Canon NoteJet

The Canon NoteJet is a series of notebook computers which include a printer and scanner that was manufactured from 1993 to 1995 by a joint venture between the Canon subsidiary Canon Computer Systems Inc.[1] and IBM subsidiary IBM Japan.[2][3][4][5][6] The Canon branded series was sold worldwide except in Japan, where the similar IBM ThinkPad 555BJ and 550BJ was sold. The European model did not use the NoteJet branding and was branded as the Canon BN120C, BN22 or BN200.

Canon NoteJet
Canon BN120C
ManufacturerIBM Japan, Canon Computer Systems
Introduced1993
Discontinued1995
TypeLaptop, printer

Reviews during the general availability of the series were mixed. Historical analyses viewed it either extremely positive or extremely negative.

History

Canon, one of the largest printer manufacturers globally,[7] released their first inkjet printer in 1985.[8] They joined the x86 PC market in October 1992 as Canon Computer Systems Inc.[9] and launched the Innova PC line in 1993.[10] Canon combined these products in the NoteJet series. Bubble Jet and BJ are trademarks owned by Canon,[11] which have been used by IBM for their printer-laptops.

According to Canon, the printer in the NoteJet is 70% smaller than any printer they developed before.[11]

Models
External video
video icon The Canon BN22 (BJ Notebook) printing laptop

The Canon branded models were released globally, except in Japan where the IBM branded ThinkPads were released. The NoteJet branding was not used in Europe.

Canon NoteJet 486

It uses the Cyrix 486SLC clocked at 25 MHz as a CPU. It weighs 7.7 pounds and the dimensions are 12.2 by 10 by 2 inches. The list price was $2499.[5] The CPU was manufactured by Texas Instruments.[12] The NoteJet 486 was made in three different versions: the model 1 has a 85MB disk, the model 2 has a 130MB disk and the model 3 has a 180MB disk.[12]

Canon NoteJet II 486C

The NoteJet II 486C uses a 486SLC2 processor at 50 MHz and weighs 8.6 pounds. It has a 10.3 inch DSTN and two PCMCIA slots. It has 4MiB RAM with a 130MB HDD or a 260MB HDD.[13]

Canon NoteJet IIIcx/BN 200

The printer is based on the Canon BJC-70. It uses a Pentium I clocked at 90 MHz, 16MiB of RAM and a HDD of 810MB. It has an internal PCI bus and IrDA, a Sound Blaster card, two Type II PC Card slots or one Type III PC card slot. It uses an external AC adapter.[14]

Canon BN22

Canon marketed the NoteJet 486 in Europe as the Canon BN22, because the AC adapter and keyboard have differences.[12]

Canon BN120C

The Canon BN120C uses a 100 MHz Intel 486, 810MB HDD and 16MiB RAM.[15]

Canon BN200

The Canon BN200 is an upgrade from the BN22. It has an active matrix 800x600 LCD.

It was sold in three different models.[16]

Canon BN200 in a Chevrolet Nova with a view on San Francisco as a mobile office setup.

IBM ThinkPad 550BJ

It used the 25 MHz IBM 486SLC CPU.[17]

The 550BJ was launched in Japan[18] on 19 February 1993.[19] It was developed within the new self-contained IBM Personal Computer Company which was set up in 1992, separate from the IBM corporate hierarchy.[20] The computer components were developed by IBM Japan and printer components were developed by Canon, with both logos engraved on the machine. The BJ stands for Bubble Jet which is Canon's printer technology. Although ThinkPads are known for their usage of the TrackPoint pointing stick, this machine comes with a "Mini Mouse II-B"[17]

The machine gained popularity mainly amongst beginners and students.[17]

IBM ThinkPad 555BJ

It used the 486SLC2 as a CPU, which is the 50 MHz version of the IBM 486SLC. The LCD was upgraded from a 9.5 inch STN to 10.3 inch DSTN color LCD. The memory was expanded to 12MiB. In contrast to the earlier model, this machine included a TrackPoint II.[17]

