The Portfolio : A Brief Description                     8/13/90

For the merely curious this is an unofficial description of the Atari
Portfolio. "Unofficial" in this case means written by a user, not by
Atari. 

The Atari Portfolio is a small, hand-held, battery powered computer
that operates similarly to a full-sized MS-DOS based portable. The
operating system is a subset of MS-DOS commands and in general works the
same way. Mass storage is on battery-backed RAM cards rather than floppy
disks. Add-on serial and parallel interfaces are used to connect the
Portfolio to printers and other computers.

The system unit consists of a smaller than normal QWERTY keyboard and a
40x8 LCD display in a clam-shell case about the size of a VHS video tape
when closed and weighing in at just over 1 pound.

The keyboard has good tactile feel and a speaker-generated keyclick
that may be turned off if not wanted. The keyboard is usable for the
tasks one might use the Portfolio for, and with practice typing speed
can reach 30-40 wpm. The keyboard size has been marked by several
reviewers as the Portfolio's biggest drawback. While at first look it
would seem difficult to use, there have been no complaints posted on CIS
concerning it.

The display is a medium-speed super-twist LCD, non-backlit and very
clear in most ambient light. The clam-shell design allows the user to
tilt the display at any angle from fully closed to open past horizontal
with no 'lid-flop'. The brightness is adjustable using a two-key
combination. 

The built-in speaker is mounted next to the display, providing clear
sound and phone autodial capability. The autodial is very flexible,
providing both local and long distance dialing formats chosen from a
menu, and can be set to include a fixed dialing prefix for long-distance
carrier access or PBX switching (dial '9' for outside line).

Power is provided by 3 'AA' batteries, alkaline non-rechargeable are
recommended , providing up to 60 hours of use. An AC adapter is
available. A low battery warning gives the user time to change batteries
before losing data, and data is preserved for several minutes while
actually changing the batteries.

The Portfolio contains 128K of battery-backed RAM and 256K of ROM
containing 5 application programs and several system utilities. The apps
are :

    Address book : Name, phone #, address, etc. with search, sort and
                   autodialer capability
    Calculator   : general, fixed, scientific, and engineering modes,
                   5 memories, percentage, factorial, square root,
		   printer output, etc.
    Diary        : Calendar, one-line appointment reminders, single and
                   repeating alarms, search capability
    Editor       : Non-std commands, 40-45K file size limit, autowrap,
                   search/replace, insert/overwrite modes, cut and paste,
		   and an undelete buffer		   
    Worksheet    : Subset of Lotus 123 v2.x, 123 file compatible,
                   127 columns x 255 rows

There are also built-in file transfer facilities via the serial or parallel
interfaces to IBM-PC type computers and via the serial interface to
other types of computers. Printer setup and controls are also built into
the system ROMs.

The built-in software is adequate for most users, providing the most
commonly needed features for on-the-go use. Short letters, memos,
time keeping and billing are all done easily and quickly.
All of the built in apps are available with 2 keypresses or from a menu.
There is on-line help available at the press of a key, and a clipboard
that works with the editor, diary, address book, and worksheet.

The system RAM can be configured as a RAM drive, although it is usually
recommmended to store most data on the RAM cards. Cards are available
in 32K, 64K and 128K versions. The 128K card lists 125,952 bytes after
formatting. Normal DOS directory structure and file naming is used,
allowing for subdirectories to be used to organize files.
The RAM cards also have their own battery, designed to retain the card's
data for 1 year.

More software is in the works, both from commercial ventures and from
individuals. At the time of this writing, there are several
communications programs available for Portfolio to computer hookups
and to link to MCI mail, a version of BASIC is in Beta release, a
number of small games, some programming tools, and utility-type
programs are available.

Alan Davis 72317,3661
AllCad Design Services
Rockville, MD