IBM 5100
The IBM 5100 Portable Computer
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| Manufacturer | IBM |
|---|---|
| Type | Professional Computer |
| Release date | September 1975 |
| Introductory price | From $8,975 (BASIC with 16 kiB) to $19,975 (BASIC+APL with 64 kiB) |
| Discontinued | 1978 |
| CPU | IBM PALM processor clocked at 1.9 MHz |
| Memory | 16–64 kiB RAM (with 16 kiB iterations), 32–64 kiB ROM |
| Input | Keyboard |
| Weight | 24 kg |
| Successor | IBM 5110 |
The IBM 5100 Portable Computer is a portable computer (one of the first) introduced in September 1975, six years before the IBM Personal Computer. It was the evolution of a prototype called the SCAMP (Special Computer APL Machine Portable) that was developed at the IBM Palo Alto Scientific Center in 1973. In January 1978 IBM announced the IBM 5110, its larger cousin, and in February 1980 IBM announced the IBM 5120. The 5100 was withdrawn in March 1982.
When the IBM PC was introduced in 1981, it was originally designated as the IBM 5150, putting it in the "5100" series, though its architecture was not directly descended from the IBM 5100.
The IBM 5100 is based on a 16-bit processor module called PALM (Put All Logic in Microcode). The IBM 5100 Maintenance Information Manual also referred to the PALM module as the controller. The PALM could directly address 64 KiB of memory. Some configurations of the IBM 5100 had Executable ROS (ROM) and RAM memory totalling more than 64 KiB, so a simple bank switching scheme was used. The actual APL and BASIC interpreters were stored in a separate Language ROS address space which the PALM treats as a peripheral device. Prices ranged from $11,000 (16k model) to $20,000 (64k).
BYTE in December 1975 stated "Welcome, IBM, to personal computing". Describing the 5100 as "a 50-lb package of interactive personal computing", the magazine stated that with the company's announcement "personal computing gains an entry from the industry's production and service giant", albeit "at a premium price". A single integrated unit provided the keyboard, five-inch CRT display, tape drive, processor, several hundred kibibytes of read only memory containing system software, and up to 64 KiB of RAM. It was the size of a small suitcase, weighed about 55 lb (25 kg), and could be transported in an optional carrying case, hence the "portable" designation.
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