ThinkPad: Alive and Innovating!
The ThinkPad series of laptop is easily one of the most recognizable notebook computers on the market. It’s simple and tough design has changed very little visually over the years, and is still one of the toughest computers out there. Those that know this tough little notebook might have noticed awhile back that it went from being called the IBM ThinkPad to the Lenovo ThinkPad. What happened, and has it affected this laptop for better or worse? To find the answer to these questions, we take a quick look back at the ThinkPad’s history.
IBM was once one of the most widely recognized brand names for personal computers in the world. Indeed, their name at one time was actually used to differentiate between a PC and Apple computer. In the late 80s and early 90s, saying you were using an IBM computer instead of an Apple, was essentially the same thing as saying a PC instead of a Mac today.
By the late 90s, IBM had its sights on enterprise level hardware and was pulling away from the personal computer realm more and more. More of their resources and budget were being redirected towards these goals, and as a result their personal computer division was starting to fade away.
Finally in 2005, IBM pulled out of the personal computing world altogether when Lenovo, the recently renamed Chinese computer giant; Legend, acquired the entire division. Since then however, Lenovo has done little to change the general design and visual appearance of the ThinkPad system. They have managed to continue in making a reliable and tough notebook that can deal with the most demanding business applications out there.
Some of the greatest laptop innovations came from the ThinkPad series. The TrackPoint pointing device, sometimes called the “little red thingy” or the “red button” was a ThinkPad innovation. As was the VeriFace facial recognition login interface. In fact, the ThinkPad series was the first in the industry to introduce these two technologies. Long before even Dell introduced similar technologies.
It is rare that a PC manufacturer, when acquiring another company or division, keeps the design and principles of what they are acquiring the same. The fact that Lenovo has really stayed true to the ThinkPad image is both impressive and shows great respect to the roots of one of the world’s first and strongest personal computing brands.
It is for these reasons that Tech Squad has worked hard to create a partnership with Lenovo, so we can bring you this near legendary laptop at competitive prices. Next time you need to think about purchasing a new business laptop or computer system, consider Lenovo.
