ThinkPad is a line of business-oriented laptop and tablet computers produced since 1992. It was originally designed, created and manufactured by the American International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation. IBM sold its PC business to the Chinese company Lenovo in 2005; since 2007, all ThinkPad models have been manufactured by Lenovo.
The ThinkPad line was first developed at the IBM Yamato Facility in Japan; they have a distinct black, boxy design, which originated in 1990 and is still used in some models. Most models also feature a red-colored trackpoint on the keyboard, which has become an iconic and distinctive design characteristic associated with the ThinkPad line. It has seen significant success in the business market while certain models target students and the education market. ThinkPad laptops have been used in outer space and for many years were the only laptops certified for use on the International Space Station (ISS). ThinkPads have also for several years been one of the preferred laptops used by the United Nations.
History Following the failure of the first laptop computer, the PC Convertible, IBM was the last of the major personal computer manufacturers to enter the fast-growing notebook market, launching the PS/2 Note in 1992. Building on the PS/2 Note, the ThinkPad was developed to compete with Compaq in the United States, whose LTE was the first commercially successful notebook PC; as well as Apple Computer's highly successful PowerBook, and Toshiba in Japan, whose Dynabook series of notebooks were similarly successful. IBM signed a lucrative contract with the Harvard Business School to provide the campus with notebook PCs. The task of creating a notebook was given to the Yamato Facility in Japan, headed by , a Japanese engineer and product designer who had joined IBM in the 1970s, now known as the "Father of ThinkPad".
The name "ThinkPad" was a product of IBM's corporate history and culture. Thomas J. Watson Sr. first introduced "Think" as an IBM slogan in the 1920s. With every minicomputer and mainframe IBM installed (almost all were leased – not sold), a plastic sign with the text "Think" printed on an aluminum plate was placed atop the operator's console.
For decades, IBM had also distributed small notepads with the word "THINK" emblazoned on their cover to customers and employees. The name "ThinkPad" was suggested by IBM employee Denny Wainwright, who had one such notepad in his pocket. The name was opposed by the IBM corporate naming committee as all the names for IBM computers were numeric at that time, but "ThinkPad" was kept due to praise from journalists and the public.
Early models
In April 1992, IBM announced the first ThinkPad models, the 300, 700, and 700C all released on October 5, 1992. The 700T released in 1993 was a tablet computer.
This machine was the first product produced under IBM's new "differentiated product personality" strategy, a collaboration between Richard Sapper and Tom Hardy, head of the corporate IBM Design Program.Sakakibara, K., "IBM ThinkPad 700C Notebook Computer Case", Centre for Design Management – London Business School, 1994. Development of the 700C also involved a close working relationship between Sapper and Kazuhiko Yamazaki, lead notebook designer at IBM's Yamato Design Center in Japan and liaison between Sapper and Yamato engineering.
This 1990–1992 "pre-Internet" collaboration between Italy and Japan was facilitated by a special Sony digital communications system that transmitted high-res images over telephone lines. This system was established in several key global Design Centers by Hardy so IBM designers could visually communicate more effectively and interact directly with Sapper for advice on their projects. For his innovative design management leadership during ThinkPad development, Hardy was named "Innovator of the Year 1992" by PC Magazine.
The first ThinkPad tablet, a PenPoint-based device formally known as the IBM ThinkPad 2521, was positioned as a developer's release. The ThinkPad tablet became available for purchase by the general public, as the 700T, in October of the same year.
IBM marketed the ThinkPad creatively, through methods such as early customer pilot programs, numerous pre-launch announcements, and an extensive loaner program designed to showcase the product's strengths and weaknesses, including loaning a machine to archaeologists excavating the ancient Egyptian city of Leontopolis. The resulting report documented the ThinkPad's excellent performance under difficult conditions; "The ThinkPad is an impressive machine, rugged enough to be used without special care in the worst conditions Egypt has to offer." The positive critical and commercial reception of the ThinkPad played a key part in reversing IBM's fortunes.
The first ThinkPads were very successful, collecting more than 300+ awards for design and quality.
Acquisition by Lenovo
In 2005, Lenovo purchased the IBM personal computer business and the ThinkPad as a flagship brand along with it. Lenovo founder Liu Chuanzhi said, "We benefited in three ways from the IBM acquisition. We got the ThinkPad brand, IBM's more advanced PC manufacturing technology and the company's international resources, such as its global sales channels and operation teams. These three elements have shored up our sales revenue in the past several years."
Although Lenovo received the rights to use the IBM brand name for five years after acquiring IBM's personal computer division, it was only used for three years. By 2012, Lenovo was manufacturing and marketing Think-branded products, while IBM primarily handled servicing and repairs. At that time both IBM and Lenovo played a key role in the design of their "Think" branded products.
Manufacturing In the 1990s and the early 2000s, the majority of IBM ThinkPad computers were manufactured at their own facilities in Mexico, Japan, and Scotland. IBM also assembled ThinkPads in the United States at their Research Triangle Park manufacturing plant in North Carolina, using both US and non-US components, especially for government and enterprise clients. When designed by IBM, some ThinkPads were manufactured by original equipment manufacturers, including Acer of Taiwan for some i Series models such as i 1200.
Prior to the Lenovo acquisition of their PC business in 2005, IBM also has a joint venture facility in Shenzhen, China, with Great Wall Technology, named International Information Products Company (IIPC). The facility produces ThinkPads and other IBM computers for local and global markets.
The majority of ThinkPad computers since the 2005 acquisition of the brand by Lenovo are manufactured in Mexico, Slovakia, India, and China. Lenovo employs ~300 people at a combined manufacturing and distribution center near its American headquarters. Each device made in this facility is labeled with a red-white-and-blue sticker proclaiming "Whitsett, North Carolina."
