By John Roach, contributor
Introduction
The Japanese journalists in this image marvel at the latest computing mutation at the 2009 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, a Sony P Series Lifestyle PC ($900). Chris Garcia, a curator at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif., says time will tell whether the 1.4 pound machine with an 8\" screen becomes a main limb or side branch on the evolutionary tree of on-the-go computing. The evolutionary trajectory will depend in part on whether people adapt to using niche computers good for things such as e-mail, Web surfing, and instant messaging but not much else or continue to prefer devices that put the power of desktop in the user's lap, which is the dominant trend today. Click the \"Next\" arrow above to see how portable, computers have evolved over the years.";
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In some circles, the clunky box shown here with two floppy disk drives and a 5-inch screen introduced in 1981 is considered the world's \"first really popular portable computer,\" said Garcia of the Computer History Museum. And portable it was, sort of. The Osborne 1 weighed 24.5 pounds, sported a detachable keyboard that served as a lid, had a carrying handle and was small enough to fit under the passenger seat of an airplane. The machine also came with a bundle of software, including WordStar for word processing, SuperCalc spreadsheet, and the BASIC programming language. ";
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Around the same time the Osborne 1 was making waves as the first commercially successful luggable computer, a crop of programmable souped-up calculators were hitting the market such as the Sharp PC-1211 shown here that could also be considered the first portable computers. Many people also knew it as the TRS-80 PC-1, sold with a Radio Shack label. At about six inches long, certainly smaller than the Osborne 1, plus you could program in BASIC. \"So, that's just as important as the Osborne is and from the same year,\" said Evan Koblentz, president of the Mid Atlantic Retro Computing Hobbyists, a group in Wall, N.J.,that maintains a vintage computer museum at the Info Age Science Center.";
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The Epson HX-20, introduced in 1981, was an early notebook computer enticing enough for business executives to carry around en masse and is considered among many vintage computer enthusiasts as the real first notebook computer. The approximately 3.5-pound machine had a full keyboard, LCD screen big enough for 4 lines of 20-character text, a calculator-size printer, and a plastic shell of a carrying case. Options included a built-in tape drive for data storage. The notebook ran BASIC.";
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A flat screen and lid that closed shut when the computing task was done came with the Grid Compass 1100 introduced in 1982. The computer was reportedly designed with NASA in mind and went along on several space shuttle missions in the 1980s and 1990s, including STS 51G in 1985 shown here. The computer ran its own operating system and software suite that included programs for word processing, spreadsheets, and database management. Koblentz considers it the first rugged laptop. \"It was made out of magnesium and was heavy as sin,\" he said. All of this technology had its price: $8,100.
";
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Another entry in the quasi Cambrian explosion-like era of laptop computer evolution is the MicroOffice RoadRunner. It had a clamshell design that's one of the \"three or four other laptops also introduced in 1982 that no one's ever heard of that are historically just as important,\" said Koblentz, who is researching a book on the history of portable computing. Others on his list include the Teleram T 3000 and the NewBrain. Inexpensive LCD technology and increasing storage capacity, he noted, allowed this golden age to occur.";
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The formula was about right when Kyocera introduced a portable computer in 1983 that originally sold in Japan as the Kyotronic 85. Rights to the design were purchased by Tandy, NEC, and Olivetti, sold their own models around the world, including Tandy's TRS-80 Model 100, at Radio Shack. The full-size keyboard, LCD screen that displayed 8 lines of 40 characters, and a word-processing application made the machines wildly popular with journalists. Four AA batteries could supply up to 20 hours of power. Prices started around $800.";
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Apple Computer entered the burgeoning portable computer market in 1989 with the Macintosh Portable. The lead-acid battery-powered machine weighed nearly 16 pounds, which raised eyebrows at the \"portable\" moniker. The computer sported an active-matrix screen, which was high tech for its time and contributed to the hefty $6,500 price tag. The machine was never a great seller, though its successor, the PowerBook 100 introduced two years later, proved a great hit. \"That introduced a form factor that is very recognizable today,\" said Garcia of the Computer History Museum."; Tech_LaptopEvolution[i++] = new Array("","ThinkPad 700C, a notebook with color and style","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/app-thinkpad-80090218-10a.hmedium.jpg","","Image: Ore freighter ship", "", "", "", "", "", "Lenovo", "", "273", "267", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); Tech_LaptopEvolution[i-1].body = "
With its pencil eraser-like TrackPoint mouse, 10.4\" color TFT screen, and sleek black matte design, IBM's ThinkPad series made waves when it was introduced in 1992. The top of the line 700C sported a 25 MHz processor, 120 MB hard disk drive and $4,350 price tag. It weighed 5.7 pounds and set the standard for a laptop line which is still sold today through Lenovo, which purchased the IBM PC division in 2005. The ThinkPads, according Garcia, started a trend of \"homogenization of machines.\" Koblentz laments that there have been few breakthroughs in laptop computing since the early 1990s."; Tech_LaptopEvolution[i++] = new Array("","XO promises \"one laptop per child\"","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/ap/c1119a35-85e3-45f7-83bd-4a13672bc30d.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Martin Mejia", "AP", "273", "180", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); Tech_LaptopEvolution[i-1].body = "
Nicholas Negroponte, a computer scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has a dream: rugged, low-cost, low-powered, connected laptops for every child in the developing world. The XO laptop is the tool beginning to make the dream reality. First shipped in 2007, the $200 machines are helping children around the world, including Raul in Peru, shown here. Though it only does a few tasks well the XO \"is a wonderful machine for children and it is hard to find that as a disparaging thing,\" Garcia said."; // END editorial data