Zenith Data Systems
More info
- Released
- 1979–1996
- Owner
- Zenith, then Bull (from 1989)
- Type
- Computer maker
TV maker Zenith's computer arm, grown out of the Heathkit kit business and for a while one of the biggest PC suppliers to the US government.
When Zenith bought the Heath Company in 1979, its computer kits came along, and they became Zenith Data Systems. The 1982 Z-100 carried both an 8085 and an 8088 and could run CP/M as well as MS-DOS, but was not fully compatible with the IBM PC. ZDS learned the lesson and went on to build straight x86 clones.
Its real strength was procurement: ZDS won several large contracts with the US military and federal agencies, and was early with portables. Zenith sold the computer business to France's Bull in 1989, which folded it into Packard Bell NEC in 1996. That was the end of the name.