The SupersPort is a line of

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 ...

laptop A laptop computer or notebook computer, also known as a laptop or notebook, is a small, portable personal computer (PC). Laptops typically have a Clamshell design, clamshell form factor (design), form factor with a flat-panel computer scree ...

s manufactured by

Zenith Data Systems Zenith Data Systems Corporation (ZDS) was an American computer systems manufacturing company active from 1979 to 1996. It was originally a division of the Zenith Radio Company (later Zenith Electronics), after they had purchased the Heath Com ...

and sold from 1988 to 1993. The first two main entries in the SupersPort line included either an

Intel 80286 The Intel 80286 (also marketed as the iAPX 286 and often called Intel 286) is a 16-bit microprocessor that was introduced on February 1, 1982. It was the first 8086-based CPU with separate, non- multiplexed address and data buses and also the f ...

microprocessor clocked at 12 MHz or an

8088 The Intel 8088 ("''eighty-eighty-eight''", also called iAPX 88) microprocessor is a variant of the Intel 8086. Introduced on June 1, 1979, the 8088 has an eight-bit external data bus instead of the 16-bit bus of the 8086. The 16-bit registers ...

processor clocked at 8 or 4.77 MHz, switchable. Later entries included the

386SX 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 architect ...

486SX The i486SX was a microprocessor originally released by Intel in 1991. It was a modified Intel i486DX microprocessor with its floating-point unit (FPU) disabled. It was intended as a lower-cost CPU for use in low-end systems—selling for US$258 ...

and

486 __NOTOC__ Year 486 ( CDLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Basilius and Longinus (or, less frequently, year 1239 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomin ...

processors. The SupersPort 286 in particular was one of the top-selling laptops of the late 1980s, although Zenith's position in this segment faltered by the early 1990s.

Development and release

unveiled the SupersPort line alongside Zenith's TurbosPort 386 luggable computer on April 19, 1988. Both the SupersPort and TurbosPort were marketed under the company's new Road Warrior umbrella of battery-powered portable computers, a project helmed by Andy Czernek and John Frank, VP of marketing and president of Zenith respectively. Meanwhile, Howard Fullmer and Russ Niedzielski were responsible for the SupersPort's design. Both were initially assembled in the company's manufacturing plant in

St. Joseph, Michigan St. Joseph, colloquially known as St. Joe, is a city and the county seat of Berrien County, Michigan. It was incorporated as a village in 1834 and as a city in 1891. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 7,856. It lies on the shore ...

, a union shop represented by

United Steelworkers The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, commonly known as the United Steelworkers (USW), is a general trade union with members across North America. Headqua ...

; according to Czernek, Zenith was the only union-manufactured personal computer in the world at the time. In keeping with the Road Warrior theme, the unveiling was held at an event center in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, with helmeted performers and motorcyclists showcasing the SupersPort and TurbosPort. The lowest-cost initial entries in the SupersPort line, running an

Intel 8088 The Intel 8088 ("''eighty-eighty-eight''", also called iAPX 88) microprocessor is a variant of the Intel 8086. Introduced on June 1, 1979, the 8088 has an eight-bit external data bus instead of the 16-bit bus of the 8086. The 16-bit registers ...

microprocessor, are the successors to the company's Z-180 line of laptops. Both the 8088 SupersPort and the SupersPort 286 feature an improved design of the EL-backlit STN

LCD A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other electronically modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with polarizers to display information. Liquid crystals do not em ...

s introduced with the Z-180 line, doubling the vertical resolution (for a total resolution of 640 by 400 pixels, CGA double-scan) and possessing a brighter backlight element. They both feature more power-efficient electronics and a smaller profile and weight. While the 8088 SupersPort was marketed toward university students, the SupersPort 286—featuring an

clocked at 12 MHz (with no

wait state A wait state is a delay experienced by a computer processor when accessing external memory or another device that is slow to respond. Computer microprocessors generally run much faster than the computer's other subsystems, which hold the data the ...

s)—was aimed at business professionals. The SupersPort 286 was one of the first battery-powered 286 laptops; Zenith claimed it was the fastest 286 portable at the time of its release. Both the 8088 SupersPort (actually featuring a

