A laptop (also known as a notebook) is a personal computer designed for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device (a touchpad, also known as a trackpad, and/or apointing stick) and speakers into a single unit. A laptop is powered by mains electricity via a AC adapter, and can be used away from an outlet using a rechargeable battery. A laptop battery in new condition typically stores enough energy to run the laptop for three to five hours, depending on the computer usage, configuration and power management settings. When the laptop is plugged into the mains, the battery charges, whether or not the computer is running, with the exception of some laptops.
Portable computers, originally monochrome CRT-based and developing into the modern laptop, were originally considered to be a small niche market, mostly for specialized field applications such as the military, accountants and sales representatives. As portable computers became smaller, lighter, and cheaper and as screens became larger and of better quality, laptops became very widely used for all purposes.
The term "laptop" can refer to a number of classes of small portable computers:
§ Full-size Laptop: A laptop large enough to accommodate a "full-size" keyboard (a keyboard with the minimum QWERTY key layout, which is at least 13.5 keys across that are on ¾ (0.750) inch centers, plus some room on both ends for the case). The measurement of at least 11 inches across has been suggested as the threshold for this class. The first laptops were the size of a standard U.S. "A size" notebook sheet of paper (8.5 × 11 inches), but later "A4-size" laptops were introduced, which were the width of a standard ISO 216 A4 sheet of paper (297 mm, or about 11.7 inches), and added a vertical column of keys to the right and wider screens.
§ Netbook: A smaller, lighter, more portable laptop. It is also usually cheaper than a full-size laptop, but has fewer features and less computing power. Smaller keyboards can be more difficult to operate. There is no sharp line of demarcation between netbooks and inexpensive small laptops; some 11.6" models are marketed as netbooks.
§ Ultra-thin Laptop: A newer class of laptops which are very thin and light.
§ Tablet PC: these have touch screens. There are "convertible tablets" with a full keyboard where the screen rotates to be used atop the keyboard, and "slate" form-factor machines which are usually touch-screen only (although a few older models feature very small keyboards along the sides of the screen.)
§ Rugged: Engineered to operate in tough conditions (mechanical shocks, extreme temperatures, wet and dusty environments).
§ Acer: TravelMate, eMachines, Extensa, Ferrari and Aspire
§ Apple: MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro
§ Asus—Asus Eee, Lamborghini, ASUS G Series(ROG)
§ Dell: Alienware, Inspiron, Latitude, Precision, Studio, Vostro andXPS
§ Fujitsu: Lifebook
§ Gateway
§ HCL: ME Laptop, ME Netbook, Leaptop and MiLeap
§ Hewlett-Packard—HP: HP Pavilion, HP Probook, Compaq Presario
§ Lenovo: ThinkPad, IdeaPad, and 3000 series
§ LG: Xnote
§ MSI—Micro-Star International: E(ntertainment), C(lassic), P(rofessional), G(aming), V(alue), A(esthetic), X(Slim), U series and Wind Netbook
§ Packard Bell: Easynote
§ Panasonic: Toughbook, Satellite, Let's Note (Japan only)[62]
§ Sager Midern: Various Clevo based models, many boutique vendor branded models
§ Samsung: SENS: N, P, Q, R and X series
§ Sony: Vaio
§ TG Sambo: Averatec, Averatec Buddy
§ Toshiba: Dynabook, Portege, Tecra, Satellite, Qosmio, Libretto
