Computer Stores

Notebook Computer

Notebook computer or more usually known as a laptop is a small personal computer that is mobile with a weight ranging from one to three kilograms depending upon the material, size and several other factors. The term notebook computer was introduced in 1989 and was basically used for differentiating the smaller computer stores devices like the devices of the Compaq LTE series which was the size of an A4 paper, but term laptop was coined much earlier in 1983 with the Gavilan SC. Though, this term is often used wrongly as there are certain computers which do not fit the category of the notebook computers but are described as notebook computers like then Zenith TurbosPort and Macintosh portable which are in much bigger in their sizes and weight.

The Apple powerbook in 1991 set the standards like Keyboard the keyboard is to be placed, the space for palm rest and to include the built in input device or a Trackball for the computer notebooks. Following this IBM?s ThinkPad 700C was released the very next year. Later in the year 1993 than 165C came into being and with this 256 color display was introduced for the first time in. It also had a touchpad which is built in Ethernet network adapter and 16 bit sound recording.

With The improvement in the technology in 1990 this there was a rise in the computer notebooks popularity and usefulness due to which the prices slashed down. And these computer stores notebooks were improved in respect to their performance and usability.

The computer stores notebooks had improved and previously existing lead acid batteries were replaced by nickel cadmium, followed by nickel metal hydride, followed by lithium ion and lithium polymer.

Now even the processors were more power saving. For the first time in the Intel 386SL the CPU design included computer notebook needs. This integration was more than that of any previous version though the cost factor also increased and this was adopted by all the computer notebooks manufacturers of the time. But Intel left this approach with the introduction of its Pentium series. But still there has always been a major drawback in the upgradation of the processor so for this also Intel introduced MMC which also failed for it to being unable to maintain the speed and data integrity to the memory.

The monitors were black and white, blue and white, or grayscale of the early computer notebooks so color STN screens were introduced but these had poor viewing quality. So in 1991 dual STN and TFT screens were introduced which improved the viewing quality.

The production technology improvements lead to larger and sharper display monitors with very high resolutions. Their response time was Faster and had great accuracy regarding color display and this led to substitution of the traditional CRT monitors with these screens.

There was improvement in hard disk technology as well. Previously the computer Notebooks had only floppy disk drives but as the availability of hard disk drives with great capacity, high reliability, higher shock resistance, and lower power consumption with a size of 3.5 inches became easier and these drives could be taken along with the laptop computers. When the size of the computer notebook was to be reduced further then 2.5 inch hard disk drive was introduced.

The connectivity improved which resulted in the IBM PC compatible laptops to have internal modems and standard serial port, parallel port and PS/2 ports thus making the work easier. The network adapters and USB made the computer notebooks to be used the easily with the peripherals just like any Desktop computer.

In general the laptops run from an external AC/DC adapter that charges the battery buying supplying power to the computer or on a single battery. As the normal desktop computers laptops are also capable enough to perform the all the tasks even when they are less powerful and their components are similar to their counterparts. The notebook computers are miniature versions of the desktop computers and are optimized for the portability and efficient power consumption. Generally Liquid crystal displays are used in these and for RAM they use different memory modules such as SO-DIMM. Though they have built-in keyboards but they may also make use of the touchpad or a track pad or a pointing stick as their input resource. The external keyboard or mouse can also the attached to the computer notebook.

The laptop or the computer can be categorized according into their sizes and weight as ultra portable notebook computer stores, Thin- and-lights notebook computers, medium sized laptops, desktop replacement laptops or notebook computers.

The ultra portable computer notebooks weigh less than 1.7 kg and their monitors are less than 12inches. These are mainly used by the businesspeople whose work involves traveling and they need light computers. These notebooks are often more expensive and path power saving and have integrated graphics.

Thin-and-light computer notebooks weigh between 1.8 kg and 2.8 kg and their monitors are between 12 and 14in. diagonally.

The medium sized computer notebooks weigh around 3 and 3.5 kg, and in their monitors are between 15 and 15.4 inches diagonally. They have longer battery life, and the size of the monitor helps in determining the length and width.

Desktop replacement computers are nothing but the powerful computer notebooks which are fixed in to one location and are not frequently carried due to their enormous sizes and weight. These have 15inch or bigger monitor and have most powerful components. Their, battery life is limited as their hardware does not support optimization efficiently.

Advantages of a laptop, its performance security and upgradeability shall be discussed in the next part.