The consensus is that by handing much of its portable computer development over to IBM Japan Ltd, IBM Corp has at last come up with a truly challenging line of notebook computers with its ThinkPad family, and yesterday the company kept up the pressure by adding those four new models originally expected on Tuesday (CI No 2,249) that make up the ThinkPad 750 Series. The line features multimedia support, wireless communications and pen-based computing. The 750 Series weighs about 5 lbs 5 oz and use a 33MHz 80486SL chip, and come with 170Mb or 340Mb disks. There is a multimedia model with high-quality audio, 16-bit stereo audio subsystem and a high-fidelity speaker, plus devices to support microphones, headphones or portable stereo speakers. There is also a multimedia-capable portable docking station, with built-in stereo speakers and expansion for mass storage devices. A pop-up keyboard provides access to units such as a floppy drive that can be removed to reduce travel weight. And from first quarter 1994, users will be able to insert a cellular packetised data PCMCIA card for for wireless telephony, facsimile and electronic mail. One of the machines, the 750P also has a screen that flips to reveal a pen-centric tablet. Compaq Computer Corp is expected to launch a notebook with similar keyboard-plus-pen capability next Monday.
