What was the First Laptop in world that shipped worldwide?
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Even the simplest of notebooks make our day-to-day life easier and allows us to have entertainment anywhere in the world. It is difficult to imagine our lives without the portable computers. However, at the beginning of the diffusion of the computer science, no one believed that was possible to make them. The first notebook models were much larger and heavier than those found in stores today. But they had the merit of offering an experience previously unheard of for the man. Were you curious to know which one was the first laptop in world to be marketed? So read on and learn more about the history of such essential equipment in our daily lives.
Context
Before arriving at the moment of the creation of the first laptop, it is fundamental to contextualize the story. We are in the early 1980’s, the personal computer is still a novelty and the two main models on the market are: Apple 2 and IBM Personal Computer (it was from him that came to abbreviation PC).
The concept of personal computers refers to the fact that ordinary people – with relative purchasing power – could have equipment at home besides having more choice in this emerging market. The public that acquired computers was essentially composed of businesspeople and people who were always traveling. Being able to have a computer off the desktop would be something cool…
The Development of the First Notebook
The creation of the first laptop in world came in the year 1981 by Adam Osborne, considered the pioneer of laptops. The machine weighed about 12 kg and had a 5 “screen, could be carried under the seat of the plane and was named Osborne 1 being the first notebook commercialized in the world.
As there was no competition the sales were very good, about 10,000 copies at a time when computing had not yet dominated our lives. However, the Osborne Company went bankrupt in 1983 due to the emergence of better notebook models developed by its competitors. One of the factors that weighed was the fact that Osborne 1 was not compatible with the desktops of the time.
The first laptop in world that notable to notebook
The invention of Adam Osborne was of great importance to show that it was possible to make portable computers. However, it was Compaq that launched the first noteworthy notebook in 1982 that was compatible with the IBM PC (considered the best desktop at the time).
This notebook weighed 12.5 kg and had 128 KB RAM, 4.77 MHz CPU, 9-inch CRT and 320 KB disk. The computer had a DOS operating system. The fact that it was compatible with the desktop made this model sells very well, even at a relatively high cost, $3,500 dollars.
Notebook Size (Notebook)
The notebook nomenclature is due to the screen size of most notebook computers that resembles the dimensions of a notebook. It was Epson who launched a notebook with this feature, also in the year 1982. The Epson HX-20 weighed just over 1.5 kg and had an LCD screen with a resolution of 120 x 32 pixels. It even had a printer that looked like a cash register and a mini-cassette tape drive.
Competition and Market Development
Much of the development of notebooks is due to the boost given by the need to stand out from the competition. In 1984, another computer giant, IBM, entered the notebook market with the launch of the IBM 5155. The model had a strong resemblance to the Osborne 1, though it featured a fantastic configuration for the time: 256 KB of RAM.
It was not only in the technological field that notebooks evolved due to fierce competition, but the product design also received attention. It was in 1985 that Radio Shack released the model TRS-80 Model that had the differential of being folding like a notebook. It is a model that is more practical in the sense that the screen can occupy a larger space.
In the year 1988 NEC launched its portable computer, the Nec Ultralite, and in 1989 Apple released the Macintosh Portable. Starting in the 1990s, notebooks began to receive technological advances that brought them closer to what we have today. Compaq launched the SLT / 286 notebooks with a 286 processor and VGA display, until this point in history the laptop screens were monochrome.
Thinkpad – Windows system and ‘Mouse’
Most of the notebooks used in the world these days have the Windows operating system. The first laptop model to count this system was the Thinkpad launched by IBM in the year 1992. Equipped with the system Windows 3.1 and with processor of 486 of 50 MHz this notebook also was the first one to use the trackpoint that was a type of mouse that was in the middle of the keyboard.
In 1994 Thinkpad received the incorporation of a CD drive and in 1997 it was awarded a DVD drive. A computer considered luxurious at the time of its launch and that had great impact for the development of the current notebooks.
Size Matters
During the 1990s notebooks evolved in many ways, but still lacked practicality regarding the size and weight of these machines, which were, after all, portable. In the year 1994 NEC introduced the first laptop in world with 2 cm thick and weighed only 1.6 kg – standards that are used to this day. This model had the practicality of TrackBall and had 486 processors, but its monitor was still monochrome.
Connecting to the Internet
Until the late 1990s the internet depended on the use of many cables, however, this changed when Apple launched the iBook, the first notebook to connect wirelessly. Airport technology was implemented by Apple in 1999 and allows Wi-Fi connection. At that time notebooks were actually portable and had a number of accessories, yet they did not have the same capacity of the desktops to run certain applications and Software.
Notebook PC X
Until that point in notebook development history, we realized that they did not have the same capacity as PCs. However, that changed with the release of two notebooks: Sting 917X2 (2005) and MacBook Pro (2006). Sting’s differential was to have configurations designed to run games with more quality, the secret was in its AMD 64 X2 processor and its 256 MB video card.
The MacBook Pro made history by being the first laptop in world made by Apple model to run the Windows operating system and use Intel processors. Finally, unique Windows applications could run on Apple notebooks.
Netbooks
From the moment that notebooks started to offer the same quality and power as the desktops came the need to find other ways to evolve. One of the possibilities identified in the market was the creation of increasingly smaller and lighter models, thus opened a precedent for the development of netbooks. Austek was responsible for launching the first netbook model in the year 2007.
Smartphone
Mobile phones have evolved into smartphones that increasingly look like notebooks because of their myriad functions, applications, and wireless internet access. It is possible to imagine that at some point there will be a merger between these two types of equipment. Thanks to the first laptop in world to make it happen.
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