| There seems to be a general amount of confusion | | | | great companions alongside desktops but not good |
| regarding what exactly a "notebook" is in comparison | | | | replacements for them. This differentiation has lasted |
| to other kinds of portable computers. Unlike | | | | until today, despite the fact that notebooks come in |
| netbooks, which are a recent emerging kind of | | | | a variety of sizes now, making them look and feel |
| portable PC with a distinctly different role to play, | | | | like laptops. With heftier, more powerful laptops |
| notebooks have been around for a while and are | | | | claiming to be capable of anything all but the most |
| now almost indistinguishable from standard laptops. | | | | powerful desktops, it is still relatively easy to pick out |
| The two terms are, in fact, often used as synonyms | | | | the less powerful, more streamlined notebooks, even |
| today. | | | | when they do have 16`` screens and DVD drives. |
| The term "notebook" was coined around 1989 to | | | | This means, of course, that notebooks are now |
| describe emerging lines of smaller laptops that were | | | | situated between laptops and netbooks in terms of |
| about the size of a typical A4 paper notebook. The | | | | processing power and general usage. Where |
| first two to fit the original label were the NEC | | | | netbooks are the extreme in portability and low |
| UltraLite notebooks and the Compaq LTE line of | | | | prices, they are also the lowest denominator in |
| systems, with the IBM ThinkPad arriving a couple of | | | | regards to processing power and storage space. |
| years later to really popularize the form factor. | | | | Unlike netbooks, notebooks are not specifically |
| Laptops before then (and many since) were usually | | | | designed just for office use and surfing the Net - |
| wider, taller, and thicker, with the laptops of today | | | | they can perform almost every task that laptops and |
| being so to fit extra goodies into the system, | | | | desktops can. |
| increase airflow to cool really powerful processors, or | | | | With notebooks and laptops converging and |
| to simply have a larger, eye catching screen (or all of | | | | becoming increasingly similar, it is possible that very |
| the above, as the case sometimes is). | | | | soon there will not be any difference between the |
| For a while thereafter, the term "notebook" was | | | | two at all. |
| used as a term to describe smaller laptops, which | | | | In closing, we would like to mention that there is one |
| were generally used by businessmen and students | | | | distinction between laptops and notebooks that is |
| thanks to their lighter weight and smaller form making | | | | actually increasing at the present time: touchscreen |
| them easier to carry around. Thanks to this reduced | | | | functionality. At present, the percentage of |
| size, though, notebooks were generally known for | | | | notebooks with a built in touchscreen is rising quite |
| something else as well. | | | | rapidly. While there are laptops with touchscreen |
| Due to the reduced size, notebooks were generally | | | | support, the function is, at least for the moment, a |
| less powerful than their larger laptops, making them | | | | notebook thing. |