IBM PS/2 Note and PS/note
 | |
| Manufacturer | IBM |
|---|---|
| Type | Notebook computer |
| Release date | 1992 |
| Discontinued | 1994 |
| CPU | Intel 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
[edit]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
[edit]| IBM PS/55 note, PS/2 note, and PS/note models | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | ||
| PS/2 note | N33 SX | N51 SX; N51 SLC |
|||
| PS/note | 182; E82; N82 |
425/425C | |||
| N45 SL | |||||
PS/55 note
[edit]Simply branded as PS/55 note, the type 5523-S0x was the first Japanese notebook from the 55-series with a 12Mhz 80386 CPU, 2Mb RAM built in and a 9.5" 16-greyscale VGA LCD (640x480). It was only released in Japan. The two main planars inside consisted of two seperate boards "APEX-MAIN" and "SUB-BOARD" leaving room inside for either a floppy drive or a hard drive - but not both. The keyboard has a 7-row layout only.
PS/55 note N23 SX
[edit]This was a second generation PS/55 note type 5523-S1x with N23 SX added to its case badge and also only released in Japan. This machine had a 16Mhz 80386 CPU and a redesigned motherboard consisting of just one planar. The additional space inside meant the machine could accomodate both an internal floppy disk drive and a hard drive. It also featured an external VGA output and display invert switch.[3]
PS/2 note N33 SX
[edit]
The PS/2 Model N33 SX (also known as PS/2 note N33 SX) was the first Western-released notebook-sized computer from IBM which was announced in 1991.[4] 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), external 1.44MB floppy connector, expansion ports and a 40MB or 80MB HDD, and weighs 5.5 lb (2.5 kg).[5] There were two versions with one based on the original Japanese 12Mhz PS/55 Note and the other based on the Japanese 16Mhz N23 SX. The main two changes is that neither had internal floppy drives and they both had a Western keyboard.
PS/ note C23 SX
[edit]A joint third generation PS/Note took the ISA-bus N23SX and added a 10.4" colour TFT panel from the CL57, but successfully miniturised to fit within the smaller notebook lid.
PS/2 note N51 SX
[edit]The joint third generation PS/2 Note N51 SX (or PS/2 Model N51 SX[6]) was a low-end mainstream notebook with the new MCA bus, which contained a slower version of the typical 386SX found in other notebooks. The N51 SX was delayed for months.[7]
PS/2 note N51 SLC
[edit]The PS/2 Note N51 SLC (or PS/2 Model N51 SLC) was based on IBM their 386SLC.[7] This MCA-bus model has a PS/55 note sibling.[8]
PS/ note N45 SL
[edit]Manufactured by Zenith, the PS/note N45 SL was priced at $2,045 and contains a 25 MHz 386SL. It had 2MB RAM and an 80[9] or 120MB HDD[10] 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.[9]
It was manufactured by Zenith Data Systems.[11]
PS/note T22 SX
[edit]The T22 SX is an unusual non-backlite greyscale tablet and detachable keyboard offshoot from the main note range. It sold in small numbers.
PS/note 182/E82/N82
[edit]A side project with Lexmark, 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). The case badge uniquely resembled the style of the PS/1.
Model 425/425C
[edit]The PS/note 425/425C are identical to the ThinkPad 350/350C.[12]
Accessories
[edit]- Communication cartridge
- Communication cartridge II [13][14]
- External floppy disk drive
- External numpad
Discontinuation
[edit]In March 1994, it was reported that IBM would consolidate the PS/note series into the ThinkPad 300 series.[15] In May 1994, the ThinkPad 360 series was released.
Timeline
[edit]| Timeline of the IBM Personal Computer |
|---|
 |
| Asterisk (*) denotes a model released in Japan only |
References
[edit]- ^ 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) - ^ Scannell, Ed (23 Dec 1991). "IBM readies 6 portables". InfoWorld.
- ^ Maggs, Alexander (April 2025). "IBM PS/55 Note N23 SX (5523-SC4) - Japan". Ret Rocks.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "IBM PS/2 Note - Computer - Computing History". The Centre for Computing History. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
- ^ Name (1992-02-25). "IBM UK LAUNCHES COLOUR LAPTOP AS WELL AS NOTEBOOK". Tech Monitor. Retrieved 2021-04-18.
- ^ "Personal System/2 Models N51 SLC and N51 SX" (PDF).
- ^ a b Fitzgerald, Michael (1992-03-30). Going down in history. IDG Enterprise. p. 38.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ^ "PS/55note N51SLC 8551-S08". www.mars.dti.ne.jp. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
- ^ a b "IBM PS/note N45sl". PC Mag. Ziff Davis, Inc. 1992-12-22.
- ^ "PS/note N45 SL" (PDF).
- ^ "PS/2 Model N33 SX". Ardent Tool of Capitalism. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
- ^ Hardware Maintenance Manual Volume 1: Laptop, Notebook, Portable and ThinkPad Computers (PDF). p. 205.
- ^ "8551 - PS/Note N51". Archived from the original on 2020-08-14.
- ^ "IBM Personal System/2 Communications Cartridge II" (PDF). kev009.com.
- ^ Lee, Yvonne (21 March 1994). "IBM revamps line with four ThinkPads". InfoWorld.