Mobile Computing: From Revolution To Evolution

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Makers of portable computers have spent the past 20-odd years striving to build systems that answer users' cries for "smaller, faster, cheaper." To a large extent, they have succeeded. One notable portable computer from the early '80s weighed 28 pounds and cost $3,600. Today's mobile computers, in contrast, are far lighter, much slimmer, more powerful and less expensive.

In fact, today there is a portable solution for everyone. Whether a user needs nothing more than a machine for checking e-mail, or a rugged notebook capable of withstanding harsh conditions, there's a machine for the job. Literally hundreds of mobile-computing products--including notebooks, laptops, tablet PCs and handhelds--have hit the market. Here are a few that stand out. On the road to mobile-computing perfection, these machines are the industry's major milestones.

The Osborne 1 was the first all-in-one portable computer. It set the stage for mobile computing, though at 23 pounds, it was arguably more luggable than portable. But the Osborne did include 5-1/4-inch floppy drives, a fold-down keyboard, and a 5-inch, 54-x-24-character monochrome display. Even better, this mini-machine also boasted a mini-price tag--only $1,795, or slightly more than half the cost of comparable desktops at that time. The Osborne was also the first PC to include a bundle of software applications.

1982: Compaq Portable I

The premier product from Compaq, this was the first portable PC designed to run software developed for the IBM desktop PCs already in high demand from business users. Though the Compaq Portable PC weighed a hefty 28 pounds, it was specially designed to fit in an airplane's storage bin. The Compaq I was also equipped with a 4.7-MHz processor, 640 KB of RAM, and dual 5-1/4-inch floppy-disk drives--all respectable hardware in 1982. But the machine was costly, listing at $3,590.

1983: TRS 80

Tandy Radio Shack introduced a line of computers based on the Z80 processor. Running ROM BASIC initially, later models added disk drives. The TRS-80 provided a keyboard, a separate monitor and an expansion box to allow for additional RAM, as well as disk-drive boxes as an option.

1984: Hewlett-Packard HP-110

In 1984, laptop computers moved closer to a more diminutive size. The HP-110 weighed just 8.5 pounds and featured a 16-bit Intel 8086 processor. With 384 KB of ROM and 272 KB of RAM, the HP-110 sported the largest amount of memory available in a portable computer at the time. And with a price tag of $2,995, it was one of the first devices to target the less technical.

1987: Toshiba T1000

Dubbed by the industry as the "first real laptop," the Toshiba T1000 weighed in at 6.4 pounds--which reset the bar for notebooks. The $1,200 machine came equipped with a 4.77-MHz Intel processor and 512 KB of RAM, and ran under the DOS operating system.

1988: Toshiba T5200C

With this machine, Toshiba launched the first 386-color portable system. The T5200C featured a passive-matrix color display, weighed in at close to 19 pounds and sold for $9,499.

1988: Toshiba Portege 3500

This granddaddy of tablet-PC computing featured a TFT color display that measured 12.1 inches diagonally. It came standard with 256 MB of RAM, a 40-GB hard disk and a hefty range of communications options: integrated Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11b), 10/100 Ethernet LAN and a v.92 56k modem. It cost just less than $2,300.

1989: Poqet PC

Poqet Computer changed the face of portable computing with this IBM-compatible palmtop. The PC weighed a little more than 1 pound and featured a tiny screen that measured 6 inches-x-2 inches. The palmtop was powered by two AA batteries, yet relied on aggressive power management to extend battery life to 100-plus hours between battery changes. The first model featured 512 KB of RAM and cost $1,995.

1989: Apple Mac Portable

With this machine, Apple Computer answered the prayers of Macintosh users with road-warrior aspirations. Yet despite huge fanfare at its introduction, this machine never gained wide popularity--perhaps due to its 17-pound heft. The machine's hardware included lead-acid batteries (which conquered the problem of memory while still providing five- to 10-hour runtimes), a 9.8-inch, 640-x-480 pixel active-matrix screen, 3.5-inch hard drive, 16-MHz 68000 CPU and front-mounted handle. Options included an internal modem, numeric keypad and trackball.

1989: Compaq LTE

The Compaq LTE gave users moving often from office to the road a new ease-of-use accessory: the docking station. The Compaq LTE weighed less than 7 pounds, yet featured an Intel 286 processor, a 40-MB hard-disk drive and 4 MB of memory-comparable to a then-current desktop.