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The history of laptops describes the efforts, begun in the 1970s, [1] to build small, portable personal computers that combine the components, inputs, outputs and capabilities of a desktop computer in a small chassis.
American computer scientist Alan Kay is credited with first prototyping a laptop. In 1968 Kay designed a portable computer he called the Dynabook, which he envisioned as a child-friendly device weighing no more than two pounds.
Developed by Adam Osborne in April 1981, the Osborne I was the first truly portable computer and was recognized as the first true laptop computer. It weighed 24½-pounds and had a 5" display. Epson released the Epson HX-20 in 1981. It was the first portable computer with a built-in printer.
Fernandez, who started Gavilan Computer Corporation, promoted his machines as the first "laptop" computers in May 1983. Many historians have credited the Gavilan as the first fully functional laptop computer.
In 1968, Alan Kay of Xerox PARC brainstormed the idea of a “personal, portable information manipulator.” Kay proposed his idea further in the abstract paper entitled “the Dynabook.” This became the hallmark and inspiration of the first commercially available portable computers.
Developed largely for NASA's nascent Space Shuttle program, work on the GRiD Compass began in 1979, and released in 1982. Designed by Bill Moggridge, the computer is regarded as the first “clamshell” laptop and featured an 8MHz Intel 8086 CPU, 34Kb of memory, a 320 × 240 display, and built-in modem.
The first laptop is typically credited to William Moggridge, an industrial designer from the United Kingdom. In 1981, Moggridge designed the GRiD Compass, which is considered to be the first clamshell-style portable computer that resembles today’s laptops.
It's a little hard to determine what was the first portable or laptop computer. The first portable computers did not look like the book-sized and folding laptops that we are familiar with today, however, they were both portable and lapable, and lead to the development of notebook style laptops.
The release of the Osborne 1 marked a turning point in the history of laptops, as it was the first commercially successful portable computer. Its compact design and bundled software set a precedent for future laptop development.
The First Laptop Computer - Osborne 1. The computer considered by most historians to be the first true portable computer was the Osborne 1. Adam Osborne, an ex-book publisher founded Osborne Computer and produced the Osborne 1 in 1981, a portable computer that weighed 24 pounds and cost $1795.