| The laptop has become one of the staples of | | | | making it arguably a true predecessor to the |
| modern life, allowing communication and work to | | | | laptop with its flat panel display and touchpad. |
| be performed on the move in a startling array of | | | | These early forays into portable computing |
| different situations. Laptops are relatively modern | | | | however can still not be regarded true laptops, |
| with the first concepts for a mobile computer | | | | particularly as commercial availability was |
| being investigated in the 1970s. There is however | | | | extremely limited. It was in 1986 that a |
| a large amount of argument as to who invented | | | | mainstream laptop, the IBM PC Convertible was |
| and produced the first laptop. Hopefully the | | | | released. This featured a range of features |
| following article will be able to clear up some of | | | | including a floppy disk drive and 256 kbytes of |
| this confusion and argument. | | | | RAM. |
| Whilst there are many claimants for the first ever | | | | It was the PC Convertible that proved to |
| laptop the general consensus is that the Osborne | | | | computer companies that mobile computing was a |
| 1 was the first mobile computer; whilst not strictly | | | | commercially viable project. Other manufacturers |
| a laptop it was this device that was the first to | | | | took up the challenge and produced devices such |
| make a regular computer smaller for mobile | | | | as the Zenith Miniport, featuring CGA graphics, |
| usage. Released in 1981 the Osborne 1 was a | | | | 640KB of RAM and a 20MB hard drive. The |
| basic computer that weighed an astonishing 20 | | | | Zenith is considered by many to have played an |
| pounds. As it does not have features prevalent in | | | | important role in setting the standard for modern |
| modern laptops however, some argue that it | | | | day laptops. |
| cannot be considered a true forebear of the | | | | Apple also entered the fray in the late eighties |
| notebook computer. | | | | with the release of the Macintosh Portable. With |
| The first clamshell designed portable computer | | | | the best graphics of any PC at the time and a |
| was designed by Grid Electronics by a man called | | | | trackball mouse it was certainly technically |
| William Moggridge. In 1979 he built a device that | | | | proficient but at over six thousand dollars still |
| resembled the modern day laptop with a folding | | | | proved to be an expensive addition to any |
| lid. This version was never commercially released | | | | computer collection. |
| but in 1982 the Grid Compass was produced, | | | | |