16 breakthrough designs of laptops

From the prototype of the first mobile computer launched in 1968 to today's cheap OLPC XO laptop. Laptop evolution history has gone through the following 16 milestones .

Market research firm iSuppli said this year the number of laptops sold will continue to outpace the number of desktop PCs sold to global markets. This fact shows that laptops are gradually becoming the world's most popular technology product.

Below we will reconsider the 16 steps of that important breaking.

Dynabook

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This is said to be the first laptop in the world to 'blow up life' to lay the foundation for the 'evolution and maturity' of modern laptops today.

Born in 1968, Dynabook is a product of Alan Kay working at Xerox PARC. But the design purpose of Kay's product is not a laptop but a ' personal computer for children of all ages '.

When designing Dynabook, what Kay wanted was a light-weight handheld device that weighed about 1kg and the display was large enough to display just one page of real paper. Unfortunately, the technology at the time did not allow Kay to realize his idea.

Portable Teletype

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40 years ago when the planetarium was still as big as a room and could not yet have the processing power that people still dream about laptops.

At that time no one could 'carry' a computer on the road but a typewriter could. It was the KSR-33 launched by Teletype Corporation in March 1968.

Although weighing up to nearly 30kg, the KSR-33 is capable of allowing users to connect to the Teletype - a device that allows users to send messages from one place to another.

Osborne 1

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In 1981 the world witnessed the birth of the world's first true laptop. It was the Osborne 1 made by Osborne Computer Corporation.

Weighing in at 10.5kg, this laptop is equipped with a 'giant' microprocessor unit, 5-inch screen, a separate portable suitcase, two floppy drives and is priced at 1,795 USD.

Grid Compass 1100

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Compass Compass 1100 is the first laptop in the world to bring a clamshell style design close to the appearance of the most modern laptops today.

Weighing nearly 5.5kg, the Compass Grid 1100 was originally designed exclusively for the US Aerospace Agency (NASA) but in 1982 it was launched to the consumer market. The device is equipped with 340KB of memory capacity and costs up to 8,000 USD - this price includes software license fee and system maintenance.

Despite having an important position in the evolutionary history of laptops, the Compass Grid 1100 life cycle is not long because it simply is not compatible with IBM products.

IBM PC Convertible

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1985 saw the emergence of many doubts about whether the laptop has become a reality. A year later - in 1986 - IBM showed the world the answer with a laptop called IBM PC Convertible.

Priced up to 1995 USD, IBM PC Convertible is the world's first commercially successful laptop and the first PC to integrate a 3.5-inch floppy drive.

PC Convertible weighs about 5.5kg - about 1kg heavier than the Compass Grid, integrates 256KB of memory, 3.5-inch floppy drive, LCD monitor, computer port and a basic software package.

Compaq SLT / 286

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Launched in October 1988, Compaq SLT / 286 was the first laptop in the world to use VGA graphics standard (640 x 480). This is a powerful breakthrough in the field of display on mobile devices.

Weighing more than 5.4kg, Compaq SLT / 286 is equipped with a 20MB hard drive, a 12MHz processor chip and a keyboard that can be separated from the camera body. This is also the first laptop to fit in the size of airstrips to transport luggage at airports.

PowerBook 100

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Apple also named its evolutionary history of notebooks by launching the PowerBook 100 in 1991. In fact, the manufacturer of this laptop is Sony, not Apple.

PowerBook uses moving balls instead of mice and is designed to have a separate area near the keyboard for users to place their hands on the keyboard. This factor later became a standard of laptop product line.

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