ThinkPad UltraPort

IBM UltraPort was a nonstandard USB 1.1 port used by IBM on its range of ThinkPad laptop computers.

Description

an IBM A series ThinkPad with UltraPort web camera

Electronically the UltraPort connector is identical to the standard USB port. UltraPort uses a proprietary mechanical connection, so UltraPort devices cannot be plugged into a normal USB interface. However, the UltraPort devices shipped with an adapter which allowed them to be attached to a regular USB port.

Select ThinkPad models from 2000 to 2002 came with an UltraPort connector on the top edge of the laptop's screen, and IBM sold a variety of laptop-relevant UltraPort devices, including webcams,^[1] speakers, and microphone arrays.^[2]

UltraPort was designed in 1999 in response to the proliferation of many laptop computers from Sony, Fujitsu, and others that had built-in cameras, but proprietary predecessor can be found on a released in 1996 ThinkPad 850 laptop.^[3]

See also

• Compaq Evo's Multiport