IBM PS/2 Note and PS/note

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.

IBM PS/2 Note and PS/note
ManufacturerIBM
Introduced1992
Discontinued1994
ProcessorIntel 386

Background

After the departure of Bob Lawten from IBM, the team at IBM had little development direction after the IBM PS/2 L40 SX. James Cannavino pushed for the new notebook series, which fell behind schedule.[1] The N45 SL, N51 SX and N51 SLC were announced on the same day as the IBM PS/2 (color laptop) CL57 SX. 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 N33 SX N51 SX;
N51 SLC
PS/note 182;
E82;
N82		 425/425C
N45 SL

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]

N51 SX

The PS/2 Model N51 SX[5] (or PS/2 Note N51 SX) was a low-end mainstream notebook, which contained a slower version of the typical 386SX found in other notebooks. The N51 SX was delayed for months.[6]

N51 SLC

The PS/2 Model N51 SLC (or PS/2 Note N51 SLC) was based on IBM their 368SLC.[6] This model has a PS/55 note sibling.[7]

PS/note

Entry-level line.

N45 SL

The PS/note N45 SL was priced at $2,045 and contains 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 as 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.

Timeline
Timeline of the IBM Personal Computer
IBM ThinkCentreIBM NetVistaIBM Palm Top PC 110IBM PC SeriesIBM AptivaIBM PS/ValuePointThinkPadEduQuestIBM PS/noteAmbra Computer CorporationIBM PCradioIBM PS/1IBM Industrial SystemIBM PS/55IBM PS/2IBM Personal Computer XT 286IBM PC ConvertibleIBM JXIBM Personal Computer AT/370IBM Personal Computer ATIBM Industrial ComputerIBM PCjrIBM Portable Personal ComputerIBM Personal Computer XT/370IBM 3270 PCIBM Personal Computer XTIBM 5550IBM Personal ComputerIBM System/23 DatamasterIBM 5120IBM 5110IBM 5100
Asterisk (*) denotes a model released in Japan only

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.
  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).
  6. Fitzgerald, Michael (1992-03-30). Going down in history. p. 38. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  7. "PS/55note N51SLC 8551-S08". www.mars.dti.ne.jp. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
  8. "IBM PS/note N45sl". PC Mag. Ziff Davis, Inc. 1992-12-22.
  9. "PS/note N45 SL" (PDF).
  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.
  14. Lee, Yvonne (21 March 1994). "IBM revamps line with four ThinkPads". InfoWorld.
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