| Introduced in September 1989, the Macintosh Portable was Apple’s first attempt at a truly portable computer. It featured a 16 MHz Motorola 68000 processor and came with 1 MB of RAM, expandable to 9 MB. Unlike later laptops, the Portable used a lead-acid battery, which made it unusually heavy—over 7 kg (15.8 lbs)—but allowed it to retain desktop-like performance without compromise. Its active matrix monochrome display offered excellent clarity for the time, though it lacked backlighting in the first models, which limited usability in low light. Apple later released a backlit version in 1991. The design included a full-sized keyboard with a built-in trackball, and the case opened like a clamshell. Storage consisted of a 40 MB SCSI hard drive and a 1.44 MB floppy disk drive. Despite innovative engineering, the Macintosh Portable was expensive and bulky, which limited its commercial success. It was discontinued in 1991 and replaced by the lighter, more practical PowerBook line. |
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