HP Vectra

HP Vectra QS/16S (1989)
Manufacturer	Hewlett-Packard (HP Inc.)
Type	Personal computer
Release date	1985
Discontinued	2002
CPU	Intel 80286, 8 MHz
Predecessor	HP-150
Successor	HP Evo (business) HP Pavilion (home/home office)

HP Vectra was a line of business-orientedpersonal computers manufactured byHewlett-Packard (nowHP Inc.). It was introduced in October 1985 as HP's firstIBM-compatible PC.^[1]

Hewlett-Packard, which originally made its name through selling test equipment, made its move into the computing field in 1967 withHP 1000/2100minicomputers. Further minicomputer andterminal products followed in the coming years, and in 1983, the company finally released amicrocomputer, theHP 150 series. It only lasted two years before HP embraced the IBM PC standard with the Vectra line. Mainly targeted at business and professional fields, the Vectra was HP's top-of-the-line family of computers for over 15 years.

InfoWorld stated that HP was "responding to demands from its customers for full IBM PC compatibility".^[2] Vectras were not entirelyIBM-compatible, and in the early years, had a considerable amount of non-standard hardware features, including hard disk types, keyboards, and the mouse interface, and correspondingBIOS extensions named EX-BIOS,^[3] thus requiring their own customOEM version ofMS-DOS. Software that used strictly BIOS calls, would work, but anything that performed low-level hardware access, often had problems. Vectras notably failed to pass the most popular compatibility test of the day, which involved runningLotus 1-2-3 andMicrosoft Flight Simulator. By the time486 PCs became commonplace, however, most of the proprietary hardware in HP machines had been dropped.

In 1995, HP added thePavilion line as a lower-end range designed for the consumer markets (which the company had ignored up to this point), including both desktop PCs and the company's early laptops. In 2002 (following the HP-Compaq merger and the release of the VL420 and e-pc 42 models a year prior), the Vectra family was discontinued, and was replaced by theEvo, which was originally developed by Compaq.

• Husted, Steward W.; Varble, Dale L.; Lowry, James Rolf (January 1993).Marketing fundamentals. Delmar Publishers. pp. 31–33.ISBN 978-0-8273-4848-6. Retrieved2011-08-13.
• Lanning, Michael J. (1998-10-09).Delivering profitable value: a revolutionary framework to accelerate growth, generate wealth, and rediscover the heart of business.Basic Books. pp. 209–210.ISBN 978-0-7382-0045-3. Retrieved2011-08-13.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toHP Vectra.

• Vectra DOS/Windows (Software), HP Computer Museum
• Vectra Business Desktops/Calcs, HP Computer Museum

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