History of Laptops
Alan Kay developed one of the earliest concepts of a laptop computer/tablet PC at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (Xerox PARC) known as Dynabook in 1971. According to an interview with Alan Kay by The Book & The Computer/Online Symposium, “he envisioned ‘a portable interactive personal computer, as accessible as a book.’ The Dynabook would be linked to a network and offer users a synthesis of text, visuals, animation and audio." He also envisioned a computer that would function as a medium through which people could communicate important things and as a tool that could be used in creating an enriching environment for learning. Xerox PARC and the technology developed there are widely considered to be influential on computer design in general. For example, it is believed that the first laptops were inspired by the Xerox NoteTaker, which were built as 10 prototypes, to prove that Alan Kay's Dynabook concept could be a reality, in 1976 at Xerox PARC.
Adam Osborne designed the Osborne 1, a computer some consider to be the first true portable computer, in 1980 for his company Osborne Computer Corporation. Released in 1981, the computer was the size of a small suitcase/sewing machine and was designed to fit under an airline seat for business professionals and was the first commercially available portable computer. Mr. Osborne had transportation in mind when he designed the computer as it was designed to be rugged and able to survive being moved around a lot. It could be folded up to fit under an airplane seat and had a small screen, which was less susceptible to damage than a larger screen. Its technology was designed around CP/M running on a Z80 microprocessor and it contained two 5.25 inch floppy drives, small 52 character display, and several popular applications. Unfortunately without the optional battery pack, the computer had to be plugged in.
The first PC clone laptop arrived in 1983 and was designed by Compaq. The first product from Compaq, it was known as the Compaq Portable, and was made possible through reverse engineering where one team had access to the IBM BIOS source code, took notes on it and another team used these notes to create a new BIOS system that functioned exactly like IBM's.
The first known laptop with a clamshell design was the GRiD Compass 1101 which was designed in 1979 by Bill Moggride but released in 1982. The clamshell design was revolutionary at the time as the innovative design influenced future laptop computer design. The GRiD Compass could be run from batteries, had 320x200 pixel plasma display, and 384 kb bubble memory. In spite of its innovative design and features, it was not commonplace as it cost $10,000 at the time and was limited to specialized applications. This non-IBM compatible computer was heavily used by U.S. military and used in space shuttles in the 1980s.
The Gavilan SC, designed by Gavilan Computer Corporation founder Manuel Fernandez, was the smallest and lightest batter powered MS-DOS laptop introduced in May 1983. The mobile computer included a 3.0" floppy drive, 400 x 64 pixel LCD screen, an internal modem and a touch pad mouse installed on a panel above the keyboard, an innovation at the time. The Gavilan SC was the first portable computer to be marketed as a laptop and utilized the clamshell design innovated by GRiD corporation.
The Kyocera Kyotronic 85 also known as, the Olivetti M-10, NEC PC-8201, and Radio Shack TRS-80 Model 100 line or Tandy 100 via licenses to Tandy Corporation, Olivetti, and NEC, was released in 1983 and was the biggest selling laptop at the time. The mobile computer operated on AA batteries and was supplied with Microsoft programs. Although not a clamshell computer, the computer contained a 8x40 character LCD screen located above a keyboard, 8kb of RAM and internal modem. The computer was a best seller among journalists due to its portability, good battery life and ease of replacement, reliability and $300 price.
The Toshiba T1000 and T1200, IBM compatible machines, were released in 1987 and were small and light enough to be carried in one's backpack. The computer's operating system was stored in ROM via floppy disks, had 4.77 MHz Intel processors, 512 kb RAM and could be run off of lead acid batteries. These computers introduced and influenced the implementation of the now standard "resume" feature, the computer could safely be paused between sessions without requiring a restart each time, to DOS based machines.
Laptops had gained popularity toward the end of the 1980s among business people. The NEC Ultralite, released in 1989, is considered by some as the first notebook computer as it contained a 2 MB RAM drive and was compact. The Compaq LTE series computers, released in 1989, were the first notebook computers with standard hard drives and resolution screens.
The Mac Portable, released in 1989, was Apple's first portable Macintosh computer. Few PC laptops at the time were as fast or powerful as these laptops. The computers were equipped with a 68000 processor running at 16 MHz, 1 MB RAM expandable to 9 MB RAM, 1.44 MB floppy disk drive, an optional internal modem, and included a Processor Direct Slot for direct access to the system processor and faster and more powerful expansion cards. The computer was also equipped with an active matrix screen, which updated faster and did not have the blurry effect of earlier laptop displays. The computers were powered by internal lead acid gel/cell batteries, similar to batteries in cars, which were able to run from 6-12 hours but added 2 pounds to the overall weight of the machine and reduced portability as a result. Data was stored on 40 MB SCSI hard drives and was able to spin down and sleep to conserve energy. The computer was not successful due to its 16 pound weight and was had limited mobility as a result.
The PowerBook series was introduced in 1991 by Apple computer and was a significant improvement to its first mobile computer. The PowerBook's introduction saw many innovative designs that soon become the standard for future laptop design. Innovations in design included ergonomic improvements like placing the keyboard at the back of the machine to allow room for a palm rest and a trackball for navigation. A few years later, PowerBooks introduced the first 256 color displays, true touchpad, and first built-in Ethernet networking port.
The 1990s witnessed a significant improvement in technology as well as increase of usefulness and popularity while prices decreases. Many developments unique to laptops were quickly implemented in their design, which improved usability and performance when compared to traditional desktop computers. Major improvements include:
Lighter and more efficient batteries, initially nickel metal hydride (NiMH) and then lithium ion and more recently lithium polymer, replacing heavy lead acid batteries.
The introduction of the Intel 386SX processor, designed specifically for laptops' power needs, which saved power while still enabling fast processing power.
Active matrix display technology and color screens that were suitable substitutes for traditional CRT monitors and an improvement over the previously used grayscale passive matrix LCD displays prone to heavy shadows and blurry movement.
Greater availability of thin, high capacity hard disk drives with high reliability, shock resistance and low power consumption that enabled users to store their work on laptops and carry it with them.
Internal modems and standard serial, parallel, and PS/2 ports on PCs and more recently Ethernet networking ports, USB, and Wi-Fi enabling improved interconnectivity.