Xref: utzoo comp.sys.laptops:52 comp.sys.zenith:94
Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uflorida!haven!grebyn!escom!al
From: al@escom.com (Al Donaldson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.laptops,comp.sys.zenith
Subject: Re: zenith 386 laptop closeout - is it a good deal?
Summary: relatively good results
Message-ID: <509@escom.com>
Date: 15 Jan 90 08:57:24 GMT
References: <1990Jan11.004443.8795@chinet.chi.il.us> <7946@nigel.udel.EDU> <1990Jan13.065536.10569@chinet.chi.il.us>
Organization: ESCOM Corp., Oakton, VA
Lines: 39

In article <1990Jan13.065536.10569@chinet.chi.il.us>, ignatz@chinet.chi.il.us (Dave Ihnat) writes:
> In article <30731@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU> alex@cs.ucla.edu (Alex Quilici) writes:
> >Well, here's a different opinion: stay away from Zenith laptops. 
> The laptops are rugged, in my experience. 
> It eats hell out of batteries

I've had relatively good results with my Turbosport 386.  I fried a 
power controller by inadvertently unplugging from and re-plugging into 
AC power, and Heath/Zenith cheerfully replaced it free of charge.  
And the modem would disconnect randomly both at 1200 and 2400, and 
they fixed that too.

I've carried the box coast-to-coast twice in the last three months, 
and used it on the airplane both trips.  Got in about three hours work 
a couple of times, and that was within the range of the battery.   
I even run Andy Tanenbaum's MINIX in protected mode on the machine -- 
in fact, it was one of the beta sites for the new 1.5.0 release.

I talked with the operations manager at the Heath/Zenith store, and he 
said the reasons they'd dropped price down to $2999 was because:

  -- most people want VGA, especially on something this expensive.  
     Hell, I don't care, all I want is plain old 24 x 80.  They say 
     the Turbosport supports CGA on an external monitor, but I'm not 
     curious enough to try it.  Apparently, ZDS had planned to 
     incorporate VGA in the original Turbosport, but things just 
     didn't come together in time.  Fortunate for me, since it made 
     it more affordable.

  -- Its damn heavy.  Most people don't want to tote around a 20 pound 
     "laptop" (as a friend said about the old Grid laptop that cooled 
     itself through its metal case, "not in MY lap, you don't!")  
     Maybe Zenith/Bull should get Arnold Schwarzenegger to demo the 
     machine :-).  Seriously, though, I consider this weight as a 
     positive contribution to the overall sturdiness and reliability
     of the machine.

I really love the machine, and now I note an advertiser (in Popular Science,
I think) who's selling it at $2700 or $2800.  Now if only someone can 
tell me where to get a converter that will run it in my car and a tech 
reference manual..

Al (one arm longer than the other..) Donaldson