In the late 1980s and early 1990s, laptop and notebook PC vendors made a habit of saying their designs were “no compromise.” It’s a meaningless phrase; if you build the computer you set out to build, then you made no compromises. The intent was to make potential buyers think that the laptop was equal to a desktop model in every way. That was never true.
Toshiba took the hype one step further by claiming its T6400 series laptop was “the first 486 color portable computer better than a desktop.” Toshiba did make some great laptops and notebooks during that era and was a clear market leader.
The T6400 line was impressive. It was fast, had great color graphics, good storage options, and a full detachable keyboard. At 12 pounds, it was small enough to fit in a briefcase. (Remember those?)
Four models of the T6400 were available, two of which used a 25MHz 80486SX processor and two that used a 33MHz 80486DX processor. For each processor option you had a choice of TFT color or gas plasma display.
Introduced: January 20, 1992
Original Retail Price: $5,699 (T6400SX), $8,449 (T6400SXC), $6,999 (T6400DX, $9,749 (T6400DXC)
Base Configuration: 25MHz 80486SX (T6400SX and T6400SXC), 33MHz 80486DX (T6400DX and T6400DXC), 4MB RAM (20MB max), 120MB or 200MB hard drive, 1.44MB 3.5-inch floppy drive, 1 full-sized IBM-compatible expansion slot, 101-key detachable keyboard, 10.4-inch TFT color or gas plasma display, MS-DOS 5.0
Video: Super VGA
Size/Weight: 15.4w x 10.5d x 3.3h inches (gas plasma), 15.4w x 10.5d x 3.3h inches (TFT color); 11.7 lbs. (gas plasma), 12.9 lbs. (TFT color)
Important Options: 2400bps modem, external tape drive, external 5.25-inch floppy drive, Microsoft OS/2, fabric or leather carrying case
Classic Tech 