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Toshiba Quits PC Business

Toshiba's first laptop debuted in 1985 and weighed 9 pounds.

 

A name that’s been well-established in the computer business since 1985, Toshiba, has quietly exited the PC market.

Recently, Toshiba announced that it transferred the last of its shares of its laptop business, now called Dynabook, to Sharp Corporation.

Toshiba had divested about 80% of the business to Sharp in 2018.

According to Computer World, the company’s first model -- the T1100 -- set the standard for portable PCs for decades to come, premiering features like the internal battery.

Though revolutionary at the time, this mid-80s laptop weighed 9 pounds and cost nearly $2,000.

Eventually, stiff competition helped unseat Toshiba as a laptop leader.

Engadget also theorizes that Toshiba’s focus on HD DVD drives helped sink its “media-centric” PCs once streaming became standard.

But the brand name, it adds, remains strong in printing and storage and will live on, in a way, through the Dynabook laptops.

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