Intelligence Technology Corporation

Last updated
Intelligence Technology Corporation
Company typePrivate [1]
IndustryComputer
Founded1986;38 years ago (1986) in Dallas, Texas, United States
Founders
  • Walker Morris
  • Charles Oliver Ekwurzel
Defunct2000;24 years ago (2000)
ProductsLaptops

Intelligence Technology Corporation (ITC) was an American computer company that was a pioneer in mobile broadband technology. [2] Based in Dallas, Texas, and active from 1986 to 2000, ITC was the first company to release a laptop with a built-in cellular modem, the ITC 286 CAT, in late 1988. The company developed several other laptops with built-in cellular modems until the early 1990s.

Contents

History

Intelligence Technology Corporation was founded in 1986 by Walker Morris and Charles Oliver Ekwurzel (1941–2019) in Dallas, Texas. Morris was a five-year veteran of the IBM PC clone industry before founding ITC; Ekwurzel was Morris's brother-in-law. [3] [4] ITC was originally a supplier for original equipment manufacturers of laptops before developing their own computer products. [5] Development of the company's first product began in October 1987 when Morris, president of ITC, talked to Fred Neal Jr., an owner of a cellular phone license on the East Coast. Neal was hired as ITC's director, and together they developed three patents for the company's first product, the ITC 286 CAT, a laptop with a built-in cellular modem. [3]

By April 1988, ITC had raised $750,000 in development funds, acquired through friends and investors in Marshall, Texas. [3] [1] In raising money the company, Morris intentionally eschewed venture capital, stating in May 1989: "We won't even talk to them. We're not about to give this company away to venture capitalists". [3] By the middle of 1988, Morris contracted a Hong Kong manufacturer to produce the ITC 286 CAT (CAT short for Cellular AT ), and by June 1988 the first four prototypes were shipped to various Fortune 500 companies for evaulation. [6] The 286 CAT was originally slated to be marketed as the Form-Jet by Electronic Form Systems, a Carrollton-based systems integator that was a subsidiary of Computer Language Research (a mainframe software vendor), [7] [8] but ITC ultimately decided to market the computer by themselves. [3]

External image
Searchtool.svg ITC 286 CAT exhibited at the 2022 Indianapolis Vintage Computer Club (by Christopher Petzel)

The ITC 286 CAT was first unveiled to the public at the Las Vegas Convention Center during the 1988 COMDEX/Fall. [5] A month later, the laptop was released to third-party American dealers. [9] [a] The ITC 286 CAT was the first laptop ever released with a built-in cellular modem (AMPS-compatible). [11] [9] It was capable of both data and voice transmissions and sold with an Oki-manufactured mobile handset; alternatively, users could have purchased an optional handset or use the laptop's built-in microphone to use the laptop as a speakerphone. [5] [12] By May 1989, ITC had sold nearly 700 units of the ITC 286 CAT, with $15 million in commitments for further sales of the computer at that point in time; Morris projected 6,000 total unit sales by the end of 1989. [3] ITC aimed the 286 CAT at field workers, such as drilling crew and construction workers, needing to connect to their headquarters remotely, as well as traveling salesmen and insurers. [3] [5]

In November 1989 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, ITC unveiled five new cellular-capable laptops. [13] The flagship among them were the 386 CEL AND 386 XCEL. [14] The CEL family featured a redesigned chassis, with a slimmer profile as well as the addition of a slot on the lid of the laptop, acting as a cradle for the included Motorola-manufacturer handset. [15] : 74–75  For the CELs, ITC upgraded the original Hayes-compatible cellular modem of the 286 CAT to one compatible with Microcom's MNP 5 (Microcom Networking Protocol Level 5) protocol. This allowed the laptops to connect to any such compatible modem, eliminating the need for special base stations at the receiving end of cellular calls. The processor was also upgraded from Intel's 16-bit 80286 of the 286 CAT to Intel's 32-bit 80386. [14]

As well as the CEL family, ITC also introduced the 386 PEP, featuring an i386SX processor and a modem featuring the company's proprietary ITC-RM (Reliable Mode) error-correcting protocol that was a modification of Microcom's MNP Level 4 protocol making it function similar to (but not identically to) MNP Level 10. [16] : 376  ITC decided to develop their own protocol to save on development costs. [17] : 14  The 386 PEP was available with or without a cellular modem. [18] : 167  [16] : 375  On the low-end, ITC announced the 286 PAL, a non-cellular version of the 286 CAT. [13] At the lowest-end, ITC announced the V20 PUP, featuring the same ITC-RM cellular modem of the ITC 386 PEP but with an 8-bit, 8088-compatible NEC V20 processor instead of an i386. This was the company's lowest cost offering, at US$1,200 (equivalent to $2,684in 2023), several thousand dollars less than the ITC 386 PEP. [17]

The CEL family was released in the United States in March 1990. [19] ITC released the V20 PUP in 1991, which also served as their final laptop. [17] [18] : 168  The company continued selling laptops into at least November 1992. [20] : S89  Their final products were a pair of external ARDIS cellular modems—one for personal computers, the Cinque Modem/Radio, and the other for laptops, the Pocket Modem/Radio. They were released in 1993. [21] In 2000, ITC formally dissolved in the state of Texas. [22]

Notes

  1. ↑ In Canada, the ITC 286 CAT was introduced over a year later, in January 1990. [10]

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References

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  2. ↑ Steinert-Threlkeld, Tom (March 17, 1991). "PC Makers Foresee Greater Inroads into Home Market". The Washington Post. WP Company: WBIZ22. Archived from the original on October 11, 2024.
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  4. ↑ "Charles Ekwurzel Sr. Obituary 2019". All Faiths Funeral Services. 2019. Archived from the original on October 11, 2024.
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  11. ↑ Howard, William (March 6, 1989). "ITC produces 1st cellular PC". The Palm Beach Post: 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ Howard, Bill (July 1989). "Intelligence Technology Corp.: ITC 286 CAT". PC Magazine. 8 (13). Ziff-Davis: 108–118 – via Google Books.
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  15. ↑ O'Malley, Christopher (September 1991). "Laptops Go Cellular". Popular Science. 237 (3). Times Mirror Magazines: 70–75 – via Google Books.
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  20. ↑ Glass, Brett (November 16, 1992). "The well-connected notebook". InfoWorld. 14 (46). IDG Publications: S88–S89 – via Google Books.
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  22. ↑ "Intelligence Technology Corporation". OpenCorporates. n.d. Archived from the original on October 11, 2024.
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