ThinkPad A31p: New workstation from Big Blue

ThinkPad A31p: New workstation from Big Blue

Zatni Arbi, Columnist, Jakarta, zatni@cbn.net.id

Do you want a notebook that really has it all? Tons of
computing power, an extra large screen, ample storage capacity,
complete connectivity?

Big Blue has done it again. It has made one with all of these
features available. Although Big Blue is not necessarily the
first in implementing the latest and the most advanced notebook
technologies in the industry, it does have a reputation for
making a notebook that also serves as a very powerful
workstation.

And the latest mobile workstation from IBM is certainly not
for those with weak arms and shoulders -- especially those who
are always rushing through airport terminals to catch the
earliest connecting flight. Unlike your compact and lightweight
notebook, the new ThinkPad A31p, at a little less than 4
kilograms, is really heavy and bulky. Just released two months
ago, I was quite lucky to get an early chance to run a quick test
drive on this US$4,200 plus machine -- courtesy of PT IBM
Indonesia.

Workstation

What is a workstation? In the old days, a workstation might
mean a keyboard and a monitor that were attached to a mainframe
computer. In other words, a workstation was a console or a
station where people worked with the computer. In today's
vocabulary, a workstation is normally taken to mean a very
powerful computer that performs very serious tasks -- such as
running mechanical design, simulation or animation applications.

Today's workstation can be a standalone machine, or it can
also be networked because the user may need to access the
Internet or share very large files with other co-workers.
Needless to say, not very many people will require a mobile
workstation.

The size and the weight factors -- not to mention the price --
are not attractive at all to globe trotters. Yet, there are a
bunch of professionals that truly need to have the ability to
work on their projects away from their desk, and they will find
this class of notebook a tremendous help in boosting their
productivity.

Hobbyists may also find mobile workstations a blessing. Think
of the emerging independent moviemaking activities, for example.
With a mobile workstation that has a lot of hard disk space, they
can edit video footage and creatively combine them into award-
winning video clips without having to remain glued to their
desktop workstations.

Users of such a notebook will certainly need a power outlet
where they want to work, though, because a machine with the A31p
configuration, for instance, will consume the battery juice very
quickly. IBM claims that the notebook's battery can last more
than two hours, but you must adjust a couple of things to achieve
it, including dimming the screen.

Just what does IBM ThinkPad A31p have under the hood?

The processor that propels it is a Pentium 4 Mobile running at
the speed of 1.7 GHz. My test system also came with 256 MB of DDR
SDRAM, a 60 GB hard disk, an IEEE 1394 FireWire port on the right
side, a built-in modem, a Fast Ethernet port, both the Bluetooth
and the 802.11b WiFi wireless connections, an infrared port, two
PC Card slots, three multimedia ports, an S-Video port and two
USB ports. The installed operating system is Windows XP Pro.

The screen's real estate is 15 inch, which makes this
workstation so huge compared with mainstream notebooks of today.
The graphics chipset is ATI Mobility FireGL 7800, which is
equipped with 64 MB of DDR RAM. A removable floppy diskette drive
is still there on the left side of the notebook, and on the other
end is a removable DVD/CD-RW combo drive. Despite the obviously
power consuming components, the battery is quite small in size.

There are very few competitors in this category of notebooks,
understandably. One of the latest is perhaps the 1.8 GHz Dell
Inspiron C840. However, IBM distinguishes the A31p by using the
workstation-grade graphics processor from ATI and a hard disk
with a larger capacity.

First impressions

Obviously, the 1.7 GHz processor produces far more computing
power than what we need for creating text document or browsing
the Internet. That is why this expensive machine is not for the
majority of us. But, as the industry goes, we are going to see
notebooks with 2 GHz processors in no time, for sure.

Besides the powerful processor, the large screen is another
strong point of this notebook. IBM fits an LCD panel that it
calls FlexView to the notebook. The screen has excellent contrast
ratio and color saturation. In addition, its viewing angle is
also very good. I can still see the images quite clearly from all
sides of the screen at a wide angle.

The maximum resolution of the screen is 1600 x 1280, which is
usually available only on a 20 inch or larger CRT monitor. At
this level of resolution I simply cannot use the notebook because
the screen items are so small, and my eyes are not very good. I
can adjust the size of the screen items or increase the size of
the screen fonts to Extra Large in Display Properties. However, I
feel most comfortable using the usual 1024 x 768 resolution, and
the graphics subsystem is intelligent enough to fill the entire
screen at this resolution level.

The reviewer before me had installed a 3-D game to test the 3-
D performance of this notebook. It ran very well. The movements
were smooth and the images were realistic. In fact, I almost
failed to meet the deadline for this story because I was immersed
in the game for quite some time. The two speakers under the palm
rest produce pleasant sound. They were good enough to let me
enjoy Itzhak Perlman's Encore.

Because of its extra large size, the full-size keyboard still
has some space on the left that IBM filled with a new row of six
additional buttons for Internet navigation. There is one extra
button for loading the e-mail client program, for example.

The tactile feel of the keyboard is not as pronounced as on
many other ThinkPads, but the keys are large enough. IBM still
has not added the Windows buttons on the keyboard, and I hope
they never will. I always find the Windows button between the
Ctrl and Alt buttons on today's keyboards annoying rather than
useful. IBM has added two navigation buttons -- Backward and
Forward -- in the group of the arrow keys. Pressing the Backward
key, which is located above the left arrow, will make Internet
Explorer jump back to the previous URL.

The bag, in which this notebook came, features a new safety
Velcro strap called SafePort. It prevents the notebook from
accidentally gliding out of the bag and plunging onto the hard
floor -- if you are unlucky -- as you take it out of the bag.

All in all, this notebook gives us what we expect for its
price. But if you are a design engineer working with Catia, a
video editor or a pro that needs a portable powerhouse, this
notebook should be on your list of top candidates.