IBM marketed the ThinkPad creatively, through methods such as early customer pilot programs, numerous pre-launch announcements, and an extensive loaner program designed to showcase the product's strengths and weaknesses, including loaning a machine to archaeologists excavating the ancient Egyptian city of Leontopolis. The ThinkPad tablet became available for purchase by the general public, as the 700T, in October of the same year. The first ThinkPad tablet, a PenPoint-based device formally known as the IBM ThinkPad 2521, was positioned as a developer's release. For his innovative design management leadership during ThinkPad development, Hardy was named "innovator of the Year 1992" by PC Magazine. This system was established in several key global Design Centers by Hardy so IBM designers could visually communicate more effectively and interact directly with Sapper for advice on their projects. This 1990–1992 "pre-Internet" collaboration between Italy and Japan was facilitated by a special Sony digital communications system that transmitted high-res images over telephone lines. Development of the 700C also involved a close working relationship between Sapper and Kazuhiko Yamazaki, lead notebook designer at IBM's Yamato Design Center in Japan and liaison between Sapper and Yamato engineering. This machine was the first product produced under IBM's new "differentiated product personality" strategy, a collaboration between Richard Sapper and Tom Hardy, head of the corporate IBM Design Program. The 700T released in 1993 was a tablet computer. In April 1992, IBM announced the first ThinkPad models, the 300, 700 and 700C all released October 1992. The name was opposed by the IBM corporate naming committee as all the names for IBM computers were numeric at that time, but "ThinkPad" was kept due to praise from journalists and the public. The name "ThinkPad" was suggested by IBM employee Denny Wainwright, who had one such notepad in his pocket. With every minicomputer and mainframe, IBM installed (almost all were leased – not sold), a blue plastic sign was placed atop the operator's console, with the text "Think" printed on an aluminum plate.įor decades IBM had also distributed small notepads with the word "THINK" emblazoned on their cover to customers and employees. first introduced "Think" as an IBM slogan in the 1920s. The name "ThinkPad" was a product of IBM's corporate history and culture. A 1980s-era IBM THINK notepad (above), which inspired the laptop name, and the notepad refill information (below) The task of creating a notebook was given to the Yamato Facility in Japan, headed by Arimasa Naitoh ( 内藤在正, Naitō Arimasa, Vice President of Lenovo's PC and Smart Devices business unit), a Japanese engineer and product designer who had joined IBM in the 1970s, now known as the "Father of ThinkPad". The ThinkPad was developed to compete with Toshiba and Compaq, who had created the first two portable notebooks, with an emphasis on sales to the Harvard Business School. ThinkPads have also for several years been one of the preferred laptops used by the United Nations. ThinkPad laptops have been used in outer space and for many years were the only laptops certified for use on the International Space Station (ISS). It has seen significant success in the business market. The ThinkPad line was first developed at the IBM Yamato Facility in Japan, and the first ThinkPads were released in October 1992. Most models also feature a red-colored trackpoint on the keyboard, which has become an iconic and distinctive design characteristic associated with the ThinkPad line. ThinkPads have a distinct black, boxy design, which originated in 1990 and is still used in some models. The Chinese manufacturer further developed the line, and is still selling new models in 2023. In 2005 IBM sold its PC business, including laptops to Lenovo. ThinkPad is a line of business-oriented laptop computers and tablets, the early models of which were designed, developed and marketed by IBM, starting in 1992.
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