CF-53 Ridges on Palm Rest

I've noticed while shopping for CF-53s that some of them have ridges on the palm rest like this:

Whereas others have a smooth palmrest like this:


Does anyone know the significance of this? The smooth ones seem to be more common.

 

I will assume simply different model numbers

 

Well my CF-53A MK1 has ridges. I wonder if the ones with touch screens are smooth? ?

 

I have a mk2 touchscreen model I use for parts and it has ridges. So does my mk1 non touch. So touchscreen is not it.

That smooth palmrest looks like a sticker to me.

 

I looked on ebay at MK1 to MK4 and all had ridges.

 

Where are those smooth palmrest units at?
Link?

Maybe that is a generic photo of a pre release model.

 

The Ruffles models have ridges.

I say that is a sticker that a seller puts on to cover scratches etc.

 

yeppers ... shawn , ya stole my line ! well , at least ya beat me to it .
ruffles ? as in a "dust ruffle" ? somehow i don't think that to be very "utilitarian" .

"crinkle finish" when i was a kid (think around 1963) those wrinkle finishes were more popular than today .
from appliances to electronic gear (collins A1/2/3/4) .
there were some paints that had a great deal of wrinkle to them ... looked like small worms under the paint .
then there were the "hammertone" finishes .

however , yeah ... it looks sort of like "contact paper" (actually vinyl) .
i suppose one could smooth out the plastic and paint it ... but it would take a lot of bondo work .
perhaps *someone* applied many coats of paint ?
when i run the file through photoslop and magnify , i can still see a bit of the worm-track pattern in certain areas .
the front edge of the left handle shows this effect .
the left button shows signs of what typically happens when most paints come into contact with "skin oils and finger goo" .
the speaker vents/slots/holes appear to be a bit "clogged" , just what one would expect with paint build-up .

 

Potato chips...Ruffles have ridges
I noticed the edges around the trackpad. It appears to have some white bits of adhesive showing.

 

Yepper,once I increase the photo size the sticker is easy to see,good catch.

 

JULA and AA both have ridges presumably for strength. Pana is able to use thinner material.

Ruffles have ridges to keep them from breaking when scooping cream cheese off of the block. Whereas Salt and Pepper chips are thicker with no ridges.

I had several Toughbooks with broken palm rests. Ex-police or something. I believe they broke from being used as a push off point when exiting the vehicle. Speculation.

 

@ OP ...
does that stuff feel a bit like rubber ?
it might be an elastomer coating that was offered (by someone) .
several models of the lenovo/ibm *thinkpads* had an elastometric finish ...
i like that type of finish , it is easy to get a secure grip on the laptop .

 

Wow, great detective work everyone! It definitely is some type of sticker. Here is the auction: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Works-good-...835759?hash=item1a197df8af:g:CkMAAOSwqfNXj4ns

and the same seller has a second one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Works-great...206331?hash=item1a19a224bb:g:fZUAAOSwtnpXkPNq

Looks like a quick fix for broken palm rests. Certainly very creative.

 

That second one is ragged,I always look at the bottom before I buy as it really shows the condition.Notice no bottom photo.

 

I know the mods will delete this, but.

 

hmmm ... does that apply to *other* things as well ?
i mean i bought a '68 t-bird that i wished i had looked over a bit closer .