IBM Thinkpad 310 background?

[solidpro]

Hi

I just got hold of a 310 in pretty good condition. Seems original and complete. Going to defrag it, remove the main battery and then clean and store away. I was fortunate as well for it to be a TFT model, rather than DSTN.

I noticed lots of small details which tells me this isn't a 'proper' thinkpad. BIOS is not IBM, the keyboard is not quite up to standard, along with the mouse buttons. The power switch is in an unsual space. I can't find much online which describes where and why this machine came about.... I'm fairly certain it isn't actually made by IBM but it's hiding it pretty well. Any ideas?

Thanks

Alex