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. In April 1992, IBM announced the first ThinkPad model, the 700, later renamed the 700T after the release of three newer models, the 300, (new) 700 and 700C in 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 aluminium plate.įor decades IBM had also distributed small notepads with the word 'THINK' emblazoned on a brown leatherette cover to customers and employees. Watson, Sr., first introduced 'THINK' as an IBM slogan in the 1920s. The name 'ThinkPad' was a product of IBM's corporate history and culture. Īn original 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, now Lenovo Fellow and 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. 10.22 25th anniversary Retro ThinkPad (2017).

Lenovo thinkpad red button on keyboard