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The possibility of a portable computer has been thrown around in computer circles for a long time. Many computer engineers did not think the idea was viable and the private sector did not really believe that the general public would ever be interested in such a computer. A number of 'portable computers' were released, among them the Dynabook, but these were basically meant for children to play with. The first true laptops were still far in the future.

The first computer that could really claim title to the term laptop was the Osborne 1. It was released during 1981 by the Osborne Computer Company. When closed up, the Osborne 1 looked very much like a sewing machine case - nothing like our laptops of today therefore.

The Osborne 1 still needed AC to run though. It also had no hard drive. Everything had to be stored on two 5. 25 inch floppy drives, which were placed on both sides of the screen. The fact that it had a modem port made it quite advanced for its time. The screen was only able to display 52 characters in one line and it had a width of only 7. 5cm. It was a rugged little machine though and it paved the way for the laptops we know today.

During 1982 the first Compaq portable computers were released. They weighed as much as the Osborne and were no smaller. Their major selling point was that they utilized a new operating system that was taking the world by storm - MSDOS.

The Epson of 1983 can be described as the first real mobile computer. It could run off AC power, but it was also fitted with a nickel battery. To a certain extent it was really only an advanced calculator - it couldn't display more than 80 characters on the screen - but it nevertheless caused quite a stir in the marketplace.

Also during 1983 the Gavilan Mobile Computer was released. This one had the innovative feature that the screen could be folded over the keyboard when closing it. It was also truly mobile in the respect that it could run for up to 9 hours off nickel-cadmium batteries.

IBM only entered the market in 1984 with their 5155 portable personal computer. It had all of 640K RAM and used two 5. 25 inch floppy drives. There was no support for graphics though - it was still a text-only machine.

The graphics riddle was solved by Compaq when they released the first laptop with a graphics card in 1988 - the SLT/28. It came standard with a 286 processor and a 1. 44 floppy drive. Its major drawback was its weight - at 5. 5kg (14 pounds) it took quite a lot of effort to carry around.

During the 1990s the laptop market became increasingly crowded. Laptops became smaller and ever more powerful. Hard drive capacities increased with every new model. The trend continues up to this day and what the laptops of tomorrow will look like, nobody could really predict.

it support austin

it support austin

Andrew Johnson is an expert in electronic consumables. If you would like more information about varieties of laptops or are searching for a reputable computer retailer please visit http://www.ebuyer.com

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