Prototype of Apple’s first portable Mac hits eBay

A prototype of Apple’s first portable Macintosh was offered for a sale on eBay.  It has a label “this device is a demonstration unit only. Production units will comply with all applicable Federal Rules and Regulations” which confirms that it is a prototype unit. Unfortunately the devise does not power on because of the dead acid battery.

The Macintosh Portable is the prototype for all laptop computers we use today. It ran on a rechargeable battery, included a screen, and had an input device and a trackball. Interesting to note is the prototype unit (in the picture) featured a trackball on the left, while the publicly released 1989 version had its trackball input on the right side.