80C88 The Intel 8088 ("''eighty-eighty-eight''", also called iAPX 88) microprocessor is a variant of the Intel 8086. Introduced on June 1, 1979, the 8088 has an eight-bit external data bus instead of the 16-bit bus of the 8086. The 16-bit registers ...

switchable between 8 and 4.77 MHz and simply called the SupersPort) and the SupersPort 286 came in two variants each. The SupersPort Model 2 was the lowest-cost affair and features dual 720 KB, 3.5-inch floppy disk drives; both are equipped with 640 KB of memory standard. The SupersPort Model 20 swaps one of the two floppy drives for a 20 MB hard drive. The SupersPort 286 Model 20 features a high-density 1.44 MB, 3.5-inch floppy disk drive and same 20 MB hard drive as the aforementioned model, while the SupersPort Model 40 features a 40 MB drive; both come with 1 MB

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 ...

stock. The 80C88 SupersPort Model 20 weighs , while the SupersPort 286 Model 20 weighs a little over . The TurbosPort and 8088 SupersPort were released to the public in April 1988. The SupersPort 286 was released a month later, held back by

FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains ju ...

clearance. A kit version of the SupersPort 286 was offered by Zenith's

Heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

division in the beginning of 1989. The Heath SupersPort 286 sold for

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

3,678, against the $4,999 retail price of the fully assembled Zenith SupersPort 286.

Sales

Although Zenith refused to disclose sales figures of their computers, the company reportedly sold roughly 173,910 SupersPorts by the end of 1988, or 25.5 percent of all 682,000 laptops sold that year. In May 1988, as part of a multi-million dollar agreement, Zenith became the official supplier of laptops for the Master's program of

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

. As part of this agreement, Harvard recommended incoming post-graduates acquire the SupersPort 286 for use with coursework. Harvard Business School's Master's program in fall 1988 had 800 students registered to enter; Zenith expected to sell roughly 640 units to them. The School had prescribed

IBM PC The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the List of IBM Personal Computer models, IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible ''de facto'' standard. Released on ...

s to students in the prior four years; Zenith beat out IBM and four other competitors for the 1988 contract. Later that May, Zenith signed an agreement with

Hewlett-Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company. It was founded by Bill Hewlett and David Packard in 1939 in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, California ...

to act as an OEM for HP, rebadging the SupersPort 286 as a laptop under Hewlett-Packard's Vectra line of

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 ...

s. While Hewlett-Packard had sold two models of laptops of its own design under the Vectra line, it only achieved limited success, and the company admitted to the press that Zenith's product was more feature-packed and offered higher performance. The SupersPort-based HP laptop was released as the Vectra LS/12 in January 1989, by which point the SupersPort 286 was among the top-selling laptops on the market.

Reception

Sherwin Levinson of ''

InfoWorld ''InfoWorld'' (''IW'') 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 is International Data Group, and its sister pu ...

'' wrote that "the Zenith SupersPort 286 may well be the harbinger of a new era of laptop computing", "embod

ing Ing, ING or ing may refer to: Art and media * '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film * i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group * The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' * "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 199 ...

a combination of speed, weight, size, and battery life that we've seen in no other laptop" and that "Zenith's engineers have come closer to the ideal laptop than any so far".Levinson particularly praised the processing speed, hard disk access times and battery life of the SupersPort 286 and while finding some software incompatibility with FastBack Plus (a file backup utility for

DOS DOS (, ) is a family of disk-based operating systems for IBM PC compatible computers. The DOS family primarily consists of IBM PC DOS and a rebranded version, Microsoft's MS-DOS, both of which were introduced in 1981. Later compatible syste ...

) and

Crosstalk Mk.4 Crosstalk Mk.4 was a commercially available PC telecommunications and terminal emulation software package originally produced by Atlanta-based Crosstalk Communications, from the late 1980s through 1990, and by Digital Communications Associates (D ...

terminal emulator A terminal emulator, or terminal application, is a computer program that emulates a video terminal within some other display architecture. Though typically synonymous with a shell or text terminal, the term ''terminal'' covers all remote term ...

for DOS), he wrote that such errors were correctable and subsequent tests ran fine afterwards. Levinson found reservation with the keyboard layout which he deemed slightly cramped and recommended purchasers get the optional

numeric keypad A numeric keypad, number pad, numpad, or ten key, is the calculator-style group of ten numeric keys accompanied by other keys, usually on the far right side of computer keyboard. This grouping allows quick number entry with right hand, ...

