Gridcase 1530's Wanted

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1978AppleII's picture
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Gridcase 1530's Wanted

So while certainly not Apple related, the Gridcase 1530's were GORGEOUS pieces of electronics for the era they were created in. Credited with the very first battery powered laptop, the Grids were constructed of a magnesium alloy and could be ordered with a beautiful red plasma display.

I would like to find 1 or 2 of these to restore - along with any accessories, software, etc., which you all might have squirreled away somewhere.

Nostalgia - I remember seeing those back in the day and drooling over them, but at the time they were VERY expensive. (If memory serves $8000-12000)

Thanks guys!

Jennifer

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Re: Gridcase 1530's Wanted

One small correction: the 1530 was credited as the first battery-powered *386* laptop. (And the plasma version could only run for about half an hour. For this reason similar machines like the Toshiba 5100 didn't even bother with the battery.) The much earlier non-PC-compatible Grid Compass 1101 has been called the first "clamshell" form-factor laptop, having been designed in 1979, although it wasn't available commercially until 1982.

(The first clamshell PC compatible with a battery was probably the Data General DG-1 of 1984, which had an almost unreadable LCD.)

Anyway, good hunting! I've always sort of wanted a system with a plasma screen myself.

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