The Otrona Attache was the most wanted transportable computer at the time as it was the smallest of its category. Preceded by the Osborne and Kaypro II, the Attache was also more expensive than its competitors. Compactness has a price!
The Attache is this a nice little CP/M system. High-resolution graphics, compact keyboard, 64 KB RAM, real time battery-packed clock, composite video output, delivered with Wordstar, MBasic, CP/M, the Otrona Attache had all that was needed at the time to be efficient.
in 1983, Otrona released a second model, the Attache 8:16 which was in fact a "normal" Attache with an Intel 8086 expansion board built-in, thus offering the MS-DOS world in addition to the CP/M compatibility. The IBM PC was already putting a strong pressure on the market. The rush toward MS-DOS compatibility had begun, announcing CP/M death. Meanwhile, hybrid machines like this one appeared on the market illustrating the transition.
In May 1984, Otrona announced a new transportable model, the Otrona 2001, using an Intel 8088 processor. Sadly the 2001 wasn't completely IBM PC compatible and the production costs were high. Like its predecessor (Attache), the 2001 had real assets, but was too expensive compared to other portables. As Otrona didn't want to exceed the $3000 price limit to stay competitive against IBM and Compaq, they had to throw in the towel.
Too bad, as the demand for the "2001" ran extraordinarily well, as Otrona president Jim Lindner explained. 1000 orders in the month were common.
But in september 1984, Otrona Advanced Systems announced that it was ceasing production. It gave notice to its 175 employees and said that it had decided that is was not able to reorganize (and thus continue in business) under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Act. Jim Lindner hoped for a buyback which never came (?).
We need more info about this computer ! If you designed, used, or have more info about this system, please send us pictures or anything you might find useful.
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