Founded in 2002, Compaq Computer Corporation was a manufacturer of personal computers and computer components. The company was once the world’s largest supplier of personal computer systems. Compaq functioned as an independent corporation until be acquired by Hewlett Packard in 2002.
Compaq was started by three senior managers who worked for Texas Instruments, a well known semiconductor manufacturer. Its first product was the Compaq Portable, a portable personal computer that offered compatibility with the IBM PC. This unit is largely credited as one of the earliest influences of today’s laptop computer. In 1984, Compaq launched the Compaq Deskpro, which marked the first line of Compaq Deskpro computers. This was followed up Deskpro 386 and the Systempro, a piece of server hardware integrated with support for an additional CPU and RAID storage.
Moving into the 1990s, Compaq started its domination over the server market as it entered the retail computer industry with Presario. With a number of low-priced products and partnerships that allowed it to utilize processors developed by AMD and Cyrix, the company was able to drive competitors such as IBM and Packard Bell away from the market. Compaq computers became a mainstay in the home and corporate setting, helping the manufacturer leverage relationships with emerging industry leaders such as Microsoft. In 1998, the company entered into an agreement with NaviSite to promote and sell web hosting packages. NaviSite made Compaq its preferred provider because of its high-quality storage facilities and Intel-based servers.
In 2001, Compaq entered a merger with Hewlett Packard and the acquisition was officially completed the following year. It has since become a brand name owned by HP. Although numerous Compaq computers and other products have been renamed, a large number of them still bear the original company name. HP even discontinued its line of business computers in favor of the Compaq Evo line. The product line has officially been branded as HP Compaq. Support and downloads for its older products are widely available on a condensed version of the Compaq website.