 The IBM 5100 Portable Computer | |
| Manufacturer | IBM |
|---|---|
| Type | Professional Computer |
| Release date | September 1975 |
| Introductory price | From $8,975 to $19,975 |
| Discontinued | 1978 |
| CPU | IBM PALM processor clocked at 1.9 MHz |
| Memory | 16–64 KB RAM (with 16 KB iterations) 32–64 KB ROM |
| Display | 5-inch CRT |
| Graphics | 64x16 characters |
| Input | Keyboard |
| Mass | 25 kg (55 lb) |
| Successor | IBM 5110 |
The IBM 5100 Portable Computer is one of the first portable computers,[1] introduced in September 1975, six years before the IBM Personal Computer, and eight before the first successful IBM compatible portable computer, the Compaq Portable. It was the evolution of a prototype called the SCAMP (Special Computer APL Machine Portable) that was developed at the IBM Palo Alto Scientific Center in 1973. Whether considered evolutionary from SCAMP[2] or revolutionary, it still needed to be plugged into an electric socket.[3]
When the IBM PC was introduced in 1981, it was originally designated as the IBM 5150, putting it in the "5100" series, though its architecture was unrelated to the IBM 5100's.[4] The 5100 was IBM's second transportable computer. Previously, a truck-based IBM 1401 was configured in 1960 for military use and referred to as a mobile computer.[5]
The IBM 5100 was withdrawn in March 1982, by which time IBM had announced its larger cousins, the IBM 5110 (January 1978) and the IBM 5120 (February 1980).
- ^ "I.B.M. Corp. Introduces A 50-Pound Computer". The New York Times. September 10, 1975.
- ^ "Timeline of Computer History". Computer History Museum. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
- ^ "Tech Time Warp of the Week: The 50-Pound Portable PC". Wired.
- ^ Alice Rawsthorn (July 31, 2011). "The Clunky PC That Started It All". The New York Times.
- ^ "The IBM 1401". Columbia University Computing History. Retrieved July 23, 2021.