IBM's first Notebook?

[solidpro]

In my quest to try and collect 'everything' IBM made which was portable, we have this strange curiosity - the IBM On-Line Note - model 5499-002. It's most notable 'claim to fame' is the fact one article from 1989 called this IBM's 'first' notebook computer - as in their first notebook-format computer WITH a battery. There was an earlier portable form factor machine called the 5535M (which was also developed by Ricoh but was completely different, bigger and looked a bit like an evolution of the IBM Convertible) - but that definitely wasn't notebook-sized and it didn't have a battery.



The 5499 is actually is a pretty 'dumb' piece of hardware as it simply has ROM and RAM and no real storage whatsoever (besides what's stored in ROM and volatile RAM) - it is expected to be hooked up to a mainframe such as an AS/400 either via it's 1,200bps modem, it's infra-red port or via it's com port. There were two models of this machine. With the 001 you got 1,200/128k and with the 002 you could 'upgrade' to 2,400bps modem and double the RAM for $1780. It seems its purpose is really like that of a modern day chromebook - where, without network connectivity, it can be fairly useless. Also in the fact it has no real software as everything was provided by the mainframe you were connected to.

The machine was developed externally by Ricoh and it has a mono LCD screen and can display 640 x 400 and the battery could last for up to 3 hours. Needless to say, as far as I know, hardly anyone bought one.

This is the 'upgraded' model with the 2,400bps modem and 256kb of memory - however there are no IC cards in this unit. It's in fabulous condition - I don't think it's ever been used, but when you power it up, it beeps and flashes light and dark. I couldn't get my head around the PSU, which is definitely original. It says it's supposed to output 9.4VDC but actually kicks out exactly 16VDC. But also on the PSU label under the AC input voltages it does say 16VA. Then the base of the notebook itself says 6v! So I took my chances and powered it up for just a few seconds only.

It's a shame the PSU connector is completely unique because otherwise I could easily test it with a pure 6VDC. Not sure what I could do with it even if it did power up....

[RealBlackStuff]

I thought IBM stands for: I Buy Mackintosh?
That would explain...

[solidpro]

I don't get what you mean... are you referring to the colour scheme? Or just how unappealing this machine would be to joe public?

[RealBlackStuff]

Yes, the boring grey (like the early Mac).

[nfraser01]

Nice!

[Gonzaleitor]

That's a nice piece! You must have quite a museum!

[ZaZ]

It certainly looks in great shape/

[solidpro]

One day I hope to have a decent sized space to put all these out and show them off. My house is currently too small. I wish there was more I could do with this though - it's pretty much a paperweight.

[ThinkDan]

It's an odd beast, and IIRC one of the few machines to use the 80186 CPU, which was intended for embedded systems use and didn't usually produce a 100% IBM PC compatible machine. Some 80186 machines ran versions of DOS. I have vague and unpleasant memories of the "not 100% PC compatible" days...

A type of 5499 suggests that it was a cousin of the 55xx types developed in Japan for their domestic market. At a casual glance it looks as if the 9075 PC Radio was its successor in the early 1990's - same sort of 'portable remote terminal' design brief, but with optional cellular comms. Bizarre that such things were still selling until 1993, it must have been targetted at a very specific industrial or government segment! Remember the 750C was released in 1993, as a real colour PC, with optional CDPD modem and/or PCMCIA cards (2400bps modem, or 3270 & 5250 terminal emulation adapters)

[solidpro]

Yeah it was definitely intended only for Japan and it probably was for a specific archaic level of enterprise opertation like government, marine or oil industry or something where every bit of tech has high levels of conformity and so evolves 5-10 years behind everything else.... That's all a wild guess. It was portable, it was early, it was IBM, so I couldn't resist. Probably would now though....

[ThinkDan]

There's one on ebay at the moment, if anyone's feeling flush, 5499-R02 but badged as 'Presage 5499' for a tickle over $2,000... untested



Running the photos through Google translate, the left side ports are floppy, printer, serial, and the recessed dark rectangle looks like optical serial (early IRDA?). Good luck finding an external floppy drive with the right cable for that!



Still not sure what the large gaps under the keyboard are for - labelled A and B. Perhaps programme cardtridges?

[RealBlackStuff]

How about a pen-holder?

[solidpro]

That's a lot of dough for a doorstop. I think I paid about £500 brand new in box, so $2k for a shabby mess is a bit riche.

I think I read somewhere that it did take some kind of ROM cartridge in the side. I don't have any though.

[ThinkDan]

Found some more info on this - try this link in Chrome and translate to English. There is an English version of the page but the Japanese version gives a lot more information. Ironically he had the manuals but not the machine, but decided to summarise the information in the manuals for posterity.

It states that DOS 3.2 was booted from ROM (presumably internal). An internal battery-backed RAM disk of 128KB or 256KB provided basic file storage. The two slots are indeed for ROM or RAM cards - you could get applications on ROM cards, and RAM cards (again battery backed) of up to 512KB for additional storage.

Some clues also for the power supply questions solidpro raised in the original post. The power supply expects 100V AC input, and puts out 9.4V DC. The main battery is rated at 6V 1400mAH, with a secondary 3V 800mAH battery. Reading between the lines, the main battery would be for powering the device, the secondary battery for backup of the onboard RAM disk.

[solidpro]

Bit annoying mine doesn't boot to DOS then, seeing as it should be built into the ROM.... Great heads up on the page - an interesting read. Seems more useful the terminal purpose I originally presumed...

Looking back, I may have done something very regrettable.