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However, arguably the first true laptop was the GRiD Compass 1101, designed by Bill Moggridge in 1979, and released in 1982. Enclosed in a magnesium case, it introduced the now familiar clamshell design, in which the flat display folded shut against the keyboard. The computer could be run from batteries, and was equipped with a 320×200-pixel plasma display and 384-kilobyte bubble memory. It was not IBM-compatible, and its high price (US$ 10,000) meant that it was limited to specialized applications. However, it was used heavily by the U.S. military, and was used on the Space Shuttle during the 1980s. The GRiD company subsequently earned significant returns on its patent rights as its innovations became commonplace. GRiD Systems Corp was later bought by Tandy (RadioShack). * Portable computer * LG - XNOTE Among the first commercial IBM-compatible laptops were the IBM PC Convertible, introduced 1986, and the Toshiba T1000 and T1200, introduced 1987. Although limited floppy-based DOS machines (the operating system was stored in ROM), the Toshiba machines were small and light enough to be carried in a backpack, and could be run off lead-acid batteries. These also introduced the now-standard "resume" feature to DOS-based machines; the computer could be paused between sessions, without having to be restarted each time. Laptops generally cost more than a desktop computer of similar specification. Performance is usually lower than that of a comparable desktop because of the compromises necessary to keep weight and power consumption low.
* Desktop computer * NEC - VERSA, LaVie As technology improved during the 1990s, the usefulness and popularity of laptops increased while prices went down. Several developments specific to laptops were quickly implemented in their design, improving their usability and performance compared to desktop computers. Among them were: * ECS * Acer - TravelMate and Aspire * Voodoo PC - Envy
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Another notable computer was the Cambridge Z88, designed by Clive Sinclair, introduced in 1988. About the size of an A4 sheet of paper, it ran on standard batteries, and contained basic spreadsheet, word processing, and communications programs. Although it anticipated the future miniaturization of the portable computer, as a ROM-based machine with a small display it can — like the TRS-80 Model 100 — also be seen as a foreruner of the PDA. * Improved interconnectivity. Internal modems and standard serial, parallel, and PS/2 ports on IBM PC-compatible laptops made it easier to work away from home; the addition of Ethernet networking ports and, from 1997, USB, and from 1999, Wi-Fi, made laptops as easy to use with peripherals as a desktop computer. * Desknote * Hypersonic * Samsung - Sens The Apple PowerBook series, introduced in 1991, heralded many changes that are now standard on laptops, including ergonomic improvements such as the placement of the keyboard at the back of the machine, thus creating a palm rest, and the inclusion of a built-in pointing device (a trackball). The following year, IBM released its Thinkpad series, offering similar miniaturization.
* Alienware - Area 51m, Sentia and Aurora m series Two other noteworthy early laptops were the Sharp PC-5000 (1983) and the Gavilan SC, announced in 1983 but first sold in 1984. The Gavilan was notably the first computer to be marketed as a "laptop." It was also equipped with a pioneering touchpad-like pointing device, installed on a panel above the keyboard. Like the GriD Compass, the Gavilan and the Sharp were housed in clamshell cases, but they were partly IBM-compatible, although primarily running their own system software. Both had LCD displays, and had optional printers that attached to their cases. * LG - XNOTE * Panasonic - Toughbook,Let's Note(Available only in Japan) * Overam - Mirage series * Sager - NP series See also * Most laptops are powered or recharged from an external AC converter that usually takes the form of a plain black rectangular box. These devices weigh about 500 g (about 1 lb) and often take the name "power brick." * Improved liquid crystal display design, in particular active-matrix display technology, and increasingly, color screens. Early laptop screens were black and white or grayscale passive-matrix LCD displays prone to heavy shadows and blurry movement (some portable computer screens were sharper monochrome plasma displays, but these drew too much current to be powered by batteries). Improvements in production technology meant displays became larger, sharper, had higher display resolution, and could display color with great accuracy, making them an acceptable substitute for a traditional CRT monitor.