Grid Compass
Grid Compass 1101, from 1982 | |
| Developer | Bill Moggridge |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | GRiD Systems Corp. |
| Type | Laptop computer |
| Release date | April 1982 |
| Introductory price | US$8,150 (equivalent to $26,550 in 2024) |
| Operating system | CCOS (Compass Computer Operating System), optionally MS-DOS 2 |
| CPU | Intel 8086 |
| Memory | 256 KB |
| Storage | 384 KB magnetic bubble |
| Display | 320 × 240 |
| Connectivity | 19-pin "serial", Telephone line+Audio 1,200 bit/s modem, GPIB |
| Successor | GridCase 2 |
The Grid Compass is a family of laptop computers introduced in 1982 by the Grid Systems Corporation. The design for the Compass was rendered by Bill Moggridge. Owing to its clamshell design—the first in a portable computer—some historians credit the original Compass as the first ever laptop.
This original model of Compass lacked an internal battery compartment, requiring AC power from the wall. Grid sold the succeeding model, the Compass II, in 1984 with an optional external battery unit.: 91 Grid replaced the Compass with the GridCase line in 1985.