© Mark Ollig
In May 1983, Gavilan, a lightweight portable computer, was demonstrated during the Anaheim National Computer Conference.
Many computer enthusiasts consider the Gavilan Mobile Computer to be the first portable, battery-powered laptop computer.
Manuel Fernandez, an engineer, created the Gavilan.
The sleek-looking computer came equipped with a 320K 3.5-inch floppy disk drive.
The 3.5-inch floppy disks were better known as diskettes since the data storage film media was inside a rigid plastic case that was not flexible or “floppy” like the older, more accurately named 5.25-inch floppy disk.
The IBM computer I owned during the early 1980s used dual 5.25-inch floppy disk drives.
The Gavilan was, in fact, a very laptop-notebook style of computer. It measured 11.4 inches by 2.7 inches and weighed in at a carriable nine pounds.
Some of you may recall the Osborne computer from 1981 advertised as “portable,” but weighed nearly 25 pounds.
The top model Gavilan computer used a Liquid-Crystal Display (LCD) monitor screen protected inside a durable black plastic case. It displayed 16 lines by 80 characters.
While transporting the Gavilan computer, its screen closed downward, thus protecting the full-size standard keyboard.
Gavilan’s central processing unit was a 16-bit Intel 8088 chip operating at 5 MHz.
Folks mostly used the Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS-DOS 2.11 version) on the Gavilan to control how they would interact with software applications and hardware.
Software programs running on this computer included a word processor called SuperWriter, and the business spreadsheet program SuperCalc.
SuperCalc was developed back in 1980 and is similar to VisiCalc used on the Apple II computer.
Data communication over dial-up telephone lines was possible using Gavilan’s communication software package and its built-in 300 baud modem.
This computer included 48K of Read-Only Memory (ROM).
Computer data stored in ROM is permanently written on computer chips and performs hardware\firmware\software instructions.
The Gavilan came equipped containing 96K of Random-Access Memory (RAM) for managing software programs.
RAM code can be read and re-written.
Additional Gavilan RAM uses a small, rectangular plug-in module containing 32K of memory costing $350 per module.
Four plug-in module slots are available on the Gavilan.
The IBM personal desktop computer I had back in 1983 came equipped with 256K of RAM. I soon needed to add another 256K as having 512K of RAM allowed various software programs to run more efficiently.
The Gavilan used 64K of Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) memory which held its non-volatile memory, such as its Basic Input Output System (BIOS) information.
A small, round lithium cell battery maintains the information stored on the CMOS.
Several files, menus, and interactive icons were available on Gavilan’s screen.
Just above the keyboard is an electronic solid-state touchpad user interface.
The computer user swiped and tapped their finger on the touchpad until the screen cursor reached the desired icon program application, document, utility software, or other files/folder icon needing to be accessed.
The finger swipe and tapping method are analogous to today’s touchscreen functionality, which wasn’t too bad for 1983 technology.
The Gavilan computer operated from eight to nine hours, using ten nickel-cadmium rechargeable D batteries.
The computer’s batteries would obtain 80 percent usage with a one-hour recharge.
The price for a Gavilan computer with 96K of RAM and a 16-line by 80-character monochrome display screen was $4,000, which, when adjusted for inflation, would today equal $10,500.
The lower-priced model Gavilan SC came equipped with 64K of RAM, an eight-line by 80-character display screen, and sold for one thousand dollars less.
An optional four-pound thermal printer could be attached to the computer, which cost $1,000 in 1983 or $2,670 in today’s dollars.
Cash-flow funding problems stressed Fernandez’s Gavilan Computer Corporation during their ongoing development.
Although Fernandez’s company began shipments of the Gavilan laptop computer in 1984, it still ended up going out of business in 1985.
By this time, companies such as Toshiba were manufacturing and mass-marketing less-expensive laptop computers to the public.
The Gavilan could have become one of the more popular laptop computers if it were not for its financial difficulties.
Of course, laptop computers remain a popular computing device and will be for many years.
Below are photos of the Gavilan portable laptop computer.