Jerry Pournelle Jerry Eugene Pournelle (; August 7, 1933 – September 8, 2017) was an American scientist in the area of operations research and ergonomics, human factors research, a science fiction writer, essayist, journalist, and one of the first bloggers. ...

wrote in ''

Byte The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable un ...

'' that "I love it when I get it to my hotel room", but the SupersPort 286 was "just darned too heavy" to carry to meetings. A full review of the SupersPort 286 in the same issue said that it offered "the computing power of a desktop or transportable machine and the convenient size and weight of a laptop". The magazine approved of the "easy to read" screen (except "the common problem of poor cursor legibility"), keyboard, and performance. While reporting that the battery pack and power supply made the computer very heavy, and that it was too long to fit on an airline coach class

tray-table A TV tray table, TV dinner tray, TV table, or personal table is a type of collapsible furniture that functions as a small and easily portable, folding table. These small tables were originally designed to be a surface from which one could eat a ...

, ''BYTE'' said that "it was a pleasure to have such a powerful computer literally at my fingertips while traveling". Allan S. Papkin of

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...

called the SupersPort 286 "clearly e of the best laptops going". He continued that, although "not the lightest in its class, nor by any means the least costly", "it deserves serious consideration. Its advantages far outweigh what I regard are very few shortcomings". Bill Howard of ''

PC Magazine ''PC Magazine'' (shortened as ''PCMag'') is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and continues . Overview ''PC Mag ...

'', writing a year after the SupersPort 286's release, wrote that the machine was "still competent" as a business laptop and praised the display and keyboard. While calling the industrial design of the laptop "trendsetting", he called the battery enclosure "less than elegant" on account of its heft and dumbbell shape. Reviewing the 8088 SupersPort in ''PC Magazine'', Nora Georgas wrote that while the laptop was more expensive than

Toshiba is a Japanese multinational electronics company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, elevators and escalators, electronic components, semiconductors ...

Toshiba T1000 The Toshiba T1000 is a discontinued laptop manufactured by the Toshiba, Toshiba Corporation in 1987. It has a similar specification to the IBM PC Convertible, with a 4.77 MHz 80C88 processor, 512 KB of RAM, and a monochrome Color Graphics Adap ...

, she preferred the SupersPort's screen and keyboard and called it a "good low-end laptop" overall. A year after its release, in October 1989, Alfred Poor wrote in ''PC Magazine'' that the 8088 SupersPort was beginning to fall behind in usability and speed, calling the hard disk speed unremarkable and the processing speed mediocre. He praised the laptop's backlit display and called the battery life reasonable, but found the design of the battery attachment mechanism flawed, as it prevented users from plugging in peripherals to the rear ports without first removing the rather bulky battery and unlatching the peripheral port door.

Later models

* SupersPort 286e (October 1989) – retains the zero wait state, 12 MHz 80286 processor of the SupersPort 286 but changes the display to a backlit supertwist LCD with a resolution of 640×480, on account of its upgraded graphics chip now supporting

VGA Video Graphics Array (VGA) is a video display controller and accompanying de facto graphics standard, first introduced with the IBM PS/2 line of computers in 1987, which became ubiquitous in the IBM PC compatible industry within three years. T ...

resolution modes; 20 or 40 MB hard drive options * SupersPort SX (October 1989) – 16 MHz

80386SX 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 computing, 32-bit processor in the line, making it a significant evolution in ...

processor; supertwist backlit VGA LCD; 1 MB of RAM stock (upgradable to 8 MB); 40 MB or 100 MB hard drive options. This was the first battery-powered laptop with a 386SX processor. * SupersPort 486 (fall 1991) – 25 MHz

80486 The Intel 486, officially named i486 and also known as 80486, is a microprocessor introduced in 1989. It is a higher-performance follow-up to the Intel 386. It represents the fourth generation of binary compatible CPUs following the 8086 of 19 ...

processor; supertwist backlit VGA LCD; 4 MB of RAM stock (upgradable to 16 MB); 120 MB hard drive standard. The SupersPort 486 was among the first battery-powered 486-based laptops. * SupersPort 486SX (fall 1991) – 20 MHz

80486SX The Intel 486, officially named i486 and also known as 80486, is a microprocessor introduced in 1989. It is a higher-performance follow-up to the Intel 386. It represents the fourth generation of binary compatible CPUs following the 8086 of 19 ...

processor; supertwist backlit VGA LCD; 4 MB of RAM stock (upgradable to 16 MB); 120 MB hard drive standard. Like the SupersPort 486, the SupersPort 486SX was among the first battery-powered 486-based laptops.

