[Thinkpad] Carrying cases for Ultrabay 2000 optical drives

Hello,

I purchased CD-RW/DVD Combo IV Ultrabay 2000 Drive (22P6991) a few
months ago.
The optical drive itself is working fine. But the carrying case attached to the
drive is not.
Because the shape of the case is a bit roundish rather than square, it
cannot hold the
drive firmly. Surface of the case is waving because stitching is rough and
not straight.

I compared that case with the one attached to Ultrabay 2000 DVD-ROM
drive which
I purchased a few years ago in Japan to find that the materials are also
completely
different. FYI, I posted the photos of these two carrying cases in the
following URL's.
http://members.rogers.com/bubuko.takahashi/bbs/case_1.jpg
http://members.rogers.com/bubuko.takahashi/bbs/case_2.jpg
http://members.rogers.com/bubuko.takahashi/bbs/case_3.jpg

Left: Carrying case for Ultrabay 2000 drive purchased in Japan (Made in
Indonesia)
Right: Carrying case for Ultrabay 2000 drive purchased in Canada (Made in
Mexico)

Initially I thought that IBM recently downgraded a quality of carrying cases
to cut cost.
However, I soon leaned form some ThinkPad users in Japan that they are
still getting
the same quality of carrying cases as before.

According IBM Canada,
1. As long as a carrying case is functioning (i.e. protecting optical drive), it
is deemed
   to be OK and not covered by manufacturer's warranty.
2. They are not necessarily guaranteeing the same quality for options with
the same
   P/N globally. It sometimes differ by the parts suppliers. Primary
responsibilities and
   judgment for quality issues are taken by IBM's each operating unit.

If they are right, you'd better to purchase ThinkPad options in a country
where you
can possibly get the best quality. I believe that it's IBM's responsibility to
maintain
their product quality at the similar level, if not identical.

I didn't want to argue about this small issue with IBM, but I had a sort of
question
mark with their policies. What do you think of this?

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Received on Wed Sep 17 21:28:06 2003