Editing Apple IIc (section)

===Portability enhancements===
[[File:Apple IIc with LCD display.jpg|thumb|right|An Apple IIc with the ''Apple Flat Panel Display'' attached]]
At the time of the IIc's release, Apple announced an optional black and white (1-bit) [[Liquid-crystal display|LCD]] screen designed specifically for the machine called the ''Apple Flat Panel Display''. It became available in early 1985, about three months after the original release date.<ref name="mcgeever19850318">{{Cite magazine |last=McGeever |first=Christine |date=1985-03-18 |title=IIc's Flat Screen 'Unreadable' |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4i4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA21#v=onepage&q&f=true |access-date=2025-05-03 |magazine=InfoWorld |page=21 |volume=7 |issue=11}}</ref> While it was welcomed as a means of making the IIc more portable, it does not integrate well as a portable solution, not attaching in a secure or permanent manner and not able to connects-over face down. Instead, it sits atop the machine and connected via ribbon cable to a somewhat bulky rear port connector.

One analyst said that the display is "impossible to read". Apple learned after its initial IIc marketing campaign that the portable market was smaller than estimated, causing the company to describe it instead as easily transportable between home and office; Apple reportedly released the display only to fulfill the initial product announcement. Market analysts estimated that 5-10% of IIc owners would want it.{{r|mcgeever19850318}} Its main shortcoming is that it suffers from a very poor contrast and no backlighting, making it very difficult to view without a strong external light source. The display has an odd aspect ratio as well, making graphics look vertically squashed. A third-party company would later introduce a work-alike LCD screen called the ''C-Vue'', very similar to Apple's product, albeit with a reportedly slight improvement in viewability. Consequently, both sold poorly and had a very short market life span, making these displays extremely rare.

Third parties also offered external [[rechargeable battery]] units for the Apple IIc (e.g. ''Prairie Power Portable System'' available from Roger Coats)<ref>{{cite magazine
 |magazine     = Washington Apple Pie
 |url          = https://www.wap.org/journal/showcase/washingtonapplepijournal198705.pdf
 |page         = 21
 |title        = Roger Coats
 |type         = advertising
 |date         = May 1987
 |volume       = 9
 |issue        = 5
 |access-date  = October 23, 2020
 |archive-date = October 26, 2020
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20201026063428/https://www.wap.org/journal/showcase/washingtonapplepijournal198705.pdf
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine
 |magazine     = Washington Apple Pie
 |url          = https://www.apple.asimov.net/documentation/magazines/washington_apple_journal/washingtonapplepijournal198702.pdf
 |page         = 11
 |title        = Roger Coats
 |type         = advertising
 |date         = February 1987
 |volume       = 9
 |issue        = 2
 |access-date  = October 23, 2020
 |archive-date = October 5, 2021
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20211005003718/https://www.apple.asimov.net/documentation/magazines/washington_apple_journal/washingtonapplepijournal198702.pdf
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref> with up to eight hours per charge or longer. Although they aid in making the machine more of a true portable, they are nonetheless bulky and heavy, and add more pieces that would have to be carried. Adapter cables were sold as well that allow the Apple IIc to plug into an automobile's DC power cigarette lighter.

To help transport the Apple IIc and its accessory pieces around, Apple sold a nylon carrying case with shoulder strap that has a compartment for the computer, its external power supply, and the cables. It has enough room to squeeze in one of the above-mentioned LCD display units. The case is grey in color with a stitched-on Apple logo in the upper right corner.