Today, many people have got portable devices: laptops and tablets. Unlike desktop computers, these devices are very convenient to carry around. They can be used on the train and in a forest clearing, and not just sitting at a desk at home or in the office. These devices are our present. In order to find out when the very first examples of portable computers in the history of mankind were created, you need to look into the past. And, first of all, to determine what people at different times understood by "portability".

Portable computers for the strongman
In the recent past, people had very different ideas about portability and mobility. In the 1970s, computers were so big that portable computers were called computers that a person (and, at the same time, quite strong!) it is capable of transferring — that is, transporting — from place to place. These computers were powered by electricity from a regular outlet. Nowadays, a laptop without a battery is unimaginable. The English word "portable" itself comes from another — and also English — word "transportable" (transported). Right now, only a device that can be carried comfortably is considered a portable computer. In the old days, users were less demanding and considered any computer that could be lifted by one person to be the pinnacle of compactness.

Throughout its history, portable computers have gone through several stages of development. Of course, they improved: they became more compact and more powerful. The first portable computers were also called portable ("luggable"). They were not yet as light as the laptops that replaced them. In 1975, the first IBM 5100 portable computer appeared, which weighed "only"... about 23 kilograms. Over time, other computers in this category appeared: Osborne (1981) and Compaq (1982).

From laptops to laptops
Another category of portable computers were laptops, which weighed from three and a little to more than six kilograms. They could work both from the mains and from the battery. In English, modern lightweight and powerful laptops are still sometimes referred to as such. An example of a relatively ancient laptop is the GRiD Compass, introduced in 1982.

The most popular category of portable computers is laptops. At least they were the most widespread representatives of this family until the widespread use of tablets began. Initially, we were talking about devices weighing from 2.27 to 3.63 kilograms. Their dimensions corresponded to the dimensions of a large notebook (in centimeters): 22,8630,48 and 5.08 in thickness. Over time, laptops became lighter; computers appeared that were not even four centimeters thick. One of the first (and perhaps the very first) representatives of this type of computer is considered to be the NEC UltraLite, introduced in 1989.

The computer got rid of the keyboard
Before Apple's iPad tablet entered the market, it seemed that the future belonged to ultraportable computers with a standard (but significantly reduced) keyboard or subnotebooks. These devices weigh less than two kilograms and are easily recognizable by their scaled-down keyboard and "toy" screen. They were sometimes called "netbooks".

Although the first GRiDPad tablet appeared back in 1989, these computers, devoid of a traditional keyboard, began to gain popularity only recently. To control early tablets, a special pen was used, a stylus, with which the user touched the screen at the right points. For a very long time, it was believed that there was no replacement for a physical keyboard. But over time, users appreciated the compactness and lightness of computers devoid of a keyboard and got used to the touchscreen interface. Try Casinolab and enjoy the action.