Was the IBM PC Convertible meant to be a PS/2?
From
MisterArgent@21:1/5 to
All on Thu Aug 3 12:16:12 2023
Got to thinking about this again while charging the sucker to make sure my recell held up. Maybe it's just my overactive imagination, but the machine really feels more like a launch-era PS/2 than any of the previous generation PC line machines, down to
the Richard Sapper design, use of 3.5" drives, and the refdisk-ish system setup diskette.
The model numbering makes it a bit of a odd duck, too. None of the other IBM PCs ever de-incremented the 51XX model number - but assuming it was intended to be a "PS/2 Model 40", it'd fill a pretty conspicuous gap in the 1987 launch lineup (30, 50, 60).
Notably, one of the Model 40 that ultimately was released in 1992 was the L40SX - another laptop!
Only real question mark is the one year release date between the PC Convertible (04/1986) and 30/50/60 (04/1987) - Hard to explain how a laptop's specs somehow got finalized and reached production faster than the ostensible desktop counterparts, but
close enough to suggest some degree of simultaneous development.
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