Slabs or Slices

In addition to docking stations and port replicators, some notebooks ”particularly the smaller ones ”have 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.