All models in the range were equipped with Intel x86 processors and came preinstalled with the Windows operating system.

[1] Initial entries in the Solo lineup were manufactured on an OEM basis by the Japanese company Sanyo.

[3] Gateway worked closely with Microsoft on development of the Solo to make it fully optimized with Windows 95, which was a nearly top-down redesign of Microsoft's previous Windows 3.1x operating systems.

[6] Both Solos were multimedia-oriented and came with a Sound Blaster–compatible sound chip and removable CD-ROM drives bays as standard;[4] Gateway later made the CD-ROM drives an optional add-on to reduce cost at the entry level.

[6] The company marketed the Solo at the cost-conscious businessperson and positioned it as a budget version of the more upscale IBM ThinkPad and Toshiba Satellite lines of laptops.