The portable notebook computer was first debuted by Apple over twenty years ago, and still endures as a popular product on the computer market. In 1989 the MacIntosh Portable was first released, and after that the world of computers saw Apple's notebook lines evolve from the Powerbook, to the iBook, and then to the Macbook series. Along the way, Apple has been both celebrated and shunned. The 1995 Powerbook 5300 was a distatrous model that was defective and dangerous, with reports of batteries exploding and units not working. The Powerbook G4, on the other hand, was considered innovative and exciting for its time. Below is a timeline of the evolution of Apple notebooks.

MacIntosh Portable

Apple first sold the MacIntosh Portable in 1989 at a cost of $6,500 per unit. The 15.8-pound computer had a black-and-white screen and full-size keyboard. Due to poor sales the unit was discontinued in 1991.

Powerbook 100, 140, and 170

Apple didn't stay out of the portable computer business for long and promptly released a three new models of Apple "Powerbooks" in 1991. The 100, 140, and 170 models introduced the trackball mouse to the Apple line and took on the more modern laptop appearance known today, with the mouse positioned toward the front of the keyboard panel, and the keyboard pushed back toward the screen.

Powerbook 500

By 1994 the Powerbook 500 series were on the market with faster speeds, active-matrix LCD displayers, stereo sound, and built-in Ethernet.

Powerbook 5300

Then one year later, in 1995, the Powerbook 5300 was released with a Power PC processor, replacing the previous 500 series. The 5300 was widely considered a large failure because a large percentage of the notebooks never worked, and an issue with exploding batteries triggered a large product recall and had the media calling the notebook the "Hindenbook".

Powerbook 1400 and 3400

In an effort to shake off the terrible press and reputation that stemmed from the disastrous 5300 notebook, Apple released the 1400 notebook in November, 1996. It featured a CD-Rom drive (or optional Zip drive) and had a storage space on the lid cover for paperwork. In 1997 Apple released the Powerbook 3400 was the highest powered notebook on the computer market very briefly and included EDO memory and a 64-bit wide internal bus.

Powerbook G3 and G4

By 1998, Steve Jobs had returned to run Apple and oversaw the release of the G3 Powerbook model. Coming out in the same year as the first iMac, the G3 was considered stylish by most consumers and was critically well-received. The Powerbook line would last through 2000, when the G4 model took on a sleek silver design as was advertised as the first laptop computer that could be taken on a plane. By 2006, the Powerbook line was fully retired.

iBook

Perhaps one of the most iconic Apple notebooks, the iBook was released in 1999. Shaped like a clamshell, and sporting bright, vivid colors (orange, blue, and others), the iBook was commercially very popular, and was the first Apple notebook to feature internal wireless networking.http://www.applegazette.com/mac/apple-history-the-evolution-of-apple-notebooks/ By 2001, the clamshell design was discarded in favor of a sleek all-white design (the kind that would later come to embody the Apple look in later products such as the iPod). The line would last until 2003.

MacBook

In 2006, on the heels of the Powerbook line retirement, Apple launched the MacBook series. The standard MacBook was launched to replace the iBook, and the Powerbook was replaced by the upgraded MacBook Pro. The notebooks were released with Intel processors, and run on Windows, Linux, or Mac OS X.http://www.applegazette.com/mac/apple-history-the-evolution-of-apple-notebooks/