IBM ThinkPad X30

Though it looks like all the IBM ThinkPads that came before it, the ThinkPad X30 stands out noticeably from the others. It thoughtfully features a docking station, a slew of ways to add battery power, five ways to network, and a nearly full-size keyboard—all in a 3.6-pound system.

The core machine is a deep black titanium composite box housing a 1.2-GHz PIII-M, a 40GB hard drive, a 12.1-inch XGA display, and 18.5-mm key pitch. Add a 2.0-pound UltraBase docking station with a DVD/CD-R in its UltraBay and the X30 weighs 5.2 pounds—half a pound less than the popular IBM ThinkPad T30.

Besides the internal system battery, you can add a 6-hour wedge battery underneath that takes up hardly any space, put a battery into the UltraBay slot, or install a battery on the underside of the UltraBase. Although you can physically attach up to three batteries simultaneously, the X30's electronics work with only two at a time.

The X30 features wired and wireless Ethernet, Bluetooth, infrared, and modem. IBM returned to the parallel port after complaints from people who wanted to hook to non-USB printers. (A serial port is located on the UltraBase only.) The X30 also offers a FireWire port, and, in an innovative twist, adds a CompactFlash slot for quick insertion of cf cards or an IBM Microdrive.

In all, the ThinkPad X30 packs a useful combination of features and innovation into a 3.6 pound package.