Retro
Atari Portfolio review
Inspirational stories from computing’s long-distant past
David Crookes casts judgement over Atari’s pioneering palmtop, which only costs £100 less than it did at launch
SCORE
PRICE
£150
from eBay
Even if you’ve never heard of the Atari Portfolio, there’s a good chance you’ve still come across one. Watch the movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day and you’ll see it in all its glory, courtesy of the character John Connor, who uses the mini-machine to hack into an ATM, access a bank account and walk away with easy money.
The PIN-cracking scene in the 1991 sci-fi movie didn’t significantly increase sales of Atari’s intriguing machine. We can assume, putting aside the moral dilemma of acquiring cash in this way, that most people watching didn’t really think the method would work in real life (they would be correct).
But if there was a computer which deserved its time in the limelight, then the Atari Portfolio was it. Having recently purchased one some 36 years after it was released in 1989, the attraction remains clear. Quite aside from being the world’s first palmtop PC, it was sold on being compatible with MS-DOS, and that makes it a versatile offering with a heap of fans.
First impressions
The device is solidly built and roughly the size of a VHS tape (Atari’s description, which I’ll stick to since it’s so gloriously retro). In that sense, it’s not quite palm-sized nor entirely pocket-friendly, but its robust nature feels reassuring and, since it weighs 505g with its three AA batteries inserted, it’s comfortably portable, too.
LEFT
The Atari Portfolio was originally launched in the US and UK in 1989
Some of my confidence ebbed away upon lifting the lid. The hinges creaked eerily as if I was lifting a cooffin lid in a low-budget horror movie – something that, I’ve gathered from reading various online sources,isn’t an issue unique to my sample. Once it was open, however, my spirits lifted once more.
BELOW
Our box is battered but it shows there were bundles exclusive to Dixons
The Atari Portfolio is a tidy-looking beast with a screen measuring 114 x 41mm, surrounded by an aesthetically pleasing bezel that also incorporates a small speaker. Those take up the entire top half of the device. The bottom half is filled with a 63-key QWERTY keyboard and, since there are sizeable gaps between the keys, itlooks rather spacious.