Lenovo
Founded in 1984, Lenovo has developed into the world’s second largest manufacturer of laptop and desktop computers.
Lenovo
This was helped by the fact that in 2005, it acquired the personal computer division of IBM along with its ThinkPad and ThinkCentre lines of computers. Lenovo has not only maintained the high standards set by IBM in manufacturing these two lines of computers, but has developed own, namely the IdeaPad, which was introduced in 2008. Since then, the company has gone on from strength to strength, adding mobile devices such as tablet computers and mobile phones to their product lines, although as of 2011, the LePhone was designed for the Chinese market.
The Think Pad
In 2005, Lenovo acquired the entire personal computer division of IBM in 2004, and with it, the ThinkPad line of laptop computer.
Lenovo Think Pad
IBM developed the ThinkPad and the first models were introduced in 1992. The first model, the 700c, festured a 25 MHz 486SL processor (remember those?); a 120 MB hard disk drive (the same size HDD that I had on my first PC); the first color TFT display, which was a bout 2.2 x 11.7 inches in size. The machine weighed about 6 and a half pounds, and its prototype was originally designed without a keyboard, much like today’s tablet. The commercial models that went on the market did have keyboards, and the distinctive red TrackPoint, which is a kind of pointer embedded in the keyboard made it possible for the computer to be used on a small tray table (like that on an airplane) without a mouse. The early models set the stage for the success of the line, winning IBM plaudits for their design and reliability.
Design
ThinkPads have been black by tradition, and their cases have been made of magnesium, carbon-reinforced plastic, or titanium. Innovations associated with the ThinkPad include such features as the TrackPoint pointer; the ThinkLight, which is an LED keyboard light at the top of the LCD screen, and the Active Protection SDystem, which is nothing more than a sensing device which detects when a ThinkPad is about to fail and shuts down the hard disk to prevent further damage. The ThinkPads went on to further evolutions, and have garnered awards, including the honor of being the first computer product to win PC World’s Hall of Fame award.
Laptop in Space
NASA purchased quite a few ThinkPad 750 laptops for use in flight qualification, crew training, and software development. And a ThinkPad 750 flew aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour during a repair mission to the Hubble Space Telescope in 1993. And today, the International Space Station is equipped with 68 ThinkPad A31 laptops plus 32 new new Lenovo ThinkPad T61 laptops.
Lenovo IdeaPads
Lenovo announced the IdeaPad laptop computer line in January of 2008. The first models included such features as widescreen, VeriFace facial recognition, framless screens, touch controls and Dolby sound systems.
Lenovo Idea Pad
The IdeaPad delineated a departure from the ThinkPad model, which was designed with business use in mind; the IdeaPad was and is oriented more towards the consumer. The glossy screen replaced the matte screen, and the TrackPoint pointer is nowhere to be found. Notebook Review gave the laptop a positive review, noting that there was a “distinctive Thinkpad feel” to the keyboard and that the “touchpad and touchpad buttons were smooth and responsive.”
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