The History of Mobile Computers
Laptops and Notebooks are as common as cell phones these days. Many people work in a mobile environment as they travel frequently for their jobs or work from home. Laptops make it possible to obtain a little serenity in a coffee shop while you write eHow articles, or video conference with your boss while traveling for a meeting with a client. Amidst the WiFi chaos, you might find yourself wondering how the world got to an age of mobile computing.
The Idea
The consensus for the originator for the idea of the portable laptop is Alan Kay. Kay was a researcher at what many people now know as the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (Xerox PARC). In the 1970s he had an idea for creating a portable education device for children called the Dynabook. His goal was to price it at around $100 so that everyone could afford it and use it. However, despite his brilliant vision, the technology at the time wasn't up to par to create such a device and no one wanted to dish out the funds to make it happen.
Osborne 1
The Osborne 1 was the official first portable computer. Although the concept of portability today is very different from the concept of portability when Osborne 1 came to fruition in the early 1980s. Osborne 1 was quite literally the size of a suitcase and weighed about 26 pounds. The small screen was a monochrome CRT, the fold down keyboard was also the lid and it had two floppy disc drives, with a CP/M operating system. Most people used cords for power, because the optional battery pack likely weighed more than the Osborne 1.
LCD screens
It wasn't until the use of LCD screens in mobile computers that most experts really believe that portability was a success. Before LCD, mobile computers had plasma, ELT or CRT screens, all of which drained the power very quickly if the computer did not have a direct connection to an outlet. Epson released the HX-20 in 1982, which was the first portable computer with and LCD screen. The power source for the HX-20 was rechargeable NiCD batteries and equipped with a full size keyboard and on-board dot-matrix printer. However, the LCD screen was rather small (120 by 32 resolution monochrome), which made the HX-20 less usable than desired.
Kyocera Kyotronic
Experts agree that the computer that can truly be deemed the first laptop was the Kyocera Kyotronic (called the TRS-80 Model 100 when marketed in the U.S.), released in 1983. The LCD screen showed 8 lines with 40 characters for each line. Additionally, it had several built-in applications and conveniently ran on AA batteries. It also had a clamshell design, which was another precursor to today's laptops.
Screens
The Gavilan SC, release in 1984, had the first touchpad. In 1989, the Apple Macintosh portable featured the first active matrix 640 by 400 screen, eliminating the blurring effect. The Commodore SX-64 had the first color screen, though it only measured 5 inches. Finally, in the early 1990s, the true forerunners for color screens came on the market in Toshiba's T3400CT and Fujitsu's FMV-433N, both of which used TFT screens.
Today
Over time, other aspects of the mobile computer began to improve. Battery life has progressively become more stable, though this is still something innovators are working to improve. In 2003 Intel released a chip processor that changed the way laptops functioned, giving laptops the capacity to perform like a PC. As processors evolve, Intel continues to lead the pack. Now we not only have portable computers (laptops) but pocket PCs and even cell phones with computer-like applications.
Tags: cell phones, concept portability, first portable, first portable computer, History Mobile, History Mobile Computers