The IBM ThinkPad 700 (also named model 700 PS/2) is the first

notebook computer A notebook computer or notebook is, historically, a laptop whose length and width approximate that of letter paper (). The term ''notebook'' was coined to describe slab-like portable computers that had a letter-paper footprint, such as Epson's ...

for the

ThinkPad ThinkPad is a line of business-oriented laptop and Tablet computer, tablet computers produced since 1992. It was originally designed, created and manufactured by the American IBM, International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation. IBM Acquisit ...

brand that was released by

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

on October 5, 1992. Another series was released alongside it, the ThinkPad 300 series. The 300 series was meant to be a cheaper, lower performance model line over the 700. It was developed as a successor to the L40SX. The ThinkPad 700 is the first laptop model ever with a

pointing stick A pointing stick (or trackpoint, also referred to generically as a nub, nipple or clitmouse) is a small analog stick used as a pointing device typically mounted centrally in a computer keyboard. Like other pointing devices such as mice, touchp ...

to control the cursor, under the IBM brand name of ''TrackPoint''. It was generally received positively by reviewers, although it had a high price and shorter battery life.

History

Because of design issues with the L40SX, the next iteration of IBM laptops were going to involve industrial designer

Richard Sapper Richard Sapper (30 May 1932 – 31 December 2015) was a German industrial designer who was based in Milan for much of his career. He is considered to be one of the most influential figures of post-war design. His products typically feature a comb ...

. Richard designed the ThinkPad 700, being inspired from a rectangular cigar box, and kept it simplistic. Before the announcement of the 700 series, it has been speculated that the 700 and 700T would be manufactured by AST Research, Inc. The first IBM ThinkPads, the 700 and 700C, were launched on October 5, 1992, alongside the 300 series. The IBM 2521 (IBM 700T) was announced on April 17, 1992 and launched in July 1993. It was marketed as a data entry tablet for hospitals, health care providers, and field operation workers. The ThinkPad 700C uses a color screen made by the joint venture Display Technologies, Inc. It was the largest active matrix display in a laptop when it was released. President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

wanted to buy a ThinkPad 700C as a Christmas present for his wife Barbara Bush when it was released. It was sold out, so he called then IBM CEO John Akers. Akers reached out to the general manager of IBM's PC division Jim Cannavino, who took the next ThinkPad from the assembly line and shipped it to the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

Features and models

Both the 700 and 700C were based on the 25MHz

IBM 486SLC The 386SLC is an Intel-licensed version of the 386SX (32-bit internal, 16-bit external, 24-bit memory addressing), developed and manufactured by IBM in 1991. It included power-management capabilities and an 8KB internal CPU cache, which enabled ...

processor with 4 MB of memory, and had a nickel metal hydride battery that was claimed by IBM to last almost 4 hours. The 700 had the option of an 80 or 120 MB hard disk size, and a 9.5in 640 x 480 monochrome screen. The 700C had a standard 120 MB hard disk size, and 4, 8 or 16 MB memory options. It also had a 10.4in 640 x 480 active-matrix color screen. Both the 700 and 700C came with PC DOS 5.02 and Prodigy, an internet service. Other features both included were a modem, serial, VGA, and parallel ports, port replicator, docking station connector, and built in 3 1/2" 1.44 MB floppy disk drive. IBM ThinkPad 720C

Both the 700 and 700C came in a standard black color, but a less-known "IBM-Beige" color was available. Additionally later on a 50MHz processor upgrade was offered by IBM for the 700 and 700C, giving it better performance. The 700T was a portable pen-operated tablet that had a 20MHz Intel 386SX, 4 or 8 MB of memory, a 10 in 640 x 480 monochrome screen, and also very uncommon for its time, had a 20 MB

solid state drive A solid-state drive (SSD) is a type of solid-state storage device that uses Integrated circuit, integrated circuits to store data persistence (computer science), persistently. It is sometimes called semiconductor storage device, solid-stat ...

instead of a hard drive for storage. The 700T used an operating system created by Go Corporation known as PenPoint OS. Other features the 700T had was a built in 2.4 kbit/s modem, a serial, parallel, external floppy drive, and keyboard connector. The 700 was the base model, being considerably cheaper than the premium 700C at $2,750 vs $4,350 for the 700C. The 700T was renamed from IBM 2521 so that it was a name fit with the 700 and 700C.

Reception

The 700 and 700C were given good reception, being called "the finest notebooks on the market" by ''PC Magazine'' which also complimented its design by saying "After years of un-distinguished portables, IBM has finally gotten it right" and a review by '' BYTE Magazine'' said "The IBM ThinkPad 700C notebook wins the award for the most innovative design". ''

PC Computing ''PC/Computing'' (later ''Ziff-Davis Smart Business'') was a monthly Ziff Davis publication that for most of its run focused on publishing reviews of IBM-compatible (or "Wintel") hardware and software and tips and reference information for users ...

'' gave its annual "most valuable product" to the ThinkPad 700C, describing it as "a clear standout by its combination of speed, beauty, hard-nosed practicality, and, yes, grace". The 700C was given a 8.0 rating in a review by ''

InfoWorld ''InfoWorld'' (''IW'') is an American information technology media business. Founded in 1978, it began as a monthly magazine. In 2007, it transitioned to a Web-only publication. Its parent company is International Data Group, and its sister pu ...

'', and many of the praise went to the 700C's active matrix color display which was said to have rich, bright colors and crisp text, and was bigger and better than competitors. The keyboard was also given good reviews, saying it is solid feeling and has quick responsiveness. A 700C review from

Computerworld ''Computerworld'' (abbreviated as CW) is a computer magazine published since 1967 aimed at information technology (IT) and Business computing, business technology professionals. Original a print magazine, ''Computerworld'' published its final pr ...

noted that the implementation of the

Advanced Power Management Advanced power management (APM) is a technical standard for power management developed by Intel and Microsoft and released in 1992 which enables an operating system running an IBM-compatible personal computer to work with the BIOS (part of the com ...

1.0 specification by

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

resulted in a long battery life. The only cons given about the 700 series by some reviews was the increased weight and size, along with the more expensive price tag and lower battery life.

Notes

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