References

{{reflist, colwidth=30em, refs= {{cite journal , last=Georgas , first=Nora , date=May 31, 1988 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=voPUUGTC56UC&pg=PA34 , title=Zenith Debuts the Battery-Powered TurbosPort/386, Two New Laptops , journal=PC Magazine , publisher=Ziff-Davis , volume=7 , issue=10 , pages=33–34 , via=Google Books {{cite news , last=Winter , first=Christine , date=April 20, 1988 , url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/282332905/ , title=New Light Cast on Laptops , work=Chicago Tribune , page=1 , via=ProQuest {{cite journal , last=Roman , first=Susan , date=April 25, 1988 , url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A6716299/GPS?sid=wikipedia , title=Zenith release laptops for the business market , journal=MIS Week , publisher=Condé Nast Publications , volume=9 , issue=17 , page=32 , via=Gale {{cite magazine , last=Machrone , first=Bill , date=January 17, 1989 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C6VFJIbxX7MC&pg=PA116 , title=5th Annual Awards for Technical Excellence , magazine=PC Magazine , publisher=Ziff-Davis , volume=8 , issue=1 , pages=95–122 , via=Google Books {{cite news , last=Reid , first=T. R. , date=November 7, 1988 , url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/307079906/ , title=Zenith Reaches a New Peak With High-Speed, Durable Laptop , newspaper=The Washington Post , page=F32 , via=ProQuest {{cite news , last=Staff writer , date=December 21, 1988 , url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/302344216/ , title=25.5% of Sales: Zenith May Be Laptop Leader , work=San Francisco Chronicle , publisher=Chronicle Publishing Company , page=C4 , via=ProQuest {{cite news , last=Lewis , first=Peter H. , date=April 26, 1988 , url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/426795879/ , title=2 High-Power Portables , work=The New York Times , page=C6 , via=ProQuest , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525092922/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/26/science/personal-computers-2-high-power-portables.html , archivedate=May 25, 2015 {{cite journal , last=Dunker , first=Mauricio , date=May 2, 1988 , url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A6323214/GPS?sid=wikipedia , title=Zenith Data Systems wheels in new laptops and a new look , journal=Computer Reseller News , publisher=UBM LLC , issue=258 , page=154 , via=Gale {{cite news , last=Staff writer , date=June 1, 1988 , url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/426879537/ , title=Hewlett-Packard in Zenith Accord , work=The New York Times , page=D5 , via=ProQuest , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525080749/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/01/business/company-news-hewlett-packard-in-zenith-accord.html , archivedate=May 25, 2015 {{cite news , last=Lewis , first=Peter H. , date=March 28, 1989 , url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/427124097/ , title=Loving Hands at Home , work=The New York Times , page=C10 , via=ProQuest , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525124542/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/28/science/personal-computers-loving-hands-at-home.html , archivedate=May 25, 2015 {{cite news , agency=Associated Press , date=May 8, 1988 , url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/282398407/ , title=Zenith Wins Computer Contract at Harvard , work=Chicago Tribune , page=11D , via=ProQuest {{cite news , agency=Reuters , date=May 5, 1988 , url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/426821743/ , title=Zenith's Harvard Cheer , work=The New York Times , page=D2 , via=ProQuest , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525082500/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/05/business/zenith-s-harvard-cheer.html , archivedate=May 25, 2015 {{cite news , last=Staff writer , date=January 8, 1989 , url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/282625466/ , title=Hewlett gets new laptops , work=Chicago Tribune , page=2 , via=ProQuest {{cite magazine , last=Howard , first=Bill , date=July 1989 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CbsaONN5y1IC&pg=PP108 , title=286 Laptops: Compute en Route , magazine=PC Magazine , publisher=Ziff-Davis , volume=8 , issue=13 , pages=95–142 , via=Google Books Computer-related introductions in 1988 SupersPort x86-based computers