Otrona

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Otrona was an early Colorado manufacturer of business portable CP/M compatible computers.

The American company's first major product, the Otrona Attache, came out in April 1982 and folded up to the size of a fat briefcase painted off-white with orange trim. When set up for use, the carrying handle swung under the chassis to prop it up for easier viewing. A keyboard could be removed from one end, revealing a small 5 inch monochrome CRT and two 360Kb "half-height" 5.25 inch floppy disk drives.

The system featured a Zilog Z80 microprocessor at running 4 MHz, used the CP/M version 2 operating system with 64K of RAM and optionally, a modified version of IBM's DOS operating system. The RAM can be upgraded to 640Kb and had several programs in ROM. It contained a single speaker for sound output (which could be set to give audible feedback when keys were pressed) and two RS422 serial ports for communication. It also supported monochrome bit-mapped graphics, and introduced the concept of desk accessory programs, such as a calendar that could be run without closing a user application. This use predated its appearance on the 1984 Macintosh.

The Attache was significantly smaller, sleeker and lighter than the Osborne 1 and other portable computers from the same time. Unlike the Kaypro, Attache was not IBM compatible. The Attache also was both more capable and more expensive than its competition in many ways. The Attache was meant to run on AC power, batteries were not part of the package; but an external battery could be attached.

A coprocessor circuit board bearing an Intel 8086 microprocessor could be added to the Attache, creating the "8:16" model. This brought some very limited compatibility with the IBM PC.

Otrona introduced a later model whose CPU was a 16-bit Intel microprocessor. This model was meant to be competitive with the IBM PC. Otrona redesigned the chassis; this model's CRT was hinged, pivoting upward for easier viewing. Despite the innovative packaging and what for the day was light weight, this model's PC compatibility still was low and its price was high, it originally sold for $3995.

The market acceptance of the IBM PC as a standard, the disappearance of the CP/M market and Otrona's very limited success at producing a PC clone led to the company's disappearance.

The Attache model sold in high enough numbers for it still to show up in auctions and flea markets. The later model barely made a mark at all and probably ranks as one of the rarest of the early PC clones.

The company announced in September 1984 that it was ceasing production, giving notice to its 175 employees and said that it had decided that it was not able to reorganize (and thus continue in business) under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Act.

Otrona's demise was the direct result of its incompatibility with the IBM PC and the widespread introduction of PC clones.