IBM ThinkPad 701C
The IBM ThinkPad 701C or 701Cs (colloquially known as the butterfly due to its keyboard) are subnotebooks made by IBM in 1995. It is known for including the butterfly keyboard.
 | |
 IBM ThinkPad 701C | |
| Manufacturer | IBM |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 1995 |
BackgroundEdit
Due to delays, it used the Intel 486 instead of the faster Intel Pentium.[1]
SpecificationsEdit
Butterfly keyboardEdit
The TrackWrite, also known as the butterfly keyboard, is a foldout laptop computer keyboard designed by John Karidis for IBM as part of the ThinkPad 701 series, released in 1995.[2] It allowed the 701 series to be both compact (when closed) and comfortable to use (when open), despite being just 24.6 cm (9.7 in) wide with a 26.4 cm (10.4 in) VGA LCD. The 701 was the top selling laptop of 1995;[3] however, as later laptop models featured progressively larger screens, the need for a folding keyboard was eliminated. Consequently, no model but the 701 used the butterfly keyboard.
The butterfly keyboard is split into two roughly triangular pieces that slide as the laptop's lid is opened or closed. As the lid is opened both pieces slide out to the sides, followed by one piece sliding downward. The two halves mesh to form a keyboard 29.2 cm (11.5 in) wide which overhangs the sides of the laptop body. Conversely, as the lid is closed one piece slides back, then both slide inward until the keyboard can be covered by the lid. The movement of the keyboard is driven by a cam on the lid's hinge, so the motions of the keyboard parts are always synchronized with the movement of the lid.
ReceptionEdit
In a 1995 review by InfoWorld the full-sized keyboard, large matrix screen and built-in multimedia features were positively noted. The nonstandard I/O ports were seen negatively.[4] The ThinkPad 701 has received 27 design awards.[1] Domus noted in a 2019 article that: "Even today, this portable PC amazes anyone who sees it open and close, and more than twenty years have gone by.".[5]
The unusual design is being displayed in the design collection of the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan, New York[6] and Die Neue Sammlung.
In popular cultureEdit
The ThinkPad 701 was briefly shown in 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye.[1] It was also featured in Blood Diamond and Mission Impossible.[7]
Further developmentsEdit
In 2003, ZDNet reported that the IBM Design Center was experimenting with new laptop models that included a butterfly keyboard.[8] Business Insider has argued in a 2017 article that Lenovo (who took over the ThinkPad line from IBM) should bring back the butterfly keyboard design.[9]
GalleryEdit
Butterfly opening
Butterfly close-up
Butterfly fully opened
ReferencesEdit
- ^ a b c Naitoh, Arimasa (2017). "Chapter 5: A Butterfly's Day in the Sun". How the ThinkPad changed the world : and is shaping the future. William J. Holstein. New York. ISBN 978-1-5107-2500-3. OCLC 992973085.
- ^ Spooner, John G. (20 July 2001). "Shaping the evolution of the PC". CNET. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2007.
- ^ Light, Larry (19 February 1996). "IBM's Butterfly On A Pin". Businessweek. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2010.
- ^ Capen, Tracey (1995-03-06). "First look: IBM's innovative new ThinkPad unfolds from subnotebook to laptop at your fingertips". InfoWorld. InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. pp. 1, 104. ISSN 0199-6649.CS1 maint: date and year (link)
- ^ Lana, Alessio (28 March 2019). "IBM Thinkpad 701C, the 1995 "butterfly" laptop". domusweb.it. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
- ^ "ThinkPad 701 Portable Computer". Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
- ^ "Starring the Computer - IBM Thinkpad 701". Starring the computer. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
- ^ Kidman, Angus. "Butterfly notebook may spread wings again". ZDNet. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
- ^ Villas-Boas, Antonio. "This 22-year old ThinkPad had an amazing pop-out keyboard that was way ahead of its time". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
External linksEdit
- Craig's IBM Butterfly Page
- The Butterfly (in Japanese)
- "IBM ThinkPad Butterfly, 360 degree model", Russian Vintage Laptop Museum (museum)
- Commercial by IBM