Zenith Data Systems (ZDS) was a division of Zenith founded in 1979 after Zenith acquired Heathkit, who had, in 1977, entered the personal computer market. Headquartered in Benton Harbor, Michigan, Zenith sold personal computers under both the Heath/Zenith and Zenith Data Systems names. Zenith was an early partner with Microsoft, licensing all Microsoft languages for the Heath/Zenith 8-bit computers. Conversely, Microsoft programmers of the early 80s did much of their work using Zenith Z 19 and Z-29 CRT display terminals hooked to central mainframe computers.

Zenith Data Systems introduced the SupersPort SX portable computer in 1989. It featured 16 MHz 80386SX processor, 40 MB hard drive, 1.44 MB floppy drive, 1 MB RAM, 10-inch monochrome VGA LCD screen, MS-DOS 3.3. Weight is about 17 pounds; price is about US$6000. This was a battery-powered portable microcomputers designed to satisfy users who want both a small but powerful machine. A Zenith Supersport can be purchased with a 100Mbyte hard disk for $6,699.

Our Zenith SupersPORT SX  was kindly donated by Alan Franklin and is complete with a separate battery unit.

Manufacturer: Zenith Data Systems
Date: January 1989

This exhibit has a reference ID of CH7112. Please quote this reference ID in any communication with the Centre for Computing History.

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