Slabs or Slices

In addition to docking stations and port replicators, some notebooksparticularly the smaller oneshave available media modules. These devices provide additional features such as an optical drive or a second battery. Because they resemble slabs or slices that attach to the bottom of a notebook, they are often referred to by those names.

The advantage of a slab is that it endows a notebook with additional capabilities without greatly limiting its portability. And unlike the case with other docking solutions, the notebook/slab combination is still small enough to fit into a laptop carrying case and be taken wherever the user wants.

An example of a slab-style port replicator is the IBM X3 UltraBase, which costs about $200 and is shown in Figure 14.7. This thin slab or slice provides an ultralight notebook with devices such as a DVD drive without greatly impeding its portability.

Figure 14.7. The IBM X3 UltraBase, an example of a slab-style port replicator, partially attached to an IBM ThinkPad X30 notebook.

Slabs are designed specifically for a particular notebook and are therefore usually expensive. No generic slabs are available.