<s>
The	O
IBM	B-Device
Personal	I-Device
System/2	I-Device
Model	O
L40	B-Device
SX	I-Device
(	O
stylized	O
as	O
PS/2	B-Device
Model	O
L40	B-Device
SX	I-Device
)	O
is	O
a	O
portable	O
computer	O
made	O
by	O
IBM	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PS/2	I-Device
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
the	O
successor	O
to	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
Convertible	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
L40	B-Device
SX	I-Device
was	O
designed	O
and	O
manufactured	O
over	O
the	O
course	O
of	O
thirteen	O
months	O
between	O
1990	O
and	O
1991	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Faced	O
with	O
releasing	O
an	O
obsolete	O
product	O
,	O
should	O
they	O
have	O
followed	O
their	O
normal	O
two-year	O
lead	O
time	O
,	O
IBM	O
hastened	O
development	O
of	O
the	O
L40	B-Device
SX	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
L40	B-Device
SX	I-Device
's	O
case	O
and	O
keyboard	O
assemblies	O
took	O
roughly	O
five	O
months	O
to	O
produce	O
and	O
involved	O
novel	O
methods	O
to	O
achieve	O
this	O
time	O
frame	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
two	O
companies	O
 '	O
electronic	O
exchange	O
of	O
models	O
was	O
novel	O
for	O
the	O
time	O
and	O
accelerated	O
production	O
by	O
eliminating	O
the	O
need	O
for	O
mocking	O
up	O
and	O
prototyping	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Toshiba	O
of	O
Japan	O
provided	O
IBM	O
with	O
the	O
L40	B-Device
SX	I-Device
's	O
liquid-crystal	B-Device
display	I-Device
,	O
which	O
was	O
a	O
10-inch	O
,	O
sidelit	O
,	O
passive-matrix	B-Device
panel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
considered	O
using	O
Toshiba	O
's	O
active-matrix	O
LCD	B-Device
which	O
provided	O
a	O
better	O
response	O
times	O
,	O
wider	O
viewing	O
angles	O
,	O
and	O
no	O
blotching	O
,	O
but	O
these	O
displays	O
drew	O
too	O
much	O
power	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
also	O
teamed	O
with	O
Western	O
Digital	O
of	O
Irvine	O
to	O
design	O
the	O
L40	B-Device
SX	I-Device
's	O
motherboard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Western	O
Digital	O
provided	O
assembly	O
of	O
the	O
L40	B-Device
SX	I-Device
's	O
entire	O
motherboard	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
their	O
7600LP	O
series	O
of	O
video	O
and	O
hard	O
disk	O
drive	O
controller	O
chipsets	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
means	O
for	O
IBM	O
to	O
assemble	O
the	O
motherboard	O
themselves	O
further	O
down	O
the	O
line	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Manufacture	O
of	O
the	O
L40	B-Device
SX	I-Device
was	O
plagued	O
with	O
parts	O
shortages	O
,	O
but	O
IBM	O
were	O
able	O
to	O
produce	O
roughly	O
4,000	O
pre-release	O
units	O
which	O
were	O
sold	O
to	O
select	O
members	O
of	O
the	O
public	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
substantial	O
price	O
raise	O
of	O
the	O
L40	B-Device
SX	I-Device
in	O
March	O
1991	O
drew	O
criticism	O
from	O
potential	O
buyers	O
who	O
had	O
enthusiastically	O
praised	O
it	O
at	O
IBM	O
's	O
last	O
press	O
briefing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
justified	O
this	O
price	O
raise	O
by	O
classifying	O
the	O
L40	B-Device
SX	I-Device
as	O
a	O
desktop	B-Application
replacement	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
L40	B-Device
SX	I-Device
's	O
larger-than-notebook	O
dimensions	O
was	O
advantageous	O
for	O
IBM	O
in	O
both	O
raising	O
its	O
technical	O
capability	O
,	O
fitting	O
its	O
coveted	O
full-sized	O
keyboard	O
,	O
and	O
meeting	O
the	O
expectations	O
of	O
buyers	O
specifically	O
looking	O
for	O
a	O
desktop	B-Application
replacement	I-Application
machine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Potential	O
buyers	O
felt	O
the	O
L40	B-Device
SX	I-Device
's	O
exceptionally	O
comfortable	O
keyboard	O
and	O
low	O
power	O
consumption	O
failed	O
to	O
justify	O
its	O
launch	O
price	O
,	O
however	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
announcement	O
of	O
their	O
price	O
raise	O
for	O
the	O
L40	B-Device
SX	I-Device
,	O
IBM	O
were	O
evaluating	O
demand	O
for	O
a	O
low-priced	O
notebook	O
computer	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
after	O
releasing	O
the	O
PS/55	B-Device
Note	I-Device
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
the	O
L40	B-Device
SX	I-Device
differed	O
from	O
most	O
other	O
laptops	O
in	O
operation	O
by	O
offering	O
a	O
suspend	O
mode	O
,	O
a	O
dynamic	O
CPU	O
clock	O
cycle	O
that	O
slows	O
down	O
when	O
the	O
processor	O
is	O
idle	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
LCDs	B-Device
for	O
status	O
indicators	O
,	O
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
LEDs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
latter	O
two	O
features	O
lower	O
the	O
L40	B-Device
SX	I-Device
's	O
power	O
draw	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
back	O
of	O
the	O
L40	B-Device
SX	I-Device
sports	O
one	O
serial	O
port	O
,	O
one	O
parallel	O
port	O
,	O
an	O
external	O
AT	O
expansion	O
port	O
,	O
a	O
VGA	O
port	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
PS/2	B-Device
mouse	O
port	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Wall	O
Street	O
Journal	O
reported	O
that	O
IBM	O
had	O
received	O
15	O
complaints	O
of	O
a	O
short	B-Application
circuit	I-Application
occurring	O
between	O
the	O
circuitry	O
and	O
a	O
conductive	O
coating	O
inside	O
the	O
case	O
which	O
,	O
in	O
some	O
instances	O
,	O
has	O
melted	O
a	O
small	O
hole	O
in	O
the	O
case	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
year	O
after	O
the	O
announcement	O
of	O
the	O
L40	B-Device
SX	I-Device
,	O
on	O
24	O
March	O
1992	O
,	O
three	O
notebooks	O
and	O
a	O
laptop	O
were	O
announced	O
by	O
IBM	O
:	O
N51SX	B-Device
,	O
N51SCL	O
,	O
N45SL	B-Device
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PS/2	I-Device
Note	I-Device
series	O
and	O
the	O
CL57SX	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
CL57SX	B-Device
was	O
the	O
first	O
laptop	O
from	O
IBM	O
that	O
featured	O
a	O
color	O
TFT	B-Device
display	I-Device
.	O
</s>
