In 1992, when the computer world was drowning in a sea of beige plastic, IBM introduced a black, minimalist and almost mysterious laptop. It was the first ThinkPad, and it forever changed the perception of what a professional laptop should be.
Today, more than thirty years later, ThinkPad remains the benchmark in the world of business computers. It is one of the few brands that has survived corporate transformations, changes of ownership and technological revolutions while retaining its unique identity.
The birth of a legend
In the early 1990s, IBM had a problem: its first laptop, called the IBM PC Convertible (model 5140), was a failure, and the company was lagging behind in the rapidly growing portable computer market. Competitors were releasing new models, but the computer industry giant risked losing its position in this promising segment.
Fortunately for us, IBM decided to take radical action and created a separate division called the Personal Computer Company. The manufacturer also turned to a person who could rethink the very concept of a laptop, and that person was German industrial designer Richard Sapper. He was not a typical computer hardware designer, but created things that people loved, things that they wanted to interact with on a daily basis.
When Sapper saw what the computer market had to offer, he was shocked by the aesthetic emptiness of these models. He saw beige boxes ‘without character or soul,’ so he proposed a deep black laptop to IBM, which, as we know, worked.
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Richard Sapper found inspiration for his designs in unexpected places. He thought about Japanese bento lunch boxes because they were simple, functional, beautiful and at the same time understated. The designer was also inspired by classic cigar boxes, which do not reveal their contents until they are opened.
But Saper understood that good design is not just about aesthetics, so he sought to create an emotional connection between the user and the product. The designer compared the ideal product to a teddy bear. It was something that people became attached to and wanted to hold in their hands, and it gradually became part of their everyday life. At the same time, he wanted this object to have an adult sophistication, like a good cigarette case. This combination of childlike intimacy and adult pleasure became the basis for the ThinkPad design.
The name ThinkPad also had its roots in IBM's history. Company founder Thomas J. Watson Sr. introduced the corporate slogan ‘Think’ back in the 1920s. IBM gave out small notebooks with this word on the cover to employees and customers. When it came time to name the new laptop, employee Danny Wainwright suggested combining these two elements. Thus, the ThinkPad was born, which essentially means ‘notebook for thoughts.’
The red dot that changed everything
Among all the innovations of the first ThinkPad, one stood out in particular: a small red dot in the middle of the keyboard. This element, called TrackPoint, became one of the most recognisable symbols of the brand and the subject of endless discussion among users.
The TrackPoint was invented by IBM employee Ted Selker. The idea was to create a cursor control device that would allow users to keep their hands on the keyboard. At that time, laptops used various similar solutions in the form of trackballs, miniature joysticks on the side, and clumsy touchpads.
All of them required the user to move their hand away from the keyboard, which slowed down their work. Ted Selker approached the problem differently and created a manipulator that responded to pressure rather than movement.
A small rubber joystick located between the G, H and B keys allowed the cursor to be controlled by simply pressing it in the desired direction. The force of the press determined the speed of the cursor. Because of this, the fingers remained in the home position for typing, and productivity increased.
Of course, TrackPoint evoked polarised reactions. Some users instantly fell in love with it, appreciating its efficiency and precision of control. Others hated it, finding it uncomfortable and unfamiliar. But it was this polarisation that made the TrackPoint a cult item. It became a symbol of the ThinkPad philosophy, which was not to try to please everyone, but to create tools for professionals who value efficiency above all else.
A triumphant debut
On 5 October 1992, IBM introduced the ThinkPad 700C. The model was revolutionary in many ways, as it had an IBM 486SLC (25 MHz) processor, up to 16 MB of RAM and an HDD of up to 120 MB. At the time, this was serious power for a portable device and definitely good specs.
But the main highlight was the 10.4-inch colour TFT screen, which was the largest and highest quality in the industry.
The price tag of $4,350 could have scared buyers away, but the opposite happened. In the first two months, IBM received more than 100,000 orders, and in the first year of sales, the ThinkPad brought the company more than a billion dollars in revenue. It was a rare case where a product instantly became a hit in both the consumer and corporate markets.
