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Laptop Computer

Computer Engineering

A laptop computer is a portable personal computer with an integrated screen, keyboard and battery folded into a single clamshell case that a user can carry and operate on their lap. Industrial designer Bill Moggridge designed the GRiD Compass, released in 1982, widely credited as the first laptop to establish the now-familiar clamshell form with a flat screen folding down over the keyboard, though it still required an external power connection rather than running on a true battery. The Radio Shack TRS-80 Model 100, released in 1983, and later machines from Compaq and other manufacturers added real battery power and lower cost, and laptops became a mainstream personal computing category through the 1990s.

Facts
Partially Attested
Significance
Its clamshell design, with the screen folding flat over the keyboard, set the form that later portable computers followed, and some historians count the GRiD Compass as the first laptop. 1
Only some historians credit the GRiD Compass as the first laptop; the Epson HX-20, also released in 1982, is likewise described as the first laptop-sized notebook computer.
Year
1982 1
FAQs

Was the GRiD Compass the first laptop computer?

Some historians credit the GRiD Compass of 1982 as the first laptop.

Some historians credit the original GRiD Compass, whose first model was introduced in April 1982, as the first ever laptop. The credit is a matter of historical judgment, because later portable machines added features such as true battery power that the Compass lacked.
Connections

Associated With

Lithium Cobalt Oxide, Materials

In Field

Computer Engineering, Fields
Source Grid Compass, Wikipedia

Invented By

Bill Moggridge, Engineers
Source Bill Moggridge (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Grid Compass, Wikipedia
  • Release, initial model
    The initial model, the 1101, was introduced in April 1982.
  • Historical significance
    Some historians credit the original Compass as the first ever laptop
  • In Field: Computer Engineering, Lead section
    The Grid Compass is a family of laptop computers introduced in 1982 by the Grid Systems Corporation.
View the Source
Laptop (Wikipedia)
In Group: Personal and Portable Computing Devices, lead states a laptop is a portable personal computerView the Source
Bill Moggridge (Wikipedia)
Invented By: Bill Moggridge, Lead paragraph
Quote, Invented By: Bill Moggridge, Lead paragraph
he designed the first laptop computer, the GRiD Compass
View the Source
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