Portable computer
From ECDL.web
A portable computer is a computer that is designed to be moved from one place to another and includes a display and keyboard. Portable computers, because of their size, are also commonly known as 'Lunchbox' or 'Luggable' computers. They can also be called a 'Portable Workstation' or 'Portable PC'.
The principal advantage of a portable computer versus a laptop or other mobile computer is the use of standard motherboards or backplanes providing plug-in slots for add-in cards. This allows mission specific cards such as test, A/D, or communication protocol to be installed. Portable computers also provide for more disk storage by using standard 3-1/2" drives and providing for multiple drives.
[edit] History
Xerox NoteTaker, developed in 1976 at Xerox PARC, was the precursor to portable computers, though it remained a prototype and did not enter production. The first portable computer, the Micro Star was manufactured in 1979 by GM Research, a small company in Santa Monica, California.
The first mass-produced portable computer was the Osborne 1, which owed much to the NoteTaker's design. Another early portable computer released in 1982 was the Kaypro. In January 1983, the first IBM PC compatible portable computer (and indeed the first 100% IBM PC compatible, or "clone," of any kind) was the Compaq Portable. The first full-color portable computer was the Commodore SX-64 in January 1984. Apple Inc. introduced a portable Apple IIc in April 1984, but would not release a Macintosh Portable until 1989, though the original Macintosh was by its compact design, technically a portable.
The term portable computer is now almost exclusively used to refer to portable computers that are larger than a laptop, often use conventional parts such as an ATX motherboard and PS/2 style power supply and usually do not run on batteries.