10. Customizing Your ThinkPad Can Make All The Difference

The ThinkPad can be customized with a variety of options, using the Ultrabay 2000 and the new Ultrabay Plus. Using these Ultrabays gives you the ability to customize this two-spindle design. Our Ultrabay 2000 was equipped with a standard floppy drive. It is possible to swap out the floppy drive in the Ultrabay 2000 and exchange it for one of the many other Ultrabay 2000 devices, including the following: LS-240 Superdisk; Iomega Zip 250; CD; DVD; CDRW; and CDRW + DVD.

The Ultrabay Plus on our A31p was equipped with an 8x4x24 CDRW + DVD combo drive. We are puzzled as to why IBM is not yet shipping a 16x10x24 CDRW + DVD combo drive, as you are able to order this through other manufacturers. Perhaps for some the most exciting accessory for the Ultrabay Plus is the new ThinkPad Ultrabay Plus Numeric Keypad. If you don't have a use for the numeric keypad, with the Ultrabay Plus you can also purchase the Workpad C500/Palm 505 Series cradle for the Ultrabay Plus. The Ultrabay Plus is expanding the use of spindle technology on the typical notebook and taking it to the next level.

Here is a picture of the UltraBay Plus with the CDRW/DVD drive removed.

By adding the optional 802.11b wireless and Bluetooth into your A31 series notebook, the A31 series can be expanded. The 802.11b uses the MiniPCI slot under the bottom of the notebook. The Bluetooth, on the other hand, is hard-wired into the notebook.

Here is an up close look at the MiniPCI slot that houses the 802.11b wireless and next to it you can see the Bluetooth solution as well.

Another innovative feature is the addition of the UltraPort connector, which is located at the top of the screen. The UltraPort connector can be used for a variety of devices, including the UltraPort Camera II, the Bluetooth UltraPort module, the UltraPort Flash Reader, UltraPort IDRA, and the UltraPort Array Microphone. IBM did not send us any accessories for the UltraPort, so we can't tell you any more about it other than the devices that are available for it.

The UltraPort connector can be use for a variety of accessories and devices, but we did not have access to any for testing purposes.

With such a large variety of options for changing the configuration of your ThinkPad A31p, it is easy to adapt the unit for almost any user. IBM features a robust line of expansion accessories to allow you to get the most out of your ThinkPad A31 series.