Reception

PCMag reviewed the NoteJet IIIcx in 1996. They noted the slowness of the scanning feature while appreciating the quality documentation from Canon. They concluded that the PC performance was average, but noted the high amount of extra peripherals available. They noted: "the point isn't really how well it works, but that it works at all".[14] According to The Wall Street Journal, users have complained that the NoteJet series was too heavy and expensive.[21]

PCMag listed it in a 2015 article as one of the 7 "Bizarre FrankenPCs That Are Better Off Dead".[2] TechRadar listed it in a 2016 article as one of the 12 "ground-breaking laptops that dared to be different", and argued that was sad that the NoteJet was a one-of-a-kind.[3] PC World listed the Canon NoteJet 486 in a 2006 as one of the greatest PCs of all time.[22]

Further developments

The NoteJet series was silently discontinued.

Canon left the U.S. PC market in January 1997 due to low sales.[7]

See also

References
  1. H. Lewis, Peter. "Canon laptop has a built-in ink-jet printer". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on 2021-03-20. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  2. Edwards, Benj (June 18, 2015). "7 Bizarre FrankenPCs That Are Better Off Dead". PCMag. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
  3. Athow, Desire (Jan 13, 2016). "12 ground-breaking laptops that dared to be different". TechRadar. Archived from the original on 16 January 2016. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
  4. Lewis, Peter H. (1993-04-18). "The Executive Computer; Canon's New Laptop Packs a Nice Printer Inside (Published 1993)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 14 December 2009. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
  5. Nadel, Brian (August 1993). "Canon NoteJet 486: Hybrid Office". PCMag. Vol. 12, no. 14. Ziff Davis, Inc. p. 226. Archived from the original on 2021-08-02. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  6. Calem, Robert E. (1993-03-07). "Tech Notes; A Computer Cum Printer (Published 1993)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 24, 2014. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
  7. Kirchner, Jack (July 1997). "100 Most Influential Companies: 27 Canon Inc". PCMag. p. 226. Archived from the original on 2021-08-02. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  8. "Canon celebrates 30th anniversary of launch of first Bubble Jet inkjet printer". Canon Global. August 26, 2015. Archived from the original on 2017-07-06. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  9. Quinlan, Tom (1992-10-26). "Canon set to put its name on systems". InfoWorld. InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. p. 36. Archived from the original on 2021-08-02. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  10. "With Innova, Canon Makes Its Presence Felt in the PC Market". PCMag. 7 Dec 1993. p. 60. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  11. "Brochure - Canon NoteJet II 486C" (PDF). 1994. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 March 2021.
  12. Perratore, Ed (May 1993). "Canon's NoteJet 486 Packs a Printer". BYTE. UBM Technology Group. p. 58.
  13. InfoWorld. InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. 1994-05-09. Archived from the original on 2021-08-02. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  14. Nadel, Brian (1996-02-20). "Canon NoteJet IIIcx packs an office into a briefcase, barely". PCMag. Vol. 15, no. 4. Ziff Davis, Inc. pp. 39, 43.
  15. "Canon NoteJet BN120C Laptop - Computer - Computing History". The Centre for Computing History. Archived from the original on 2021-02-25. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  16. "Compri-Rechner mit Windows 95 Canon zeigt auf der Systems neue Notebooks mit Drucker". Computerwoche (in German). Archived from the original on 2021-03-21. Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  17. "ThinkPad 10th Anniversary Special 06". Impress Watch. Archived from the original on 2020-11-27. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  18. October 2017, Avram Piltch-Online Editorial Director 05 (5 October 2017). "25 Years of ThinkPad: The Best and Most Innovative". Laptop Mag. Archived from the original on 2019-04-23. Retrieved 2021-05-11.
  19. Kellar, David (1 February 1993). "IBM/Canon alliance spawns notebook". Computerworld. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  20. Sakakibara, Kiyonori (June 1995). "Global New Product Development: The Case of IBM Notebook Computers". Business Strategy Review. 6 (2): 25–40. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8616.1995.tb00088.x. ISSN 0955-6419. Archived from the original on 2021-08-02. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  21. Wagstaff, Jeremy (2000-04-17). "New Gadgets Show Fliers the Light". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 2021-03-21. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  22. "The 25 Greatest PCs of All Time". PCWorld. 2006-08-11. Archived from the original on 2021-02-11. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
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