- Apple Computers was started in California in 1984. It was the first computer company to create a user-friendly interface and a mouse in lieu of the traditional command line operating concepts. Although the company enjoyed early commercial success, it was eclipsed throughout the 1980s and 1990s by the popularity of Windows-based PCs. In 1998, Apple revitalized the computer market with the introduction of the iMac. Building upon that success, Apple has steadily increased its market share. With the introduction of the iPod, iPhone and Apple retail stores since 2000, the company has continued to grow and innovate the computer market.
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Macintosh PortableIn September 1989, Apple introduced the Macintosh Portable, its first entry into the laptop market. This initial laptop was designed to allow engineers and other technical employees to enter data while in the field as it was recorded. At 16 pounds, it was one of the largest laptops ever made, but it was packed with powerful features that helped explain its relatively heavy weight. The computer came equipped with a 16-MHz processor and 1 MB of RAM. It was equipped with a standard floppy disk drive, as well as an optional hard disk drive. The Portable also featured one of the first internal modems used on a laptop. It's screen was an LCD active-matrix that only displayed black and white, but it was still among the clearest screens in the computer industry. Although the use of lead-acid batteries provided an astonishing 10-hour battery life, it also contributed to the laptop's heft, making it difficult for user's to treat the Portable as a true laptop computer. -
PowerBookIn October 1991, Apple introduced three new laptop models. Known as PowerBooks, these computers were truly portable, weighing only one-third as much as the Macintosh Portable. The most affordable of these models was the PowerBook 100. It had the same features as the Portable, including a 16-MHz processor and 8 MBs of RAM. Along with the 100 model, Apple released the 140 and 170 models. These laptops used more powerful processors and were fairly equivalent in capacity to Apple's desktop computers at the time. All three PowerBook models featured a track ball mouse located in the center of the keyboard, a revolutionary accessory at the time. By the end of 1992, Apple had dominated the laptop industry, controlling 40% of the market share. -
The iBookFrom its introduction in 1991 through 1999, Apple issued several more versions of the PowerBook, each with increased capabilities to reflect improvements in technology. In 1999, the colorful and modern-looking iMac desktop computers were selling fast, so Apple released a laptop version of the iMac. Marketed as an iMac to Go, the iBook had a rugged clam shell casing and came in five bright colors: tangerine, blueberry, graphite, indigo and key lime. Both the colors and shape were a dramatic departure from the average laptop design and muted color scheme. The iBook featured a 300-MHz processor, 32 MBs of RAM and a 3.2-GB hard drive. This model was also the first laptop in the industry to have integrated wireless networking capabilities. -
MacBook AirIn 2006, Apple was undergoing a transition to Intel processors. The company discontinued the PowerBook and iBook models and introduced the Intel-based MacBook. The earliest models featured a 15-inch screen and sleek aluminum exterior. The MacBook was capable of speeds up to 2 GHz, and included a 512-MB memory and 60 GBs of RAM. In 2008, Apple released a new version called the MacBook Air. Weighing only three pounds, this ultra-portable laptop featured a 1.6-GHz processor and 2 GB of RAM. Also in 2008, Apple introduced the MacBook Pro, aimed at businesses and the design market.
