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Grid Compass
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<p>The Grid Compass is a family of <a href="/facts/Laptop_computer/3EFwTAb2">laptop computers</a> introduced in 1982 by the <a href="/facts/Grid_Systems_Corporation/pHVCmw8c">Grid Systems Corporation</a>. The design for the Compass was rendered by <a href="/facts/Bill_Moggridge/xjAvWn26">Bill Moggridge</a>. Owing to its <a href="/facts/Clamshell_design/pCR2wwHQ">clamshell design</a>—the first in a <a href="/facts/Portable_computer/A4K69e4A">portable computer</a>—some historians credit the original Compass as the first ever laptop. </p><p>This original model of Compass lacked an internal battery compartment, requiring <a href="/facts/AC_power/EXsaw0B9">AC power</a> 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 <a href="/facts/GridCase/DaUuveCh">GridCase</a> line in 1985. </p>