The HiNote was introduced simultaneously with the Venturis brand of desktop and towers, which similarly replaced those form factors of x86 computers that bore the DECpc name.

Both the original HiNotes proper and Ultras included built-in trackballs as its pointing device of choice.

[2] Technology journalists singled out the HiNote Ultra for its sleek industrial design and modularity, which attached the lithium-ion battery to the back of the laptop with a latching mechanism instead of being inserted in the bottom case as was customary for laptop designs.

[3] This battery could be rotated to prop up the Ultra at a position more comfortable for typing for long periods of time and allowed it to accommodate the external 3.5-inch floppy disk drive underneath it when placed on a desk.

[6] When Compaq acquired Digital in June 1998 for $9.6 billion,[7][8] they left the design intact but changed the name to Armada 6500.