In 2012, Lenovo produced a short run of special edition anniversary ThinkPads in Yonezawa, Yamagata, Japan, in partnership with NEC, as part of a larger goal to move manufacturing away from China and into Japan.
In 2014, although sales rose 5.6 percent from the previous year, Lenovo lost its position as the top commercial notebook maker. However, the company celebrated a milestone in 2015 with the shipment of the 100 millionth unit of its ThinkPad line.
In 2017, Lenovo launched a ThinkPad model to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the ThinkPad brand. It is based on the T470 and uses a similar keyboard to the 700C.
In 2022, Lenovo launched the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 Special Edition to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the ThinkPad brand.
In 2023, Lenovo launched ThinkPad X1 Carbon 12 edition.
In late 2024, Lenovo launched ThinkPad Carbon 13 Aura which is an upgrade from the previous Carbon 12 edition.
2025 brought with it a new generation of the X1 Carbon, with the X1 Carbon Gen 13. Along with this, Lenovo released the X1 2-in-1 Gen 10, which utilizes a 360-degree hinge which allows the user to turn it into a tablet.
Design
The appearance of the ThinkPad has remained very similar throughout the entire lifetime of the brand. Almost all models are solid black inside and out, with a boxy case design. Some newer Lenovo models incorporate more curved lines. Many ThinkPads utilize magnesium, carbon fiber reinforced plastic, or titanium in their chassis.
The industrial design concept was created in 1990 by Italy-based designer Richard Sapper, a corporate design consultant of IBM and, since 2005, Lenovo. The design was based on the concept of a traditional Japanese bento lunchbox, which revealed its nature only after being opened. According to later interviews with Sapper, he also characterized the simple ThinkPad form to be as elementary as a simple, black cigar box and with similar proportions, with the same observation that it offers a 'surprise' when opened.
Since 1992, the ThinkPad design has been regularly updated, developed, and refined over the years by Sapper and the respective teams at IBM and later Lenovo. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of ThinkPad's introduction, David Hill, who oversaw ThinkPad design from 1995 to 2017, authored and designed a commemorative book about ThinkPad design titled ThinkPad Design: Spirit & Essence.
The following ThinkPads have won design awards: +YearModel(s)AwardsNotes/Specific Awards1993ThinkPad 550BJ, ThinkPad 720C, ThinkPad 320, ThinkPad 220, PS/55 T22SX, ThinkPad 710TJapan Good Design AwardThinkPad 220, PS/55 T22SX and ThinkPad 710T: Gold winners, Japan Good Design Award,1994ThinkPad ポータブル拡張ユニット（スピーカー付), ThinkPad 755C, ThinkPad 755C, ThinkPad 555BJ, ThinkPad 230Cs, ThinkPad 755CDVJapan Good Design Award1995ThinkPad 850, ThinkPad 820, ThinkPad 530CS, ThinkPad 701CJapan Good Design Award1996ThinkPad 701CDie Gute Industrieform IF Top Ten Award1997ThinkPad 560E, ThinkPad 380DJapan Good Design AwardThinkPad 560: Die Gute Industrieform IF Award1998ThinkPad 770E/ED, ThinkPad 600, ThinkPad 560X, ThinkPad 385XDJapan Good Design AwardThinkPad 770, ThinkPad 380: Die Gute Industrieform IF Award1999ThinkPad 390E, ThinkPad i Series Model 1476, ThinkPad 570, ThinkPad 240Japan Good Design AwardThinkPad 600: International Design Excellence Award2001ThinkPad i Series 1800, ThinkPad T22, ThinkPad A21e, ThinkPad A22p, ThinkPad i Series S30, ThinkPad i Series 1620, ThinkPad TransNote, ThinkPad X21Japan Good Design Award IDSAThinkPad 2000 Family: International Design Excellence Award2002ThinkPad R30, ThinkPad T30, ThinkPad A30Japan Good Design Award IDSAThinkPad A30: Gold winner, Japan Good Design Award, International Design Excellence Award2003ThinkPad R40, ThinkPad X30, ThinkPad T40, ThinkPad G40Japan Good Design Award IDSA2004ThinkPad X40, ThinkPad R50Japan Good Design Award2005ThinkPad Z60m, ThinkPad Z60t, ThinkPad x41 TabletJapan Good Design Award2006ThinkPad R60, ThinkPad T60, ThinkPad X60/X60sJapan Good Design Award2007ThinkPad X61/X61s, ThinkPad X61 TabletJapan Good Design Award2008ThinkPad X200T, ThinkPad X200/X200s, ThinkPad W700, ThinkPad X300Japan Good Design AwardThinkPad Long Life Design: Japan Good Design Award2009ThinkPad SL410, ThinkPad T400sJapan Good Design Award2010ThinkPad X201 Tablet, ThinkPad X201/X201s, ThinkPad X100e, ThinkPad EdgeJapan Good Design Award2011ThinkPad X1, ThinkPad X220, ThinkPad X220 Tablet, ThinkPad T420s, ThinkPad T520, ThinkPad Edge, ThinkPad TabletJapan Good Design Award2012ThinkPad T430s, ThinkPad X230, ThinkPad X1 CarbonJapan Good Design AwardThinkPad X1 Carbon: Very Best 100 winner, Japan Good Design Award, Die Gute Industrieform IF Award2013ThinkPad T431sJapan Good Design AwardThinkPad X1 Carbon: Die Gute Industrieform IF Award2014ThinkPad Yoga, ThinkPad X240s, ThinkPad T440s, ThinkPad X1 Carbon, ThinkPad 8Japan Good Design Award Red Dot Design Award