Screenshot from New York Times, September 10, 1975, page 75 (via "Times Machine")

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http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1975/09/10/76603086.html

I.B.M. Corp. Introduces A 50‐Pound Computer

The New York Times, Wednesday, September 10, 1975

The International Business Machines Corporation introduced yesterday its first portable computer, a 50‐pound unit priced far Iower than any other I.B.M. dataprocessing machine.

The new machine, called the I.B.M. 5100, is only slightly larger than an electric typewriter. It will be sold only and not leased, as are most other I.B.M. computers.

The price will range from $8,975 to $19,975, depending on the design and capabilities included within the particular system. The price represents a significant reduction in the cost of purchasing an I.B.M. computer. The company's System 32 machine, formerly its smallest computer, sells for a minimum of $35.000.

First customer deliveries are scheduled for later this month.

The new computer uses standard 115‐volt alternating current and can be used in most offices and laboratories.

In addition to serving as a stand‐alone computer, the machine has an optional communications adapter that allows it to communicate with remote larger I.B.M. systems.

C. B. Rogers Jr., president of the I.B.M. General System's division, which developed the 5100, said the new computer had the capacity and performance of machines that weighed half a ton in the late nineteen‐sixties.

Three problem‐solving tape libraries are available with the 5100, providing more than 100 routines applicable to mathematical problems, statistical techniques and financial analyses.