ThinkPad 240
| Industry | Computer hardware |
|---|---|
| Founded | June 16, 1911 in Endicott, New York, United States |
| Headquarters | Armonk, New York , United States |
| Products | ThinkPad 240 |
IBM ThinkPad 240 represents a highly compact laptop manufactured by IBM between June 1999 and 2001. As one of the limited ThinkPad 200 series units marketed in the United States, it held the distinction of being the most lightweight and smallest ThinkPad during that period. The 240 lineup was phased out and succeeded by the ThinkPad X series in 2000, along with the discontinuation of the 570 series.
Features
The initial versions of the 240 were equipped with a 300 MHz Mobile Celeron CPU, 64 MB of RAM (expandable up to 320 MB), and featured one of the earliest Mini PCI card slots. Due to its compact design, internal optical or floppy drives were omitted; instead, external drives could be connected through USB 1.0 or IBM’s dedicated external floppy drive interface. Storage came in options of either a standard 6 GB hard disk or an optional 12 GB upgrade.
Each model included a 10.4" TFT screen powered by NeoMagic MagicGraph128XD graphics with an initial allocation of 2 MB video memory. The built-in display supported SVGA resolution (800x600), while external monitors could utilize XGA output. Standard features included audio controllers and VGA ports for connecting external displays.
The later 240Z model introduced a revamped chassis design that incorporated a thicker palmrest area.
Models
| 240 | 240X | 240Z | i-Series 1124 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | Mobile Celeron at 300, 366, or 400 MHz | Mobile Celeron at 450 MHz or Pentium III at 500 MHz | Mobile Celeron at 500 MHz or Pentium III at 600 MHz | Mobile Celeron at 450 or 500 MHz, or Pentium III at 500 MHz |
| Memory | 96MB base, expandable to a maximum of 320MB SDRAM SODIMM (PC-66) | 64 MB or 128 MB soldered plus additional SDRAM SODIMM modules of 32MB, 64MB, or 128MB (PC-100) | ||
| Graphics | NeoMagic MagicGraph128XD with 2MB VRAM | SMI LynxEM+ with 2MB VRAM | SMI LynxEM+ with 2MB (SVGA) or SMI LynxEM4+ SM712 with 4MB (XGA) | |
| Display | Hitachi TX26D31VC1CAA, a 10.4" TFT panel supporting SVGA resolution (800x600) with up to 24-bit color depth |
Hitachi TX26D32VC1CAA, also a 10.4" TFT with SVGA resolution and maximum 24-bit color depth|| colspan="2" align="center" |Hitachi TX26D32VC1CAA (10.4", SVGA) or Hitachi TX26D20VC1CAA (10.4", XGA at 1024x768), both supporting up to 24-bit color depth depending on VRAM | ||
| Hard Drive Capacity | 6GB standard or optional upgrade to 12GB | 12GB | Available in either 10GB or 20GB configurations | |
| Operating System | Microsoft Windows 98 or NT 4.0 | Windows 98 SE or Windows 2000 | ||
Reception
In December of 1999, Joseph Leung from the South China Morning Post commended the ThinkPad 240 for its exceptional portability and compact size but highlighted drawbacks such as limited battery endurance and the inclusion of only one Type II PC Card slot. Peter H. Lewis writing for The New York Times characterized it as a specialized device tailored primarily for frequent travelers.
Transmeta Crusoe
During the PC Expo held in New York in June 2000, IBM presented a ThinkPad 240 model featuring a Transmeta Crusoe processor.[1][2] Nevertheless, by November of the same year, IBM declared that it would not proceed with integrating the Transmeta CPU into the ThinkPad 240 lineup.[3] Reports indicate that this choice was likely influenced by pressure exerted by Intel.[4]
- ↑ staff, ITworld (2001-01-18). "IBM postpones Crusoe laptop".
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|url=(help) - ↑ "IBM takes close look at Transmeta processor with ThinkPad demo".
- ↑ "IBM spurns Transmeta - Nov. 1, 2000".
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|url=(help) - ↑ Lettice, John. "Intel claimed to have squeezed IBM to dump Transmeta".
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