Tulip/Compudata Advert - November 1989
From Personal Computer World
Tulip sharpens your image
This is an advert from Tulip, formerly known as Compudata of the Netherlands, for its LT 286 laptop, based on Intel's CMOS 80C286 CPU plus the 80C287 maths co-processor. It was Tulip's first laptop[1].
In common with many adverts of the era, it's claiming that it has the sharpest display of any laptop. This seemed to be where most of the technical improvements were happening, as LCDs went from dim, blurry and hard-to-read with slow response times, to back-lit, crisp and quick to refresh, over the space of only a few years.
It's also notable that portable computers - or lap-helds as Personal Computer World liked to call them - are finally approaching the design of what looks like a "modern" laptop.
The entry-level LT 286, with 1MB RAM and a 20MB hard disk, retailed for £2,595 - about £7,800 in 2024. That's apparently £1,000 less than Compaq's 286 laptop.
Sources
Text and otherwise-uncredited photos © nosher.net 2024. Dollar/GBP conversions, where used, assume $1.50 to £1. "Now" prices are calculated dynamically using average RPI per year.
