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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

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. 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.

Models

PS/2 note

Mainstream line with 7-row layout only.

N33 SX

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. 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).

N51 SX

The PS/2 Model N51 SX (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.

N51 SLC

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

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 or 120MB HDD 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.

It was manufactured by Zenith Data Systems.

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.

Accessories

• Communication cartridge
• Communication cartridge II
• External floppy disk drive
• External numpad

Discontinuation

In March 1994, it was reported that IBM would consolidate the PS/note series into the ThinkPad 300 series. In 1994, the ThinkPad 360 series was released.

Timeline

Timeline of the IBM Personal Computer v t e
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. IDG Enterprise. 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.

External links

• Thinkwiki.de - N33SX
• Thinkwiki.de - N45SL
• Thinkwiki.de - N51
• Comparison between PS/Note Model 425 and ThinkPad 350C

• IBM laptops
• Computer-related introductions in 1992