He Macintosh Portable It was the first laptop in travel to the space. And the first apple laptop. Granted, the first Apples could be taken everywhere due to their small size, but they did not have a battery. Without him Mac Portabletoday we would not enjoy the macbook pro and macbook air which, by the way, are the most popular Macs and stand out both in the physical apple stores like on their official page. But beginnings are never easy.
Presented on a distant September 20, 1989, the Macintosh Portable It was only for sale for two years. It did not have the desired success among the general public despite good reviews from experts. Of the 50,000 units that Apple wanted to sell, it only reached the figure of 10,000 units sold. The problems were especially in its high price and in its weight and dimensions. Come on, it was portable but not that much. Even by the standards of the time.
Still, it was the attempt to design a Mac with battery. At a time when desktop computers were already small in themselves. And still far from the emergence of smartphones and others pocket devices. It also made it possible that, a couple of years later, the line PowerBook was launched on the market with more success than its predecessor. Apple learned from its mistakes. A family of portable Macs that would be expanded in 1999 with the domestic line iBook and that in 2006 it would be called MacBook as until now with different surnames, prices and architectures.
What was the Macintosh Portable like?
As I mentioned before, the Macintosh Portable It was launched on the market in September 1989. It was the first Apple computer to integrate a battery. and according to The Apple Museumits power was similar to that of the Macintosh II, released two years earlier. They also point out that its 40 MB hard drive was designed to consume less energy. And that the battery had a duration of about 12 hours. A difficult figure to reach until a few years ago. Mind you, the batteries were lead acidthe technology of that time.
Although they had been invented in 1985, it was not until 1991 that the lithium ion batteries They were put up for sale thanks to Sony. However, the first PowerBook 100 series also used lead acid batteries and the PowerBook 140 used nickel cadmium batteries. He PowerBook 520 (1994) had a nickel metal hydride battery and it was not until the PowerBook 2400 (1997), a model that used lithium-ion batteries.
going back to Macintosh Portable. Its processor was a Motorola MC68000 of 16 MHz, ROM of 256 KB and RAM, of type SRAM, of 1 MB expandable to a maximum of 8 MB. Had floppy drive 1.4 MB, one ADB port, two serial ports and one SCSI type port. also had speaker integrated monkey, audio output 8-bit stereo and the resolution of your 9 inch LCD screen it was 640×400 pixels.
The Mac Portable, inside and out
More information of interest Macintosh Portable data sheet. He weighed 7 kilograms. Its dimensions were 10 centimeters high by 39 centimeters wide and 38 centimeters deep. And as for the software, despite its short life, it was launched on 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 US dollars and 7,000 if you bought it with a hard drive. as it aims The Apple Museumthe price “limited its market to companies and professionals”.
As for its outward appearance, it was a compact device that was unfolded by means of hinges showing the screen to one side, the keyboard with a trackball integrated. Besides, you had the usual power adapter and all this came packaged in a comfortable travel bag. And optionally, you could expand the RAM, install an internal modem or replace the battery.
A bad start that ended better than expected
As I said before, the life of the Macintosh Portable it was rather short. It was put up for sale on September 20, 1989 and after a few sales below expectations10,000 units against the desired 50,000, on October 21, 1991 They stopped manufacturing and selling it.. Yes, he received technical support until September 1, 1998.
His high price it limited its sales to professionals and companies. He home user he couldn’t afford something like that. Comparing with other Apple computers released that 1989you could buy a Macintosh SE for between $2,900 and $3,900 at the time. Half the price of the Macintosh Portable. He weight It didn’t help much either. Going back to the same comparison. If he Macintosh Portable weighed 7 kilos Macintosh SE desktop weighed 7.7 kilograms. Little difference.
Finally, although the battery autonomy was 12 hours, it was a limited technology. For starters, you couldn’t use the power adapter to directly power the Mac. It was only used to charge the battery. And the now obsolete technology of these lead acid batteries required a full charge to work.
For keeping something good, Apple he put his effort in doing things the best possible for the time. they employed the best technology of the moment to create a truly portable laptop, such as SRAM-type RAM or a low-power hard drive. And the screen was of the AMLCD type, which offered high contrast and a very good graphic quality for the time. And although things did not turn out as well as they had hoped, just two years later they continued with their idea of launching a range of laptops.
The Macintosh Portable in popular culture
Even though he Macintosh Portable It was on the market for two years (1989-1991), it 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 Macintosh Portable to perform various experiments and to house software that the aircraft’s own computer could not run. Specifically, this Mac traveled on missions STS-41 and STS-43. And on his second trip, he served to send the first email from spacein 1991.
In addition to its space travel, the Macintosh Portable appeared in film and television. For starters, in the iconic series Twin Peaks. In episode 11 of the second season, broadcast in 1990, we can see the Mac Portable. And in the 1992 movie The Waterdancestarring Helen Hunt, Eric Stoltz and Wesley Snipes, we also see the Apple laptop in the foreground and as part of the scene in which its two protagonists talk to each other, discreetly, using this computer.
In short, the Macintosh Portable It will always remain in the memory as the first of many. An icon in itself that is still sold in secondhand markets, on and off the internet, and which continues to have its defenders. And that the media talk about from time to time with the excuse of celebrate your anniversary.