Editor’s note: Dilip Bhatia, vice president and general manager, ThinkPad Business Unit

MORRISVILLE, N.C. - Today, the iconic ThinkPad brand officially turns 20. Wow! What a fantastic journey ThinkPad has been on over the last 20 years. We’ve done our fair share of celebrating over the past couple of months and I’m honored to officially commemorate this milestone today by taking a moment to look back at how far we’ve come and forward to the next 20 years of ThinkPad.

First, I want to thank our customers for helping to make ThinkPad so successful. Nearly every innovative feature, from the spill-proof keyboards to roll cage encased motherboard, to owl wing inspired quiet fans to the airbag like hard drive protection, are all designed to alleviate our customer pain points. And it is no wonder that our customers have rewarded us with the #1 market share in commercial notebooks.

There’s also no question that one of the most paramount elements of the ThinkPad has been its iconic design. Back in August, David Hill, vice president of design kicked off our celebration event at The Museum of Modern Art, which houses the ThinkPad 701c with the famous fold out butterfly keyboard. He also shared some thoughts on the 20th anniversary and design with a blog titled, ‘Booked at the MoMa’. And more broadly, he discussed the importance of classic design with a piece on Co.Design titled “How Do You Manage A Design Classic, When Tastes Change Constantly?” We’re extremely proud and humbled that the simple, black, bento-box inspired design with the iconic red TrackPoint has held strong over the years in an industry that we’ve seen dominated by rapidly changing technologies and trends.

At the event, we took everyone on a stroll through memory lane with a historical product timeline highlighting some of the products released throughout the years. … It’s incredible to see how far we’ve pushed the envelope in terms of size, weight and technology innovations, while staying faithfully true to ThinkPad’s timeless design.

(Visit the Lenovo site to read the full post.)

(C) Lenovo

[LENOVO ARCHIVE: Check out seven years of Lenovo stories as reported in WRAL Tech Wire.]