Butterfly keyboard

Officially called the TrackWrite keyboard and nicknamed the butterfly keyboard, this keyboard came with the IBM ThinkPad 701C in 1995 and allowed a larger keyboard (11.5") with a small laptop. The picture shows a butterfly keyboard that expands when the laptop lid is opened. As the laptop closes, the keyboard collapses again. Due to poor sales and laptops with larger displays, this keyboard was only found on the IBM ThinkPad 701C and has not been used since.

Below is a YouTube video of the original IBM ThinkPad 701 commercial that aired in 1995 and helps demonstrate the keyboard expanding and collapsing.

Keyboard terms