The first commercially successful portable computer was the Osborne 1 , created by Adam Osborne and Osborne Computer Corporation in April 1981. It weighed about 23 to 24.5 pounds and was designed to be portable enough to fit under an airline seat, though it was more "luggable" than truly lightweight by modern standards. The Osborne 1 ran the CP/M operating system and was sold for $1,795, including software worth about $2,000. It featured a 5-inch display, two floppy disk drives, and a full keyboard, all housed in a rugged case with a carrying handle
. Before the Osborne 1, there were earlier portable computer prototypes and models such as IBM's SCAMP (1973), IBM 5100 (1975), Xerox NoteTaker (1976), and the MIT Suitcase Computer (1975), but these were either prototypes or not commercially successful. The Osborne 1 is credited as the first to achieve commercial success and popularize the concept of a portable personal computer
. In summary:
- Name: Osborne 1
- Creator: Adam Osborne and Osborne Computer Corporation
- Year: 1981
- Weight: ~23-24.5 pounds
- Significance: First commercially successful portable computer
