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| Also known as | Atari PC Folio, DIP Pocket PC |
|---|---|
| Type | Palmtop PC |
| Released | June 1989; 36 years ago (1989-06) |
| Introductory price | US$399.95 (equivalent to $1,040 in 2025) |
| Discontinued | 1993 (1993) |
| Operating system | DIP DOS 2.11 |
| CPU | 80C88 @ 4.9152 MHz |
| Memory | 128 KB RAM 256 KB ROM |
| Display | Monochrome LCD (no backlight) 40 characters × 8 lines |
| Graphics | 240 × 64 pixels |
| Sound | Tiny speaker (DTMF) |
| Input | Keyboard 63 keys,QWERTY layout |
| Power | 3× AA removable alkaline batteries (Optional AC adapter) |
| Dimensions | 20 cm × 10.5 cm x 2.5 cm (7.5" × 4" × 1.25") |
| Weight | 505 g (17.5 oz) |
TheAtari Portfolio[1] is the world's firstIBM PC-compatiblepalmtop PC, released byAtari Corporation in June 1989.
DIP Research Ltd. based at theSurrey Research Park inGuildford, Surrey, UK developed the first MS-DOS compatible palmtop PC, theDIP Pocket PC. It was IBM PC-compatible at the BIOS level, but not at the IO port level. A prototype version was released in early 1989 as a proof of concept.
Atari became aware of this release, and saw a market opportunity. It licensed the electronics & software design from DIP, and applied its production engineering expertise to create a consumer version of the product with a new case and keyboard.
This product was marketed[2] as theAtari Portfolio in the US & UK, and in other countries later on. In Germany, Italy, and Spain it was initially called thePC Folio[3] due to trademark restrictions. Atari acquired the rights to the namePortfolio in Germany and Spain, but it was always called thePC Folio in Italy.
DIP continued to evolve the electronics design (including expansion modules) and all the ROM software, supplying software updates to Atari over the production cycle. Its licensing agreement enabled it to sourcePortfolios from Atari at a reduced cost, which it rebranded and sold as the production version of theDIP Pocket PC[4] in the UK. Note the Atari key on the keyboard.
DIP Research also developed theSharp PC-3000/3100, released in late 1991. The company was acquired byPhoenix Technologies in 1994.
Officially the name DIP stood for Distributed Information Processing, unofficial it was initials of the founders David Frodsham,Ian Cullimore and Peter Baldwin.
Prior to founding DIP the founders and several staff members had worked atPsion (company).
The Portfolio uses an Intel80C88 CPU running at 4.9152 MHz. It has 128 KB of RAM, and 256 KB of ROM which contains the BIOS, DOS & Command Shell as well as several Personal information Management (PIM) applications.
The RAM has 4 KB allocated as video RAM, with the remainder divided between system memory and local storage (theC: drive). The LCD is monochrome withoutbacklight and has240 × 64 pixels or 40 characters × 8 lines.
There is a small speaker on the display bezel. In addition to simulated key-clicks, beeps and musical tones, this can outputDual-Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) tones which are used by touch-tone phones to dial numbers. Telephone numbers in the address book can be speed-dialed by holding a telephone handset against the Portfolio’s speaker.
Power is supplied by three AA size removablealkaline batteries. The computer's memory is preserved during battery changes. There is also an optional AC adapter (120 V: HPC-401, 230 V: HPC-402).
The Portfolio's "DIP Operating System 2.11" is compatible withMS-DOS 2.11. Most text-based DOS applications can run on the Portfolio as long as they don’t access the hardware directly, due to the lack of PC-compatible IO ports.
Built-in PIM applications include aspreadsheet (Lotus 1-2-3 compatible),text editor, address book with DTMF dialing, diary with alarms, and a calculator.
Mitsubishi PlasticsBee Cards are used as removable memory cards for file storage, which are inserted into a slot on the left side of the Portfolio. They are accessed as drive A: and use a DOS FAT file system. They're not compatible with thePC card standard as they pre-date it.
Read/write memory cards were available from Atari in three sizes: 32 KB (HPC-201), 64 KB (HPC-202), and 128 KB (HPC-203), and later from third party suppliers in capacities up to 4 MB. The RAM in a read/write memory card is backed up by a replaceable coin-cell battery, which lasts around two years.
Read-only memory cards (listed in Accessories below) include a utility pack (HPC-701), finance manager (HPC-702), science pack (HPC-703),file manager (HPC-704), and several others including a chess game (HPC-750).
A card reader (HPC-301) connects to a desktop PC which can then access the memory cards. The kit contains anISA card, a special cable, the card reader, and driver software distributed on floppy disk.
There is an expansion port on the right side of the Portfolio, that enables peripheral modules to be attached.
A Memory Expander+ (HPC-104) RAM expansion unit is available. Each unit gives the Portfolio an additional 256 KB of RAM. It passes all signal lines through it, so another expansion module can be attached. Up to two can be joined together to increase the total system RAM to 640 KB, with the first one also providing memory card drive B:.
A Smart Parallel Port (HPC-101) and Serial Port (HPC-102) interface are available, as well as a number of third party peripherals. One example is a modem expansion module that converts the Portfolio into a miniaturecomputer terminal. The modem is powered from the Portfolio and comes with anacoustic coupler, as well as the option for a direct connection.
The Portfolio can be connected to a PC for transferring files to and from the unit using theSmart Parallel Port expansion module (HPC-101), a standard parallel cable, and the (DOS based) File Transfer software.
Credits for the development of the product can be found in aneaster egg. Launch the Setup application. Set the language to English. Select Help, and from within a help screen pressAlt+[ ("Alt" plus "left squarebracket").
The product code HPC-0XX specifies the keyboard layout:[5]
There were four ROM versions released over the production cycle:[5]
Atari/DIP provided a utility called UPDATE.COM that provided run-time fixes for serious bugs.
The Atari Portfolio was used by the characterJohn Connor to crackPINs in two scenes in the 1991 filmTerminator 2: Judgment Day.
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