ThinkPad TransNote

IBM ThinkPad TransNote
IBM ThinkPad TransNote
ManufacturerIBM
Product family
ThinkPad
Type2-in-1 PC, Graphics tablet
ReleasedFebruary 28, 2001; 25 years ago (2001-02-28)
DiscontinuedOctober 28, 2003; 22 years ago (2003-10-28)
CPUMobile Intel Pentium III (Coppermine) @ 600 MHz
Memory64-320 MB PC100 SDRAM
Storage10 or 20 GB HDD
CompactFlash
Display10.4" SVGA TFT Touchscreen
GraphicsATI Rage Mobility M
Made in

The ThinkPad TransNote is a notebook computer by IBM that was launched in February 2001.

Design

The TransNote was an internal collaboration between IBM's Research and Personal Computing Division (PCD). Randy Moulic, manager of client systems at IBM, merged the pen technologies group and mobile PC platform group to work on the prototype. John Karidis was responsible for the mechanical design of the TransNote. Kardis and Ronald Smith developed the system that allows the TransNote to fold on top of itself to reduce the footprint of the device.

The TransNote was created to combine the CrossPad which IBM developed in collaboration with A.T. Cross and a laptop computer, specifically the ThinkPad. IBM was targeting two groups with the development of the TransNote: note-takers and graphic-intensive users.

The TransNote received several patents for its design and features.


Features

The TransNote consists of a leather-type folio case which contains a computer on one side and a notebook of paper on the other side.

The technology of CrossPad would transform as the ThinkScribe on the TransNote. The ThinkScribe pad had 2 megabytes (2MB) of internal memory to record notes that could be stored and then transferred to the computer component. The notes were able to be converted to JPEG, TIFF or PDF.

The hardware relies on the use of the software package: InkManagerPro which was developed for the TransNote.

Specifications

The TransNote comes equipped with:

Folded TransNote with opened cover

The battery pack uses flat Samsung 103450 cells.

Reception

Computerworld called it a "failed design" because it tried to blend a large 3M digitized pad with a tiny under-powered laptop in the same product. PCQuest viewed it as an attractive choice for people who travel a lot. TechRepublic called it one of the 25 "unique and bizarre breakthroughs" in laptop innovation.

Awards

The TransNote won a Gold iF Product Design Award in 2002 in the product discipline. The TransNote was the winner in the PC category of the PC Magazine Awards for Technical Excellence in 2001. It also won an IDSA IDEA Award in 2001.

Academia

The TransNote was utilized in a handwriting study that examined the writing speed and "wrinkliness" as it related to forged handwriting.

Further developments

IBM announced the discontinuation of the TransNote in February 2002, intending to discontinue it at the end of the year. John Karidis noted that IBM learned a lot about the tablet PC market and the kinds of customers that use these devices.

References

  1. ↑ "Announcement Letter 101-039, IBM ThinkPad TransNote Portfolio Notebook Redefines Mobile Computing" (PDF) (Press release). IBM. February 20, 2001.
  2. ↑ "Announcement Letter 903-189, Hardware withdrawal: Selected IBM ThinkPad notebook computers - Replacements available" (PDF) (Press release). IBM. September 30, 2003.
  3. ↑ Schofield, Jack (January 18, 2001). "Putting pen to PC". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  4. ↑ Sherriff, Lucy (February 21, 2001). "IBM handwriting notebook gets an outing". The Register.
  5. 1 2 Chase, Victor. "IBM Think Research | TransNote: a new product for IBM, a new experience for Research". research.ibm.com. Archived from the original on June 6, 2001. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Who is engineering's greatest hero?". www.designnews.com. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  7. ↑ Spooner, John (July 20, 2001). "Shaping the evolution of the PC". CNET. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  8. 1 2 US6307741B1, Karidis, John P. & Smith, Ronald Alan, "System and method for improving the physical management of a portfolio computer and reducing the footprint thereof during operation", issued October 23, 2001
  9. 1 2 Cullen, Chervi Dangel; Haller, Lynn, eds. (2006), Design secrets: Products. 2: 50 real-life projects uncovered, Gloucester, Mass: Rockport Publishing, pp. 70–73, ISBN 978-1-59253-292-6
  10. ↑ US20020041290A1, Lekuch, Scott; Inoue, Ken & Dumarot, Dan et al., "Extending the GUI desktop/paper metaphor to incorporate physical paper input", issued April 11, 2002
  11. ↑ US20020040817A1, Lekuch, Scott; Inoue, Ken & Dumarot, Dan et al., "Data steering flip pen system", issued April 11, 2002
  12. ↑ US20020042888A1, Lekuch, Scott; Inoue, Ken & Dumarot, Dan et al., "Digitizer companion subsystem to extend PC battery life", issued April 11, 2002
  13. 1 2 "Pen Computing Magazine: IBM ThinkPad TransNote". Pen Computing Magazine. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  14. ↑ Wagstaff, Jeremy. "IBM's TransNote Lets Users Doodle Without Much Fuss". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Pen Computing Magazine: IBM ThinkPad TransNote". www.pencomputing.com. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Category:TransNote - ThinkWiki". www.thinkwiki.org. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  17. ↑ "ThinkPad TransNote | WIRED". WIRED. December 21, 2016. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Fail Of The Week: Battery Packin'". Hackaday. September 25, 2014. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  19. ↑ Enderle, Rob (May 20, 2019). "Lenovo Accelerate: The coming disruptive evolution/evolution of the laptop". Computerworld. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  20. ↑ Rajguru, Sunil (July 11, 2001). "IBM ThinkPad TransNote: Notebook-cum-digital Notepad". PCQuest. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  21. ↑ Forrest, Conner (April 14, 2016). "Laptop innovation: A history of unique and bizarre breakthroughs". TechRepublic. p. 23. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  22. ↑ "IBM ThinkPad TransNote". iF WORLD DESIGN GUIDE. Archived from the original on April 18, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  23. ↑ "The Eighteenth Annual Awards for Technical Excellence". PC Magazine. p. 95 – via Google Books.
  24. ↑ "IBM TransNote". Industrial Designers Society of America. 2001. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  25. ↑ Chen, Hung-Chun; Cha, Sung-Hyuk; Chee, Yi-Min; Tappert, Charles (January 2003). "The detection of forged handwriting using a fractal number estimate of wrinkliness". ResearchGate – via ResearchGate.
  26. ↑ Spooner, John G. "IBM erases pen-based notebook". ZDNet. Retrieved April 18, 2021.