ThinkPad A31 Laptop Sports A Slow ProcessorThe IBM ThinkPad a31 laptop did not achieve the same level of success that its predecessors did in the notebook market. This was surprising to many people because the ThinkPad a31 laptop had some very nice features that were not a part of many of the earlier models. However, it might be argued that its drawbacks simply outweighed its benefits. The lack of popularity with this model may also be the reason it is somewhat difficult to find one today. You can, of course, find them pre-owned and being sold by individuals in places like eBay or Craigslist, but they are not many available online through computer outlets. Some of the features and the drawbacks that the ThinkPad a31 laptop brought to the market at the time of its release include: The 1.8-GHz P4-M processor is slow; in some cases much slower than what you will get with other models. However, the performance of the processor was good. The ThinkPad a31 laptop was considered one of the more attractive models in the looks department. This model contains Ultra bays, one on each side. These bays can host different add-ons-like an extra numeric keypad, an optical drive, or a charger for a Palm. These were some of the new features that really caught the interest of the consumers at the time. On the communication side, the ThinkPad a31 laptop has built-in 802.11b wireless capability. On the down side, the model lacks a FireWire port, which is standard on other systems. The other benefit that the model offered consumers was price. It was certainly less than many of the other models that were being sold during that time. This made it a good choice for users who wanted portability without the big price tag. ThinkPad a31 specs include some multimedia capability. In the music department, the RecordNow, which is similar to Roxio Easy CD Creator 5 and Nero Burning ROM, allows users to create audio CD's from MP3's, WMA files, and other audio CD's. It should be noted, however, that this application does not allow for audio ripping; for that you can use the Windows Media Player to rip CD's to WMA. The basic model does not come with any photo editing applications but most users went with MS Paint at the time which is still available online. As mentioned above, one of the major benefits to the ThinkPad a31 laptop was its Ultra bays. The bays really do make it a snap to add another floppy drive, hard drive, numeric pad, or optical drive. There is also a mini-PCI access panel which will hold a wireless LAN card. For many consumers, this easy upgradeability is a key benefit to the ThinkPad a31 laptop. |