In the late 1970s a client that needed processors for a calculator contacted Intel Corporation. Instead of using the multiple chips of earlier designs, Intel engineers decided to build a single and programmable chip. Besides its use in portable calculators, it would be powerful enough for computing applications. The Intel 4004 was then a major step in personal computing evolution, both for desktops and portables.

The first integrated portables appeared in 1981, when the Osborne 1 hit the market; although it was not quite a notebook sized equipment, marketing strategies used to sell this computer are still used today (integrate a package of software with the equipment).

Those were the days of only-character text, when speed and performance were not as demanding as these last years of the 20th century. The market seemed prepared for more powerful computers that could provide better performance and more mobility. Manufacturers incorporated faster processors, more memory and floppy drives to make them even more similar to desktops.