The short but eventful life of Apple’s first laptop

He Macintosh portable computer It was the first laptop in travel to space. AND first apple laptop. Sure, the early Apples could be taken anywhere because of their small size, but they didn’t have a battery. Without him Portable Mactoday we would not enjoy Macbook Pro And Macbook Air which, by the way, are the most popular Mac computers and stand out as on physical apple stores like on their official page. But starting is never easy.

Given to the distant on September 20, 1989, Macintosh portable computer Sold for only two years. He did not have the desired success with the general public, despite the good reviews of experts. Of the 50,000 units that Apple wanted to sell, it only reached a number 10,000 units sold. The problems were especially in its high price and in its weight and size. Come on, it was portable, but not that portable. Even by the standards of the time.

However, it was an attempt to construct Mac with battery. Back in the day when desktop computers were already small. And there is still a long way to go before the advent of smartphones and other things. handheld devices. It also made it possible that a couple of years later the line powerbook was launched to the market with greater success than its predecessor. Apple learned from its mistakes. A family of portable Mac computers, which in 1999 will be expanded with a domestic line. iBook and that in 2006 it will be called macbook as it is still with different names, prices and architectures.

What was the Macintosh Portable like?

As I mentioned before, Macintosh portable computer It was released to the market in September 1989. It was the first Apple computer with a built-in battery. and according to Apple Museumits power was similar to that of Macintosh IIreleased two years earlier. They also note that its 40MB hard drive was designed to consume less energy. And that the battery was duration about 12 hours. A difficult figure to reach until a few years ago. Keep in mind the batteries have been lead acidtechnologies of that time.

Although they were invented in 1985, it was not until 1991 that lithium ion batteries They were put up for sale thanks to Sony. However, the first PowerBook 100 series lead-acid batteries are also used and Powerbook 140 used nickel-cadmium batteries. He PowerBook 520 (1994) was a nickel-metal hydride battery, and only in PowerBook 2400 (1997), a model that used lithium-ion batteries.

returning to Macintosh portable computer. His processor was Motorola MC68000 16 MHz, 256 KB ROM and 1 MB SRAM, expandable up to 8 MB. Had drive 1.4 MB, one ADB port, two serial ports and one SCSI port. also had speaker integrated Monkey, audio output 8-bit stereo and your resolution 9 inch LCD screen it was 640×400 pixels.

Portable Mac inside and out

Additional interesting information Macintosh Portable Data Sheet. He weighed 7 kilograms. Its dimensions were 10 centimeters high, 39 centimeters wide and 38 centimeters deep. And as for the software, despite its short life, it was released to the market with System 6.05 and was able to update up to system 7.5.5. Its price at that time was $6,500 and $7,000 if you bought it with a hard drive. how is it directed Apple Museumthe price “limited its market companies and professionals“.

As for his appearance, it was compact device which unfolded with the help of hinges, opening the screen in one direction, the keyboard with trackball integrated. Besides, you had a normal Power adapter and all this is packaged in a convenient travel bag. And if desired, it was possible to expand the RAM, install an internal modem or replace the battery.

Bad start that ended better than expected

Like I said before, life Macintosh portable computer it was pretty short. It was put up for sale on September 20, 1989, and a few sales below expectations10,000 vs. desired 50,000, October 21, 1991 They stopped its production and sale.. Yes he got technical support until September 1, 1998.

His high price he limited his sales to professionals and companies. He home user he couldn’t afford something like that. Comparison with other Apple computers released in the same 1989you could buy Macintosh SE priced between $2,900 and $3,900 at the time. Half price for Macintosh portable computer. He weight This didn’t help much either. Back to the same comparison. If he Macintosh portable computer weighed 7 kg Macintosh SE the desktop weighed 7.7 kilograms. Not a big difference.

Finally, although battery autonomy it was 12 o’clock, it was limited technology. First, you could not use the power adapter to Mac direct power. It was only used to charge the battery. And the now obsolete technology of these lead-acid batteries required full charge for work.

To save something good, Apple he made an effort do the best you can for the time. they hired the best technology at the moment to create a truly portable laptop, for example, with SRAM-type RAM or a low-power hard drive. And the screen was of the AMLCD type, which provided high contrast and very good graphics quality for the time. And while things didn’t turn out as well as they hoped, after just two years they went ahead with their launch idea. range of laptops.

Macintosh Portable in popular culture

Although he Macintosh portable computer He was on the market for two years (1989-1991), he had a very interesting life. First of all, traveled to space. Although this story deserves its own article, we will summarize it by saying that NASA used a portable Macintosh computer. to conduct various experiments and host software that the plane’s own computer could not run. Specifically, this Mac went on missions STS-41 And STS-43. And on his second trip he served to send first letter from spacein 1991.

In addition to space travel, the Macintosh Portable appeared in film and television. For starters, in the cult series Twin Peaks. In episode 11 of the second season, which aired in 1990, we can see Portable Mac. In the 1992 film water dancestarring Helen Hunt, Eric Stoltz and Wesley Snipes, we also see an Apple laptop in the foreground and as part of a scene in which its two main characters are discreetly talking to each other using this computer.

In short, Macintosh portable computer He will forever be remembered as the first of many. The icon itself, which is still sold in second hand markets online and offline, and which still has its defenders. And what the media talk about from time to time under the pretext of celebrate your anniversary.