Gavilan SC

Gavilan SC
	LCD display (400×64 pixels, 66 characters by 8 lines)
Touchpad	touchpad-like pointing device
Connectivity	300-baud modem
Mass	4 kg (8.8 lb)

The Gavilan SC is a laptop computer that was the first ever to be marketed as a "laptop". The computer ran on an Intel 8088 microprocessor running at 5 MHz and sported a touchpad for a pointing device, one of the first computers to do so. The laptop was developed by Manuel "Manny" Fernandez and released by the Gavilan Computer Corporation, the company he founded and owned, in May 1983.

History

The brainchild of Gavilan Computer Corporation founder

clamshell

design, in which the screen folds shut over the keyboard.

The Gavilan, however, was more affordable than the GRiD, at a list price of around

printer

that attached to the rear of the machine was an option.

The machine's included software was a

MBasic (a version of the BASIC programming language). An Office Pack of four applications—Sorcim SuperCalc and SuperWriter, and pfs:File and pfs:Report

—was optional.

It was far smaller than competing

nickel-cadmium

batteries.

Jack Hall, an award-winning industrial designer, was chosen to work out the

C. Itoh

of Japan. Additionally, several patentable features such as the unique display hinge and printer attachment mechanism were embodied in the design.

The Gavilan sported an

kilobytes

standard. Memory was expandable through plug-in modules, for which there were four slots available (each 32 KB "CapsuleRam" module cost US$350 (equivalent to $1,070 in 2023) and included a backup battery); these slots could also be used for software ROM cartridges.

With standards for microfloppy drives still emerging, Gavilan was designed to accommodate both a 3.0-inch 320 KB

Chapter 11 bankruptcy with cash flow

problems. The company ceased operations in 1985.

Reception

BYTE in June 1983 called the Gavilan "a traveling professional's dream come true ... [it] promises to set new industry standards, not only for truly portable computers, but also for integration of applications software".^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b Lemmons, Phil (June 1983). "The Gavilan Mobile Computer". BYTE. p. 74. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
^ "Briefcase computer". Design. November 1983. p. 20. Retrieved 16 March 2022. The Gavilan portable computer uses a touch-sensitive panel between its text-entry keyboard and its liquid-crystal display. Moving your finger around on this shifts the cursor on the screen to select commands from a menu.

External links

Oldcomputers.net:Gavilan SC
History of Laptops
Inc. magazine article about Gavilan by company founder Manuel (Manny) Fernandez
1984 article reviewing various pocket and portable computers, including the Gavilan
"Gavilan SC, 360 degree model", Vintage Laptop Museum (museum).

[lemmons198306-1] Lemmons, Phil (June 1983). "The Gavilan Mobile Computer". BYTE. p. 74. Retrieved 19 October 2013.

[design198311_gavilan-2] "Briefcase computer". Design. November 1983. p. 20. Retrieved 16 March 2022. The Gavilan portable computer uses a touch-sensitive panel between its text-entry keyboard and its liquid-crystal display. Moving your finger around on this shifts the cursor on the screen to select commands from a menu.

[1]