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ABERDEEN HIGHLANDER NOTEBOOK
Aberdeen LLC
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 Fujitsu Computer Systems Corporation
Fujitsu Computer Systems Corporation
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Gateway® Notebooks
Gateway, Inc.
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TigerDirect.com LAPTOPS
TigerDirect, Inc.
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Panasonic on Laptop Battery Safety and
New Li-ion Technologies
Marcus Yam, DailyTech LLC
[ 15 February 2007 ]
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Smaller, faster, cooler, more efficient:
The 2007 mobile CPU road map
George Jones,
Hardware,
Computerworld, Inc. [ 6 February 2007 ]
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64-Bit and Dual Core Mobile Processors Guide and
Which to Buy
“Pulp”, NotebookReview.com
[ 20 March 2006 ]
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Definition: A laptop computer, or laptop (also called a
notebook computer, or notebook) is “a standalone
computer, designed expressly to be used as a portable computing device,
which possesses most or all of the functionality of a
desktop
computer.” [author’s definition]
Because of the requirement for portability, which necessitates reduced
size in comparison to desktop computers, laptops do not pack the
performance of desktops on a dollar-for-dollar basis. This cost
differential is due primarily to component miniaturization, which is
expensive because it requires a higher level of technology, and the
necessity for a flat-panel display such as a liquid crystal or plasma
display, essential for weight reduction. (Can you imagine hauling a CRT
monitor around with your laptop?).
In recent years laptop and notebook computers have narrowed the gap in
computing power as technologies involving miniaturization, cooling
and power consumption have advanced. At the same time, the increase in
mobility of today’s society, including the advent of the
mobile workplace, and a subsequent desire on the part of consumers
to take their creature comforts, such as music and DVD players,
with them when they travel has led to burgeoning laptop and notebook
computer sales. This explosion in demand has fueled competition,
which has further reduced the price point. Simply put, laptops have
gotten cheaper, and are now within range of nearly all consumers of
computing products.
Of all the hurdles involved in making laptops viable as mobile computing
devices, overcoming the power consumption issue has been perhaps the
greatest problem to surmount. (We must, of course, remember the
defining moment when the flat panel display was introduced, without which
laptop and notebook computers would never have been possible.) Chip makers
have scrambled to reduce power consumption in CPUs, memory chips and video
display chipsets as they sought to grab a piece of the mobile computing
pie.
AMD
(Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.) and Intel® (Intel Corporation) have
marketed multiple incarnations of power-saving CPU chips which feature
power management technology to reduce power consumption and
heat output, albeit a corresponding loss of performance can be incurred if
power management is too aggressive or if processors are not properly
matched by notebook and laptop manufacturers to the devices for which they
are intended.
The power sources available for notebook and laptop computers have likewise
advanced in sophistication and become more plentiful over the years,
although battery life is still a critical issue. New laptop
batteries such as lithium ion and lithium polymer batteries have replaced
older nickel metal-hydride battery technology. This may be viewed as a
step backward by some due to the danger of lithium-ion batteries melting or
catching fire when overheated, as exemplified by the now infamous
Sony “exploding” battery debacle and recall in 2006
which left numerous laptop manufacturers running for cover as the Christmas
selling season approached. Fuel cells, which can power electronic
devices for much longer periods, are on the verge of replacing laptop
batteries, holding the promise of making your cross-country flight a
lot more tolerable.
References:
- What Laptop Mobile Processors Explained, Future Publishing
Limited
- Reiner Gaertner Fuel Cells That Fit in a Laptop, Wired News,
Wired.com, CondéNet Inc.
- Wikipedia Flat panel display, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
- Wikipedia Laptop, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
- Wikipedia Lithium-ion battery, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
Authored by Kenneth L. Anderson.
Original article published 16 February 2007.
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