<P> The history of laptops describes the efforts in the 1970s and 1980s to build small, portable personal computers that combine the components, inputs, outputs and capabilities of a desktop computer in a small chassis . Before laptop / notebook computers were technically feasible, similar ideas had been proposed, most notably Alan Kay's Dynabook concept, developed at Xerox PARC in the early 1970s . One of the first reasonably portable computers was the Xerox NoteTaker, again developed at Xerox PARC, in 1976 . However, only 10 prototypes were built . </P> <P> The portable micro computer the "Portal" of the French company R2E Micral CCMC officially appeared in September 1980 at the Sicob show in Paris . The Portal was a portable microcomputer designed and marketed by the studies and developments department of the French firm R2E Micral in 1980 at the request of the company CCMC specializing in payroll and accounting . It was based on an Intel 8085 processor, 8 - bit, clocked at 2 MHz . It was equipped with a central 64K byte Ram, a keyboard with 58 alpha numeric keys and 11 numeric keys (separate blocks), a 32 - character screen, a floppy disk: capacity = 140 000 characters, of a thermal printer: speed = 28 characters / second, an asynchronous channel, a synchronous channel, a 220 V power supply . Designed for an operating temperature of 15--35 ° C, it weighed 12 kg and its dimensions were 45 × 45 × 15 cm . It provided total mobility . Its operating system was Prologue . </P> <P> The Osborne 1 is considered the first true mobile computer by most historians . Adam Osborne founded Osborne Computer and formed the Osborne 1 in 1981 . The Osborne 1 had a five - inch screen, incorporating a modem port, two 5 1 / 4 floppy drives, a big collection of bundled software applications, and a battery pack . The computer company was a failure and did not last for very long . Although it was large and heavy compared to today's laptops, with a tiny 5" CRT monitor, it had a near - revolutionary impact on business, as professionals were able to take their computer and data with them for the first time . This and other "luggables" were inspired by what was probably the first portable computer, the Xerox NoteTaker . The Osborne was about the size of a portable sewing machine, and could be carried on commercial aircraft . The Osborne 1 weighed close to 11 kg and was priced at $1795 . </P> <P> Although it wasn't released until 1985, well after the decline of CP / M as a major operating system, the Bondwell 2 is one of only a handful of CP / M laptops . It used a Z - 80 CPU running at 4 MHz, had 64 KBs of RAM, and a 3.5" floppy disk drive built in, which was unusual for CP / M laptops . The flip - up LCD display's resolution was 640x200 pixels . Bondwell 2 also included MicroPro's complete line of CP / M software, including WordStar . The Bondwell 2 was capable of displaying bitmapped graphics . The price of the Bondwell 2 was listed at $995 . </P>

When was the first laptop introduced to the public