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IBM PC Convertible

A vintage off-white laptop computer with a thick keyboard and foldable rectangular screen sitting above two floppy disk slots.

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  • A vintage off-white laptop computer with a thick keyboard and foldable rectangular screen sitting above two floppy disk slots.

Date:

1986

Artist:

Richard Sapper
German, 1932–2015

Manufactured by IBM
American, Founded 1911

About this artwork

Introduced to consumers in 1986, the IBM PC Convertible is IBM’s first laptop computer. This revolutionary computer weighed less than 13 pounds and cost consumers approximately $2000. The convertible system was light enough to be carried around but could also function as a primary desktop machine, with a detachable monochrome LCD screen. With no internal operating system, the computer runs off of operating disks in the floppy drive and was introduced with 265K of RAM and memory, and dual 720K 3.5” floppy drives. While the computer did not fair well in the market, many of the components first introduced in this model became standard in future models, including the dual 3.5” floppy drive, the “resume” feature which allowed the computer to sleep rather than be turned off completely, and the option to run the computer with batteries.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Architecture and Design

Artist

Richard Sapper (Designer)

Title

IBM PC Convertible

Place

Germany (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1986

Medium

Variable

Dimensions

25 × 31 × 39 cm (9 13/16 × 12 1/8 × 15 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Judith A. Barter

Reference Number

2012.681

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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