Early Mac Clones
Outbound Laptop and Notebook
Overview
Perhaps the best known early portable Maclone came from Outbound in August 1989, just weeks before Apple announced the Portable. The Portable Plus used the same 68000 CPU as the Plus and SE, but runs it at 15 MHz. It had a unique built-in pointing device, the Isopoint Trackbar, that rolled to scroll up and down, moved sideways to scroll right and left. The Trackbar was part of the detachable keyboard. The Outbound required ROMs "borrowed" from a Mac Plus or SE.
To use your desktop computer, you could attach the Outbound to your Mac, giving it access to the pulled ROMs. To attach a SCSI device, you had to buy a $95 adapter.

The Isopoint Trackbar
Still, at $3,995 with a 20 MB hard drive and a 10 pound weight, it was an attractive alternative even after Apple's Portable shipped.
In late 1991, Outbound released a
modular notebook computer. This model used faster CPUs (from 20 MHz
68000 to 33 MHz 68030), could handle 2-14 MB of RAM, had a backlit
display, supported 20-120 MB IDS drives, worked with high density
floppies, and ran off a standard camcorder battery.
Details, Outbound Laptop
- introduced 1989 or 1990; discontinued
- requires ROM from Mac Plus or SE
- requires System 3.2 to 7.5.5 (Plus ROM) or 4.1 to 7.5.5 (SE ROM)
- CPU: 15 MHz 68HC000 CPU
- performance: about double that of a Plus or SE
- ROM: 128 KB (Plus ROM) or 256 KB (SE ROM)
- RAM: 1 MB, expandable to 4 MB using pairs of 256 KB or 1 MB 150ns 30-pin SIMMs
- 9" b&w screen, 640 x 400 pixels
- keyboard communicates via infrared
- two miniDIN-8 serial ports
- SCSI: DB-25 connector on back of computer
- floppy: 1.4 MB double sided
- hard drive: 40 MB drive optional
- silicon drive (1-16 MB) optional, holds data 10-25 days
- size (HxWxD): 7.8 x12.3 x 3.6"
- weight: 9.3 lb., including battery
- PRAM battery: unknown
- battery: 3 hour charge
- Gestalt ID: unknown
- addressing: 24-bit only
Details, Outbound Laptop (also sold as RealTech Travler)
Although available with fast 68030 CPUs, the use of Mac Plus and SE ROMs limited to Outbound Laptop to 4 MB of memory.
- introduced 1991.12.01; discontinued 1992.12.08
- requires ROM from Mac Plus or SE
- requires System 4.1 to 7.5.5 (SE ROM) or 6.0.7 to 7.5.5 (Classic ROM)
- CPU: 20 HMz 68000; 20, 25, 33, or 40 MHz 68030
- FPU: 68882, optional
- performance: about double that of a Plus or SE
- ROM: 128 KB (Plus ROM) or 256 KB (SE ROM)
- RAM: 2 or 4 MB, expandable to 4 MB using pairs of 256 KB or 1 MB 150ns 30-pin SIMMs
- 10" supertwist b&w display, 640 x 400 pixels
- keyboard communicates via infrared
- two miniDIN-8 serial ports
- SCSI: DB-25 connector on back of computer
- floppy: 1.4 MB double sided
- hard drive: 40, 80, or 120 MB IDE
- silicon drive (1-16 MB) optional, holds data 10-25 days
- size (HxWxD): 2.1 x11.0 x 8.5"
- weight: 6.25 lb., including battery
- PRAM battery: unknown
- battery: 2-3 hour charge
- Gestalt ID: unknown
- addressing: 24-bit only
Online Sources
- Outbound Laptop and Outbound Notebook, Uncle Roger's Computers
- Outbound Laptop and Outbound Notebook, Applefritter
- Outbound Notebook System, Obsolete Computer Museum
- Outbound page, EveryMac
- Outbound Service and Support
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