They have been called Road Warriors - men and women who regularly undergo out-of-office experiences. They are more than just the person rushing for a taxi at the airport, they are among the swelling ranks of people who cannot be constrained by the traditional office.
People without an office can find it
difficult to do even the simplest of tasks, like making a phone call or sending a fax. Even tougher is writing reports, working
on spreadsheets, and exchanging e-mail. Interacting with a host computer over the
Internet can be yet more vexing. But for those fortunate enough to travel with a
notebook computer - in particular, an IBM ThinkPad® - these hardships are increasingly an experience of the past.
ThinkPads lead the market in innovative mobile solutions. They are used in salesforce automation applications at some of our larger customers, and in creative multimedia projects by independent consultants. Users can watch MPEG CD-ROM movies on the 12.1-inch thin-film transistor screens or can connect to the World Wide Web anywhere in the world - by telephone lines or by wireless modems using any global standard.
Not only the most frequent travelers regard notebook computers as a way to extend their reach in business. The bulk of notebook owners are people who have made the decision to work with just one machine and want the power of a desktop and ability to run mission-critical and networked applications without sacrificing portability.
The cover story of this issue focuses on the technology we will need to deliver to these customers in the future to make mobile computing even more powerful. The video phone, the cordless modem and WebExpress are just a few of the innovations that are already providing greater mobility for more and more users.
Already, digital devices and networks are redefining what is possible at work and for play. Notebook computers, for instance, are increasingly part of the service sector of the workforce. Technicians on the go can bring up diagrams and instructions where the information is needed - on the floor with the copier, under the canopy of an airplane, or on top of a telephone pole. In the future, users will be able to peer beyond the skin of machines and see superimposed diagrams of what's inside and receive visual guidance on how to perform diagnostics and replace parts.
Computers and assistants on batteries are here to stay and will become more prevalent, whether in the form of notebooks or novel digital devices. The capabilities of IBM Research, in collaboration with PC Co. developers, are providing the means for essential differentiation in an increasingly crowded market. The results speak for themselves.
¥ The ThinkPad 560 introduced this spring weighed 40 percent less than any competitor's product with the same screen, storage, and processor.
¥ The latest ThinkPad 760E is posting the highest performance marks in PC Magazine tests and is the only notebook in the world that can accept TV. signals both as input and output - a real boon for scientific and sales applications. And Research technology has
also made it smaller and lighter than our
competition.
¥ The ThinkPad 365 is among the smallest and lightest low-cost notebooks on the market, using IBM heat management technology to avoid fans and hefty heatsinks.
And, of course, every ThinkPad has the famous red dot - the unique TrackPoint pointing device, which we are now licensing to many other firms.
Working together IBM Research, development, marketing, production, sales and service has made ThinkPad the most powerful and convenient way to work anywhere in an interconnected world - a distinction we plan to keep. n
Steve Ward is general manager, mobile computing in the IBM PC Company.
