Ibm To Introduce New Subnotebook

IBM next month will begin selling a small portable computer with a large screen and a unique keyboard that slides to full size when the machine is opened.

The machine, called the ThinkPad 701C, solves two major complaints - tiny screens and cramped keys - about devices known as subnotebook computers.

The product is strategically important to IBM since its PC operation has been mired in difficulties. IBM, which had led the industry in PC sales since the mid1980s, fell behind three other companies last year and, some analysts estimate, lost $1 billion in that business.

“The key now is not so much its specifications, which are impressive, but whether they can deliver in a meaningful enough volume so as not to create demand that is satisfied by someone else,” said Michael Geran, analyst at Pershing & Co.

Subnotebooks are defined as computers that weigh less than four pounds. To reach that size, computer makers previously have shrunk the keys and kept screens tiny.