ThinkPad 500

The IBM ThinkPad 500 is a subnotebook from the ThinkPad series released by IBM in 1993.

Manufacturer	IBM

History

IBM Thinkpad 500 (left) and 510 (right).

The ThinkPad 500 (type 2603^[1]) was announced on 16 June 1993. It was the first subnotebook by IBM,^[2][3] made and registered with the FCC by their then-recent spin-off, Lexmark.^[4]

The next subnotebook by IBM was the IBM ThinkPad 701 series, which John Karidis influenced after using a 500 and feeling the keyboard experience could be improved by making it wider than the screen.

It was announced at the same time as the IBM ThinkPad 350.^[5] The New York Times noted that IBM challenged companies like Zeos, Dell, Zenith Data Systems and Hewlett-Packard who developed computers in the same class as the 500.^[6]

The ThinkPad 500 has a Lexbook counterpart called Lexmark SE10 (codename "Enchilada"). The main difference is that instead of using a TrackPoint, its keyboard has a mouse-key button.

The ThinkPad 500 was the earliest known IBM portable computer to use an IBM Model M6-1 buckling sleeve keyboard assembly, a minor revision of the original Model M6 and descendant of the IBM PS/2 Model L40 SX's Model M3. M6 and M6-1 were used on many early IBM (and all Lexmark) laptops and were even produced for other companies like AST, Apple and Tadpole.^[7]

Specifications

• 50 MHz 486SLC2
• Cirrus Logic WD90C26 Video chipset
• 7.24" Monochrome STN Display with 256-shade graphics and a maximum resolution of 640x480
• 1 x PCMCIA Slot
• 1 x 3.5" External Floppy Drive
• 85 or 170mb Seagate Caviar Hard Drive
• 2.5 hour battery
• 12mb of RAM
• Windows 95 and MS-DOS 6.22
• PC Speaker for Sound
• VGA monitor Out, Parallel/Serial ports
• Came with an external floppy drive included^[5]

Reception

InfoWorld regarded the ThinkPad 500 as a bit too small for comfort.^[8]

PC World awarded the ThinkPad 500 the "Best Buy - #1 Value Mobile PC" in September 1994.^[9]

Successor

In March 1994 the ThinkPad 510 was announced, which contains the 486 DLC by IBM and a 7.7" colour display.^[10]

The ThinkPad 510 looks very similar to the 500, but with notable differences in design being a colour "IBM" logo indicating the use of a colour LCD and that the 500's blue brightness and contrast buttons have been moved to 'hot keys' on the keyboard.