ThinkPad i Series


The ThinkPad i Series is a group of IBM ThinkPad laptop computers that were manufactered from 1998 to 2002. These machines were an effort to address the desire for a personal entertainment device and small business users. They were designed and priced to be both for productivity and play. IBM desired to gain ground in the consumer market and created the i Series as an answer to their competitors.
While designed by IBM, several models of the i Series were manufactured by Acer on an OEM basis.
Several alternate names were considered for this series including "X Pad", "X Series", "TrekPad", and "Aptiva Note Personal Series." i Series was chosen with the "i" standing for individuals.

Characteristics

who was the head of design for IBM Personal Systems Group led the design of the i Series. The design was informed by six research studies of the consumer mobile market.
The i Series team collaborated with Altec Lansing to design the speaker system to fit into the thinner chassis. The initial design was loosely based on the ThinkPad 600 with consumer features such as speakers mounted next to the display and front mounted optical drive controls.
The red, green, blue and yellow ShortCut Keys were an effort to make the traditional corporate design feel more personal.
The i Series introduced several items to the ThinkPad lineup including the ThinkLight. Several models featured CD/DVD playback capability and a 14.1" screen. The i Series was the first ThinkPads to feature wireless communications technology and the first notebook computer with an integrated antenna with a 802.11b WiFi radio.

Reception

The ThinkPad i Series was generally well received. Reviewers would often note that the performance was not as good as more top of the line systems. The lightweight nature of the i Series was favoured by reviewers including photographers. Customers also appreciated how thin the device was built. One of the common complaints was the lack of port replicator support.
In 2004, IBM instigated a voluntary recall on 553,000 AC adapters, primarily bundled with i Series machines. These faulty units are labelled with the part number 02K6549. These are known to cause damage to internal componets.

