IBM has introduced its first mini-notebook computer in North America, a 2.9-pounds, one" thick model designed for weight-conscious road warriors.

The ThinkPad 240 offers a full-travel keyboard and all standard ports on board, eliminating the need to carry a port expander bar and lowering total carrying weight.

The ThinkPad 240 incorporates a 300 MHz mobile Celeron, 64MB SDRAM that is expandable to 192MB, a 6.4GB upgradeable hard disk drive and 2MB of VRAM with MPEG-1 support. The notebook also provides a 10.4" SVGA display, durable UltraCarbon casing, integrated 56K V.90 modem.

Optional accessories include an extra long-life Li-Ion battery, AC adapter, DC-auto adapter, SDRAM upgrades, CD-ROM drives in stereo or mono, EtherJet CardBus adapter and Token Ring PC Cards.

The IBM ThinkPad 240 base system is priced at $1,999.

Additional details are available at http://www.ibm.com .