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* Improved liquid crystal display design, in particular active-matrix display technology, and increasingly, color screens. Early laptop screens were black and white or grayscale passive-matrix LCD displays prone to heavy shadows and blurry movement (some portable computer screens were sharper monochrome plasma displays, but these drew too much current to be powered by batteries). Improvements in production technology meant displays became larger, sharper, had higher display resolution, and could display color with great accuracy, making them an acceptable substitute for a traditional CRT monitor. The Apple PowerBook series, introduced in 1991, heralded many changes that are now standard on laptops, including ergonomic improvements such as the placement of the keyboard at the back of the machine, thus creating a palm rest, and the inclusion of a built-in pointing device (a trackball). The following year, IBM released its Thinkpad series, offering similar miniaturization. * Tadpole - SPARCbook Despite their name, using a laptop on one's lap can be both unpleasant (due to heat from the computer, particularly from its CPU) and possibly even dangerous to the laptop, as it may overheat. It is sometimes preferable to use a laptop on a desk. * Apple Computer - iBook, PowerBook and MacBook Pro * Desknote Laptops usually run on batteries, but also from adapters which also charge the battery using mains electricity.
Laptops & laptop brands Misconceptions about laptops Among the first commercial IBM-compatible laptops were the IBM PC Convertible, introduced 1986, and the Toshiba T1000 and T1200, introduced 1987. Although limited floppy-based DOS machines (the operating system was stored in ROM), the Toshiba machines were small and light enough to be carried in a backpack, and could be run off lead-acid batteries. These also introduced the now-standard "resume" feature to DOS-based machines; the computer could be paused between sessions, without having to be restarted each time. * Gericom
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However this may not remain a misconception for long. Some newer laptops, for example Sony VAIO ultraportables, come with GSM cellphone-based wireless networking capablities, and it is possible to buy add-on PC card GSM modems which provide the same functionality for machines not so equipped. With these, a form of wireless broadband networking is available wherever there is cellphone coverage. Although this is much touted as an ideal business solution, the 'broadband' speeds are low compared to wired connections and the service is prohibitively expensive for most users at the time of writing (1Q 2006). In the US, wireless broadband offered by Cingular and Verizon starts at around $500 for a year with a minimum 2-year contract and each block of data transferred attracts a charge. Unlimited data plans are available but they would normally only appeal to corporate users. However this may not remain a misconception for long. Some newer laptops, for example Sony VAIO ultraportables, come with GSM cellphone-based wireless networking capablities, and it is possible to buy add-on PC card GSM modems which provide the same functionality for machines not so equipped. With these, a form of wireless broadband networking is available wherever there is cellphone coverage. Although this is much touted as an ideal business solution, the 'broadband' speeds are low compared to wired connections and the service is prohibitively expensive for most users at the time of writing (1Q 2006). In the US, wireless broadband offered by Cingular and Verizon starts at around $500 for a year with a minimum 2-year contract and each block of data transferred attracts a charge. Unlimited data plans are available but they would normally only appeal to corporate users. * Notebooks smaller than a A4 sheet of paper and weighing around 1 kg are sometimes called sub-notebooks or subnotebooks. A laptop computer (also known as notebook computer) is a small mobile personal computer, usually weighing from 1 to 3 kilograms (2 to 7 pounds). Terms for subtypes of notebooks (and related computer types) include: * Panasonic - Toughbook,Let's Note(Available only in Japan)
* Apple Computer - iBook, PowerBook and MacBook Pro * Power-saving processors. While laptops in 1991 were limited to the slower 80286 processor because of the energy demands of the more powerful 80386, the introduction of the Intel 386SX processor, designed for the specific power needs of laptops, marked the point at which laptop needs were included in processor design. A more enduring success was the Compaq Portable, the first product from Compaq, introduced in 1983, by which time the IBM Personal Computer had become the standard platform. Although scarcely more portable than the Osborne machines, and also requiring AC power to run, it ran MS-DOS and was the first true IBM clone. (IBM's own later Portable Computer, which arrived in 1984, was notably less IBM-compatible than the Compaq.) Another notable computer was the Cambridge Z88, designed by Clive Sinclair, introduced in 1988. About the size of an A4 sheet of paper, it ran on standard batteries, and contained basic spreadsheet, word processing, and communications programs. Although it anticipated the future miniaturization of the portable computer, as a ROM-based machine with a small display it can — like the TRS-80 Model 100 — also be seen as a foreruner of the PDA. * Hypersonic Two other noteworthy early laptops were the Sharp PC-5000 (1983) and the Gavilan SC, announced in 1983 but first sold in 1984. The Gavilan was notably the first computer to be marketed as a "laptop." It was also equipped with a pioneering touchpad-like pointing device, installed on a panel above the keyboard. Like the GriD Compass, the Gavilan and the Sharp were housed in clamshell cases, but they were partly IBM-compatible, although primarily running their own system software. Both had LCD displays, and had optional printers that attached to their cases. Upgradability is severely limited: typically only the RAM and hard drive can be upgraded. Often the CPU can also be replaced, and sometimes video card modules are upgradable too. Many laptops also include a MiniPCI slot inside, however it is usually not intended to be utilized by the end user. Because nearly all functions are integrated into the proprietary-design mainboard theoretically to save space and power, laptops are difficult to repair and upgrade. Outright replacement of faulty parts can include the display screen, drives, daughterboards, modem, storage devices and other components, but repair costs can be high, even when feasible (low upgradability). There is not a standard for A4-size laptops. The first Apple Computer machine designed to be used on the go was the 1989 Macintosh Portable (although an LCD screen had been an option for the transportable Apple IIc in 1984). Another "luggable," rather than laptop, the Mac Portable was praised for its clear active matrix display and long battery life, but was a poor seller due to its bulk. In the absence of a true Apple laptop, several compatible machines such as the Outbound Laptop were available for Mac users; however, for copyright reasons, the user had to supply a set of Mac ROMs, which usually meant having to buy a new or used Macintosh as well. * Acer - TravelMate and Aspire Two other noteworthy early laptops were the Sharp PC-5000 (1983) and the Gavilan SC, announced in 1983 but first sold in 1984. The Gavilan was notably the first computer to be marketed as a "laptop." It was also equipped with a pioneering touchpad-like pointing device, installed on a panel above the keyboard. Like the GriD Compass, the Gavilan and the Sharp were housed in clamshell cases, but they were partly IBM-compatible, although primarily running their own system software. Both had LCD displays, and had optional printers that attached to their cases.