Models

The i Series S30 and S31 were unique ThinkPads that featured an optional piano black acryllic painted lid that IBM called "Mirage Black." The S30 was a successor to the i 1124 hence why it was originally included as part of the i Series. The S31 was sold in the Asia Pacific market with the S30 exclusive to Japan. Production ran from June 2001 to March 2002.
For a complete list of models, see the list below. Models in brackets were rebranded low-cost versions of other models. Several models were available only in specific regions.
ModelCPURAMDisplayDiskSale periodNotes/
i 1124
Celeron 500MHz or Pentium III 500MHz64MB10.4" TFT XGA20GBJune 1999 to February 2001
i 1157 Celeron 500 MHz64 / 256 MB12.1" TFT SVGA
13.3" TFT XGA		6/12GBJune 1999 to February 2001
i 1200iSeries 1200-x1U
Celeron 550 or 600MHz with 100MHz bus		32/64MB
192MB Max		12.1" HPA SVGA
12.1" TFT SVGA
13.3" TFT XGA		5/10GBSeptember 2000 to November 2001
i 1200iSeries 1200-x2U
Celeron 600MHz with 100MHz Frontside Bus or Pentium III 700MHz with 100MHz Frontside Bus		64/192MB12.1" TFT SVGA
13.3" TFT XGA		10/20GBSeptember 2000 to November 2001
i 1200iSeries 1200-x3U
Celeron 700MHz with 100MHz Front Side Bus		64/192MB13.3" TFT XGA10GBSeptember 2000 to November 2001
i 1210Celeron 500 or 550MHz with 100MHz bus32MB12.1" HPA SVGA6.0GBSeptember 2000 to November 2001
i 1230Celeron 500 or 550MHz with 100MHz bus64MB13.0" HPA SVGA6.0GBSeptember 2000 to November 2001
i 1250Celeron 500 or 550MHz with 100MHz bus64MB12.1" TFT SVGA6.0GBSeptember 2000 to November 2001
i 1260Celeron 500 or 550MHz with 100MHz bus64MB13.3" TFT XGA6.0GBSeptember 2000 to November 2001
i 1300 1300-x1U
Celeron 550 or 600MHz with 100MHz bus or Pentium III 650MHz with 100MHz bus		64MB standard / 192MB maximum12.1" HPA SVGA
12.1" TFT SVGA
13.1" TFT XGA		5/10/20GBJuly 2000 to November 2001
i 1330Celeron 500 or 550MHz with 100MHz bus64MB standard /
192MB maximum		12.1" TFT SVGA6.0GBJuly 2000 to November 2001
i 1370Celeron 500 or 550MHz with 100MHz bus64MB standard /
192MB maximum		13.3" TFT XGA12.0GBJuly 2000 to November 2001-
i 1410Pentium MMX 266MHz / 66MHz system bus32MB / 256MB12.1 " TFT SVGA3.2GBNovember 1998 to October 2000
i 1411Pentium MMX 300MHz / 66MHz system bus32MB / 256MB12.1" TFT SVGA4.3GBNovember 1998 to October 2000
i 1412Celeron 366MHz or Mobile Pentium II 366MHz / 66MHz system bus32MB / 256MB12.1" TFT SVGA4.8GBNovember 1998 to October 2000
i 1420Celeron 433 or 466MHz / 66MHz system bus32MB / 256MB13.0" HPA SVGA4.8GBNovember 1998 to October 2000
i 1421Celeron 466MHz / 66MHz system bus32MB / 256MB13.0" HPA SVGA6.0GBNovember 1998 to October 2000
i 1422Celeron 500MHz or Mobile Pentium III 500MHz / 100MHz system bus32MB / 256MB12.1" TFT SVGA
14.1" TFT XGA		6.0GBNovember 1998 to October 2000
i 1441Celeron 466MHz / 66MHz system bus64MB / 256 MB12.0" TFT SVGA6.0GBNovember 1998 to October 2000
i 1442Celeron 500MHz or Mobile Pentium III 500MHz / 100MHz system bus64MB / 256 MB12.1" TFT SVGA
14.1" TFT XGA		6.0GBNovember 1998 to October 2000
i 1450Pentium MMX 266MHz / 66MHz system bus64MB / 256 MB13.3" TFT XGA4.3GBNovember 1998 to October 2000
i 1451Pentium MMX 300MHz / 66MHz system bus64MB / 256 MB13.3" TFT XGA4.3GBNovember 1998 to October 2000
i 1452Celeron 366MHz or Mobile Pentium II 366MHz / 66MHz system bus64MB / 256 MB12.1" TFT SVGA
14.1" TFT XGA		4.8GBNovember 1998 to October 2000
i 1460Celeron 433 or 466MHz / 66MHz system bus64MB / 256 MB13.0" HPA SVGA
14.1" TFT XGA		4.8GBNovember 1998 to October 2000
i 1472Celeron 366MHz or Mobile Pentium II 366MHz / 66MHz system bus64MB / 256 MB14.1" TFT XGA6.4GBNovember 1998 to October 2000
i 1480Celeron 433 or 466MHz / 66MHz system bus64MB / 256 MB14.1" TFT XGA6.4GBNovember 1998 to October 2000
i 1482Celeron 500MHz or Mobile Pentium III 500MHz / 100MHz system bus64MB / 256 MB12.1" TFT SVGA
14.1" TFT XGA
13.0" HPA SVGA
15.0" TFT XGA		12.0GBNovember 1998 to October 2000
i 1483Celeron 500MHz or Mobile Pentium III 500MHz / 100MHz system bus64MB / 256 MB14.1" TFT XGA
13.0" HPA SVGA
15.0" TFT XGA		12.0GBNovember 1998 to October 2000
i 1492Celeron 500MHz or Mobile Pentium III 500MHz / 100MHz system bus64MB / 256 MB14.1" TFT XGA
13.0" HPA SVGA
15.0" TFT XGA		12.0GBNovember 1998 to October 2000
i 1512Celeron 366MHz / 66MHz system bus64MB / 256 MB12.1" TFT SVGA4.8GBJuly 1999 to April 2002
i 1540Celeron 433 or 466MHz / 66MHz system bus64MB / 256 MB12.1" TFT SVGA4.8GBJuly 1999 to April 2002
i 1541Celeron 433 or 466MHz / 66MHz system bus64MB / 256 MB12.1" TFT SVGA6.0GBJuly 1999 to April 2002
i 1542Celeron 500MHz or Mobile Pentium III 500MHz / 100MHz system bus64MB / 256 MB12.1" TFT SVGA12.0GBJuly 1999 to April 2002
i 1552Celeron 366MHz / 66MHz system bus64MB / 256 MB14.1" TFT XGA4.8GBJuly 1999 to April 2002
i 1560Celeron 433 or 466MHz / 66MHz system bus64MB / 256 MB14.1" TFT XGA6.4GBJuly 1999 to April 2002
i 1562Celeron 500MHz or Mobile Pentium III 500MHz / 100MHz system bus64MB / 256 MB14.1" TFT XGA12.0GBJuly 1999 to April 2002
i 1592Celeron 500MHz or Mobile Pentium III 500MHz / 100MHz system bus64MB / 256 MB15.0" TFT XGA12.0GBJuly 1999 to April 2002
i 1620 Celeron 500 MHz or Pentium III 600 MHz64MB / 256 MB12.1" TFT SVGA20.0GBMay 2001
i 1720 Pentium II 266MHz / 66MHz system bus64MB / 256 MB13.3" TFT XGA4.3GBJanuary 1999 to April 2002
i 1721 Pentium II 300MHz64MB / 256MB14.1" TFT XGA5.4GBJanuary 1999 to April 2002
i 1780Celeron 400 MHz or Pentium II 400 MHz or Pentium III 450 or 500 MHz64MB / 256MB12.1" TFT SVGA
14.1" TFT XGA
15.0" TFT XGA		4.8/6.4/12GBJanuary 1999 to April 2002
i 1781Celeron 400 MHz, Pentium II 400 MHz or Pentium III 450 or 500 MHz64MB / 256MB12.1" TFT SVGA
14.1" TFT XGA
15.0" TFT XGA		4.8/6.4/12GBJanuary 1999 to April 2002
i 1800 Celeron 600 Mhz or 700Mhz64MB / 256MB14.1" TFT XGA10/20GBOctober 2000 to July 2001
i 1800 Celeron 750MHz or Pentium III Mobile 750Mhz64MB / 256MB14.1" TFT XGA10/20/30GBJune 2001 to April 2002