodge Ram, trucks and vans ** Ram Pickup, produced by Ram Trucks Ram, ram, or RAM may also ref ...

, dual 360 KB 5.25"

floppy disk A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, a diskette, or a disk) is a type of disk storage composed of a thin and flexible disk of a magnetic storage medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined with a ...

drives, a graphics card compatible with both CGA and

HGC HGC can stand for: *Harvard Glee Club *Hercules Graphics Card *HGC (field hockey), a Dutch field hockey club located in Wassenaar, South Holland on the border of The Hague *HGC Global Communications HGC Global Communications Limited, formerly k ...

, a

video-out jack The RCA connector is a type of electrical connector commonly used to carry analog audio and video signals. The name refers to the popular name of Radio Corporation of America, which introduced the design in the 1930s. Typically, the output i ...

, a built-in 7-inch amber

CRT CRT or Crt most commonly refers to: * Cathode-ray tube, a display * Critical race theory, an academic framework of analysis CRT may also refer to: Law * Charitable remainder trust, United States * Civil Resolution Tribunal, Canada * Columbia ...

, 300-bit/s

modem The Democratic Movement (, ; MoDem ) is a centre to centre-right political party in France, whose main ideological trends are liberalism and Christian democracy, and that is characterised by a strong pro-Europeanist stance. MoDem was establis ...

, and an

acoustic coupler In telecommunications, an acoustic coupler is an interface device for coupling electrical signals by acoustical means—usually into and out of a telephone. The link is achieved through converting electric signals from the phone line to so ...

. It included a version of

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few op ...

called H-DOS and bundled word processor, database, and modem software. While the Hyperion weighed just , or about 2/3 the weight of the Compaq, it was not as reliable or as IBM compatible and was discontinued within two years. One significant difference from the IBM system was the use of a Zilog Z80-SIO chip instead of a National Semiconductor 8250 for

serial communications In telecommunication and data transmission, serial communication is the process of sending data one bit at a time, sequentially, over a communication channel or computer bus. This is in contrast to parallel communication, where several bits ar ...

Interface

H-DOS was remarkable and is of historical significance because it featured a simple menu system. The through keys beneath the 7" screen corresponded to five menu items displayed at the bottom of the screen. This menu was context sensitive and greatly facilitated entering DOS commands. All but the least frequently used commands were available as F-key menu selections, and this greatly reduced the amount of typing required. This user interface was comparable to the many DOS shell programs available at the time but functioned much more smoothly because of the soft key concept. The soft keys were also featured in the word processor, database, and modem software that came bundled with the Hyperion, where they were used to select application commands from context-sensitive menus.

Demise

The initial interest in the Hyperion was high. An order backlog worth had built up, and plans were made to manufacture most units in the United States. However, incompatibility with the IBM PC was a concern for buyers, since many programs of the time made direct calls to the system

ROM Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * ...

, and the video display and

serial port A serial port is a serial communication Interface (computing), interface through which information transfers in or out sequentially one bit at a time. This is in contrast to a parallel port, which communicates multiple bits simultaneously in Pa ...

used different

integrated circuit An integrated circuit (IC), also known as a microchip or simply chip, is a set of electronic circuits, consisting of various electronic components (such as transistors, resistors, and capacitors) and their interconnections. These components a ...

s than the IBM PC. The Dynalogic company was absorbed by Bytec in early 1983. Bytec in turn was merged into Comterm in later 1983. Faulty disk drives created warranty claims for computers built at the

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...

plant. The computer was withdrawn from marketing in late 1984, at a loss of to the company.Brian Banks, Laura Jo Gunter, ''Canadian bombshell a dud in the portable market'', ''Computerworld'', November 1984 p. 93

References

External links

Hyperion
info on Old-computers online museum

page on Obsolete Technologies website
Dynalogic
York University Computer Museum page on Dynalogic and successors {{Authority control Portable computers Personal computers IBM PC compatibles Computer-related introductions in 1983