Bondwell Model 16

Bondwell Model 16

Bondwell Model 16

I have the main unit, power adapter and Olivetti Floppy Disk Drive.

type Computer
country USA
year 1985
os CP/M 3.0
cpu Z80
speed
ram 128 KB
disk 5.1/4″ 360 KB
hd 10 MB
graphic CRT, 9″
colors monochrome
sound yes, inbuilt speech synthesizer
ports parallel, tele (2), RS232C, external video

The Bondwell Model 16 — The Hard Drive Luggable

The Bondwell Model 16, introduced in 1985, was the most capable model in Bondwell’s early luggable range — distinguishing itself from the Model 12 by including a hard disk drive of approximately 10 MB alongside its floppy drive, and running CP/M 3.0 rather than the older 2.2. This combination of hard drive storage and CP/M Plus made the Model 16 genuinely suitable for serious business use, providing the storage capacity and operating system features required by the most demanding CP/M business applications of the mid-1980s.

CP/M Plus — The Final Evolution

CP/M 3.0 (marketed as CP/M Plus) was the last and most capable version of the CP/M operating system developed by Digital Research. Compared to the CP/M 2.2 of earlier machines, CP/M Plus offered a more sophisticated file system with date and time stamping, support for larger storage devices, improved memory management, and better compatibility with the increasingly complex business software of the era. Running CP/M Plus gave the Model 16 access to the most demanding CP/M business applications, including advanced database systems and multi-user configurations.

The 10 MB Hard Drive

In 1985, a 10 MB hard drive was a significant and expensive addition to any computer system. The ability to store the entire CP/M software library, multiple client databases, and years of business correspondence on a single portable machine was genuinely transformative for business users who had previously relied on stacks of floppy disks. The Model 16’s hard drive made it a practical primary business computer rather than merely a convenient way to take a subset of capabilities on the road.

The End of the CP/M Era

The Bondwell Model 16 arrived as CP/M was entering its final decline, rapidly losing ground to MS-DOS and IBM PC-compatible machines. Bondwell itself recognised this trend and pivoted to PC-compatible machines with the Model 8. The Model 16 is historically significant as one of the last serious CP/M portable computers, representing the platform at its most capable just before it was swept aside by the DOS revolution.