Compaq Changes Portable Computing Vista With New Armada 4100 Family of Flexible Notebook PCs; Ultra-Thin Portable Makes Direct Hit For Size and Weight-Sensitive Notebook PC Users

Business Wire, June 17, 1996

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 17, 1996--In a bold move to change the way customers approach portable computing, Compaq Computer Corporation (NYSE:CPQ) today announced the Armada 4100, a no-compromise, mid-range family of notebook PCs designed to meet the size and weight requirements of customers who want the flexibility to customize their notebooks to their specific needs. With its new innovative, flexible design, the Armada 4100 family easily transforms from a slimline notebook at 1.5 inches thin and weighing about five pounds, to a standard notebook configuration with an integrated diskette drive at about six pounds, to a multimedia powerhouse -- all with the same advanced mobile design.

"Today's announcement of the Armada 4100 is the launch pad for the reemergence of Compaq's business heritage -- portable PCs," said Michael Winkler, senior vice president and general manger, Portable PC Division, Compaq Computer Corporation. "We've listened closely to what our customers have told us they're looking for in notebook power and portability, and our engineering teams have extended those concepts into today's new product family. Armada 4100 notebooks will satisfy both value-conscious and performance-minded users, without compromising functionality or mobility. Our customers will find that these products offer useful innovation that speaks for itself."

"Compaq's engineers should be proud of the job they did on the new Armada 4100 family of slimline notebooks, and the company's customers who demand low weight and versatility in a notebook will be very pleased with the results," said Kimball Brown, vice president of international market research firm Dataquest. "The introduction of today's products broadens Compaq's notebook line-up to include not only premium and value notebooks, but slimline, full-featured notebooks as well, putting them squarely back as a solid player in the portables game."

"Xerox has been testing the Armada 4100 product for use by the mobile work force, and the feedback has been positive," said Joseph Grant, vice president, Global Technology Infrastructure, Xerox Corporation. "I believe the product meets the requirements of Xerox to utilize, in a concurrent mode, the integrated CD-ROM and floppy for special customer-tailored diagnostic applications, while the slimline and full multimedia configuration with three batteries meets the form factor requirements important to the mobile work force. The designers listened to their customers when they developed this product."

Armada 4100 "Morphs" to Meet Customers' Configuration Needs

Designed to be what customers want, when they need it, the Armada 4100 provides three-notebooks-in-one and a "no compromise" mobile design featuring fast Pentium processors, large hard drives and up to 16-MB of RAM as standard. The notebook easily transforms or "morphs" in just seconds into three different configurations to fulfill the varied needs of this customer group:

-- Slimline Mobility: In its 1.5-inch, five-pound configuration, the Armada 4100 notebook serves as a powerful tool for the mobile user whose primary requirement is computing in its most lightweight form. By removing the battery handle and the diskette drive from the modular Dual Bay, then inserting the long-lasting Lithium Ion battery in its place, customers gain the ultimate in portability when low carrying weight is the top priority.

-- Standard Configuration: When customers need a traditional notebook with an integrated diskette drive, the Armada 4100 standard configuration is the perfect choice at six pounds and only 1.5 inches thin. The innovative Armada 4100 battery handle also serves as a keyboard tilt foot with a comfortable ten-degree tilt. To extend computing battery time, users can swap the diskette drive for a second battery which provides up to twice the runtime.

-- Multimedia Configuration: When CD capability is a must, the Armada 4100 transforms into a phenomenal multimedia notebook geared for exceptional presentations, offering up to ten hours of battery life and providing outstanding audio quality. From the standard configuration, customers simply and quickly attach the Mobile CD Unit to the bottom of the notebook, and immediately they have at their fingertips CD-ROM capabilities, enhanced stereo sound, a MIDI/joystick port, wavetable support and the ability to add a third battery.

Useful Innovation, Thoughtful Design and Uncompromised Features

The Armada 4100 family, each magnesium-encased to offer rugged durability to withstand the rigors of life-on-the-road, provides customers with rich feature choices:

-- Powerful 133 MHz, 120 MHz and 100 MHz Mobile Pentium processors; -- Easily upgradeable hard drives in 1 GB and 810 MB; -- 8 and 16 MB standard RAM, expandable to 40 or 48 MB, depending on the model; -- 11.3-inch color STN or 11.8-inch color TFT displays support up to 64,000 colors, with 800X600 resolution; -- Four user-programmable keys provide easy-touch, immediate access to the most used applications; -- Up to three long-lasting Lithium-Ion batteries, one of which serves as a convenient battery handle that doubles as a comfortable, ten-degree keyboard tilt and a port cover. Additional batteries slide easily into the notebook's Dual Bay and Mobile CD Unit; -- Touchpad pointing device, easily interchangeable with an optional optical trackball; -- Two Type II or one Type III PC card slots; -- Standard ports include parallel, serial, video, infrared, keyboard/mouse, as well as NTSC/PAL, which allows customers to display presentations directly from their notebooks to a TV screen.