Osborne 1 April 3, 1981 saw the launching of the Osborne 1, the first portable computer to be commercially successful. It was manufactured by Osborne Computer Corporation. It costs $1,795 USD, weighs 24.5 lbs (11.1 kg), and uses the CP/M 2.2 operating system.
Adam Osborne hired Lee Felsenstein to design a low-cost portable computer with integrated software that he intended to market after selling his computer book publishing business to McGraw-Hill in 1979. The resultant Osborne 1 included two floppy disk drives, a Z80 microprocessor, 64 KB of RAM, and a 52-column display measuring 5 inches (127 mm). It could withstand being dropped accidently and still fit under an airline seat. The CP/M operating system, the MBASIC and CBASIC programming languages, the WordStar word processing package, and the SuperCalc spreadsheet tool were all included in the bundle of software. It also came with communications software for a 300 baud modem and project man agement software with PERT and GANTT charts.
Manufacturer: Osborne Computer Corporation
Date introduced: April 3, 1981
Dimensions: W: 20.5 inches (52 cm); H: 9 inches (23 cm); D: 13 inches (33 cm)
Discontinued: 1983
Display: 5″ monochrome CRT display, 52 x 24 characters text
Mass: 24.5 lb (11.1 kg)
Memory: 64 KB RAM
