PC Mobilizr

The history of mobile computing is still a brief one at best, perhaps less old than most individuals visiting this page, as the now popular idea of easily accessible internet anywhere is relatively new. Yes is seems like we have had pocket access to cell phones with computer functionality for years now, and laptops, well it’s tough to remember a time without laptops, though in fact, it wasn’t terribly long ago. Even well into the 90′s, business men and women found themselves tied to the work or home office by power cords, internet connection cords and a cumbersome-to carry screen, modem and hard drive.The original idea for mobile computing is not far off from the original idea for personal computers, as soon after the first concept emerged it wasn’t long before someone suggested, as it’s no surprise that as soon is something is invented the next immediate thought is about how to make it better. The first roots of the portable lap top can be traced back to Alan Kay, who sought to create the Dynabook, an educational tool children could take with them. Not a fully functional laptop, the Dynabook was dreamed up as a slate computer with long lasting battery life, which would have provided digital media to young users. Unfortunately, when the idea first came about in 1968 such technology was only a dream.The first truly functional portable computer to see the light of day was the Osborne 1, an improvement on a later Alan Kay creation, the Xerox NoteTaker. Adam Osborne came up with the idea, which Lee Felsenstein would design, announcing its release in the year 1981, selling over 11,000 units immediately. This first model weighed 23.5 lbs. and featured just a tiny 5 inch screen, though price was initially set at 1,795. The Osborne Computer Company would release the Osborne Executive and many more improvement models, though it would be years before portable computing began to take shape in terms of what we know today.The Kyotronic 85, made by Kyocera was influential in reducing the size of laptops, providing a tiltable screen and internal modem, while weighing less than 5 lbs. The model ran on AA batteries and included a text editor, among other build in programs designed by Microsoft, making it a great travel friendly keyboard for writers and journalists.Apple released their first portable computer in 1989, the Macintosh Portable, though portable may have been a creative use of the word in describing the bulky white apparatus. Of course, only 2 years in 1991 later the company would introduce the Powerbook, a line of computers instrumental in making the modifications we now see in personal computing all over the world. The modern laptop would begin to take shape throughout the early 90′s, though even those developers doubtfully had any idea of the potential for mobile computing and the social, cultural and economic revolution it has generated worldwide.