<p>The ThinkPad laptop - now owned by Lenovo - has taken on iconic status in its two decades of existence, becoming an office mainstay for businesses all over the world. The ThinkPad journey (pictured below; click to enlarge) started at IBM in 1992, when David Hill and his team designed the simple, rectangular black box with that trademark bright red TrackPoint sitting in the middle of the keyboard. It stayed under the watchful eye of IBM until 2005, when Lenovo purchased the firm's personal computer business and the ThinkPad brand with it.</p><p>Hill, who followed his baby over and is now Vice President of Lenovo Corporate Identity and Design, revealed in 2006 that the ThinkPad's form was inspired by the Bento box; the recognisable straight-edged containers used to serve lunch in Japan, typically at takeaway joints."The concept of a thin black box was, and continues to be perfect for a notebook PC and I am proud we've been able to keep the initial concept at the core of the ThinkPad's design from its introduction in the early '90s until today," said Hill in a blog at the time. "Can you think of any product whose package concept hasn't changed in more than 20 years? While some very niche products may have remained constant; in our industry we change components and technologies almost twice a year, but the fundamental design concept at the heart of the ThinkPad has always remained the same."</p><p>There have nevertheless been some subtle adaptions made to the line over the years, as laptop firsts such as the integration of CD-ROM in 1994, fingerprint readers in 2004 and built-in wireless WAN in 2006 were introduced. Scroll down to see the full design timeline and feel free to raise a glass to sound laptop functionality as we mark the ThinkPad's 20th anniversary.1992</p><p>The ThinkPad was first introduced to the tech world in 1992 at the now-expired Comdex trade show in Las Vegas. It came in three series allegedly analogous to the BMW car range, with each line indicating its market segment. The ThinkPad 300 was the budget model, the 500 midrange, and the 700 high-end.1993</p><p><a href="http://www.itproportal.com/2012/10/05/from-ibm-to-lenovo-the-thinkpad-through-the-ages/">Keep reading...</a></p><p>Read also:</p><p><a href="http://www.reghardware.com/2012/10/05/ibm_lenovo_thinkpad_laptop_turns_20/">Happy 20th Birthday, IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad</a> (Reg Hardware)</p><p>Explore: <a href="http://news.google.com/news/more?ncl=d8dplQSUpDJO9oMcCqxdsJyM-kwRM&ned=us">2 additional articles.</a></p>