As the name suggests, this article is about a laptop computer.
It is a portable personal computer that is powered by a DC battery, or an AC cord plugged into an electrical outlet, latter also acts as a power source to charge the former. These Laptops have an:
- Onboard keyboard
- Touchpad,
- Trackball,
- Or Isometric joystick used for navigation.
A laptop also has a attached thin display screen that can be folded flat to facilitate transport.
Laptop Size and Portability
It is smaller in size than a desktop computer, generally less than three inches thick, and weighs less than the desktop computers, usually less than five pounds. A laptop’s size makes it convenient for transportation in briefcases, backpacks and other bags.
It gets its name “laptop” from its ease of use feature, provided by resting on a person’s lap while sitting without the need of a desk or any other surface. Laptop computers could also be called as notebook computers, though latter usually describes a computer that is much smaller in size and lighter in weight than a traditional laptop computer.
Laptops and Peripherals
Laptops also have ports and other interfaces similar to desktop computers, such as:
- USB ports,
- Network interface cards,
- Audio speakers,
- Digital media drives and
- Memory card slots (such as SD card readers)
All of which are often built-in into the laptop computer by the hardware manufacturer.
Other Laptop Style Computers
With the advancements in technology, the size of portable computers has gone south. Portable computers turned into laptop computers, and laptop computers became notebook computers. UltraPortable or subnotebook computers could be smaller and lighter in weight than notebooks, though these names tend to be just manufacturer labels that vary and have no specific and broadly accepted specifications that can formally define these categories.
Netbooks arrived in the market in 2008. They are smaller in size and lighter in weight, and during their heyday were much less expensive than laptops; however prices of laptops have gone down considerably, and netbooks are replaced by tablets, such as the Apple iPad and Microsoft Surface.
