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IBM PS/2 Note and PS/note

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ManufacturerIBM
Introduced1992
Discontinued1994
ProcessorIntel 386

The IBM PS/2 Note and PS/note are a series of notebooks from the PS/2 line by IBM. It was announced in March 1992, half a year prior to the release of the first ThinkPad, the IBM ThinkPad 700. The series was discontinued in 1994.

Background

After the departure of Bob Lawten from IBM, the team at IBM had little development direction after the IBM PS/2 L40SX. James Cannavino pushed for the new notebook series, which fell behind schedule.[1] The N45SL, N51SX and N51SLC were announced on the same day as the IBM PS/2 (color laptop) CL57SX. During this time there was a distinction between notebooks and laptops, where the former are A4 sized and the latter are larger.

The notebooks were modeled after the PS/55 Note which was released by IBM in Japan in April 1991.[2]

Models

PS/2 and PS/note laptop models
1991 1992 1993 1994
PS/2 note N33SX N51SX;
N51SLC
PS/note 182;
E82;
N82 		425/425C
N45SL

PS/2 note

Mainstream line with 7-row layout only.

N33 SX

IBM PS/2 Note N33 SX with external floppy drive

The PS/2 Model N33 SX (also known as PS/2 note N33 SX) was the first notebook-sized computer from IBM which was announced in 1991.[3] This model was based on the AT-bus and had between 2 or 6MB RAM. It has a 9.5" 16-greyscale VGA LCD (640x480), a 1.44MB floppy, expansion ports and a 40MB or 80MB HDD, and weighs 5.5 lb (2.5 kg).[4]

N51SX

The PS/2 Model N51SX[5] (or PS/2 Note N51SX) was a low-end mainstream notebook, which contained a slower version of the typical 386SX found in other notebooks. The N51SX was delayed for months.[6]

N51SLC

The PS/2 Model N51SLC (or PS/2 Note N51SLC) was based on IBM their 368SLC.[6] This model has a PS/55 note sibling.[7]

PS/note

Entry-level line.

N45SL

The PS/Note N45SL was priced at $2,045 and contained a 25MHz 386SL. It had 2MB RAM and a 80[8] or 120MB HDD[9] and was equipped with only 6-row keyboard without dedicated navigation block; the similar layout has a low-end ThinkPad 300 laptop.

PC Mag considered the display a disappointment, but noted its good design and performance.[8]

It was manufactured by Zenith Data Systems.[10]

182/E82/N82

The PS/Note 182 and PS/Note E82 was equipped with 80386SL CPU, PS/Note N82 was equipped with 80386SX and released in 1992. This line has a 7-row keyboard layout and similar to next-year PS/note 425 model case (but with gray case color and without TrackPoint).

Model 425/425C

The PS/Note 425/425C are identical to the ThinkPad 350/350C.[11]

Accessories

Discontinuation

In March 1994, it was reported that IBM would consolidate the PS/Note series into the ThinkPad 300 series.[14] In 1994, the ThinkPad 360 series was released.

References

  1. ^ A., Dell, Deborah (2000). ThinkPad: a different shade of blue. Sams. p. 84. ISBN 0-672-31756-7. OCLC 781169669.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ Scannell, Ed (23 Dec 1991). "IBM readies 6 portables". InfoWorld.
  3. ^ "IBM PS/2 Note - Computer - Computing History". The Centre for Computing History. Retrieved 2021-04-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ Name (1992-02-25). "IBM UK LAUNCHES COLOUR LAPTOP AS WELL AS NOTEBOOK". Tech Monitor. Retrieved 2021-04-18.
  5. ^ "Personal System/2 Models N51 SLC and N51 SX" (PDF).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ a b Fitzgerald, Michael (1992-03-30). Going down in history. IDG Enterprise. p. 38. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  7. ^ "PS/55note N51SLC 8551-S08". www.mars.dti.ne.jp. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
  8. ^ a b "IBM PS/note N45sl". PC Mag. Ziff Davis, Inc. 1992-12-22.
  9. ^ "PS/Note N45 SL" (PDF).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ "PS/2 Model N33 SX". Ardent Tool of Capitalism. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
  11. ^ Hardware Maintenance Manual Volume 1: Laptop, Notebook, Portable and ThinkPad Computers (PDF). p. 205.
  12. ^ "8551 - PS/Note N51". Archived from the original on 2020-08-14.
  13. ^ "IBM Personal System/2 Communications Cartridge II" (PDF). kev009.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. ^ Lee, Yvonne. "IBM revamps line with four ThinkPads". InfoWorld.
Preceded by PS/2 Note Succeeded by
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