Zenith ZP-150

The ZP-150 was one of the early commercially available portable computers. It was released in lat 1984 by Zenith data systems. It was offered for US$1995 when bundled with the US$800 Works software, but could be found in Heathkit catalogs for US$1195.

Market Life

The ZP-150 was offered for US$1995 when bundled with the US$800 Works software, but could be found in the Fall 1985 Heathkit catalog for US$1195. The price came down in the same catalog to US$999 in the Winter 1986 edition and US$699 in the Fall 1987 edition (as it was being phased out with the release of the Z-181 and Z-183).

Hardware Specifications

• Weight: 7.7 lb
• DImensions: 13"W x 11.1"D x 1.8"H
• RAM: 32K, expandable to 416K
• ROM: 224K, plus 2 sockets for software expansion
• Power: 12VDC or 10 AA Alkaline batteries (providing 15 hours run-time w/o modem : plus internal Nickel-Cadmium battery for retaining memory while off, up to 8 days
• Ports:

Parallel Printer

RS-232C

Telephone Line (300-baud modem)

system bus

BCR (for a bar code reader)

CMT (for data cassette recorder)

ACP (for acoustic coupler, a type of external modem)

Handset (of telephone)

• LCD Monitor (80 characters/ine with 16 lines) & contrast control, volume control, and low-battery indicator
• QWERTY keyboard

Software Specifications

The ZP-150 included a special version of Microsoft Works 1.10 stored in its ROM. Most programs are very similar to the desktop versions, but with reduced functionality.

Word word processing; can work with up to 10 tyewritten pages in the 32K RAM Plan electronic spreadsheet; spreadsheet size up to 255 rows x 63 columns Calendar appointment organizer with alarm File database manager Telecom telecommunications package BASIC program editor and compiler

Accessories

ZP-150-1 power transformer ZP-150-2 32K RAM module ZP-150-4 Parallel to Centronics printer cable

CB-5063-27 File transfer software

See Also

• History of computing hardware
• Laptop

References

• ZP-150 User's guide, (1985) Zenith Data Systems Corporation, St. Joseph, MI and Heath Company, Benton Arbor, MI
• Heathkit catalog, Fall 1985 (No. 870R) pp90-91, Winter 1986 (No. 201) p89, Fall 1987 (No, 207) p84

External Links

• IEEE Annals of the History of Computing
• Tandy 600 and Zenith ZP150 photographic comparison of the internal hardware of the Tandy 600 and the Zenith ZP-150