The Compact Computer 40 is a cute little system which represents Texas-Instrument's first entry into the portable computer market. It can be considered in many ways as the TI-99/4A's little brother.

It includes a special version of the TI Extended Basic, where most of the graphical and sound statements have been discarded. But it is so close, that some TI-99/4A programs can actually be executed on a CC40. Basic statements can be accessed directly through specific key combinations (CTL + key). There is a reset button located to the right of the spacebar.

A lot of peripherals were available thanks to the Hexbus connector: a printer/plotter, a cheap and unreliable wafertape drive (a 8000 baud digital tape, which can store about 48 kb) and an RS232c / Centronics interface.

Several software packages were available on cartridges. Titles released by Texas Instruments include: Memo Processor, Mathematics, Games, Finance, and Electrical Engineering. Memory could also be expanded through special cartridges.

In some ways, the CC40 is the ancestor of the Exelvision EXL 100.