Laptops Shrink As Portability Becomes More of an Issue

Small Laptop Computers.

By John Kaduwanema and Mun Yin

Since Asus took the first steps to miniaturising the laptop with the EeePC, a host of manufacturers have followed suit. Even though it was initially designed to target the emerging markets by supporting the One Laptop per Child scheme, established markets in Europe and the US caught onto the idea and the EeePC was suddenly in demand. It was, however, not a perfect beginning.

Asus' concept was to provide a low cost alternative to people that would allow them to access the wealth of information available on the Internet. Residents in the west saw them as a cheap alternative to keep their children entertained and promptly snapped them up. However, many failed to recognise beforehand that laptop emulation wasn't high up on the EeePC's agenda and this resulted in many returns, with peripheral incompatibility being the main problem cited. Consumers didn't want Linux, they wanted the more familiar Windows and wanted to be able to use the netbooks in the same way as they use their laptops. Asus listened, and so did Dell, Acer, MSI and many more to follow.

There's now a range of netbooks available from these manufacturers and are now slightly more affordable than standard laptops. The compatibility issues no longer remain and these miniature laptops are beginning to appear in everyday life more and more. The Intel Atom processor originally used and intended for smartphones has in some cases been replaced by the more robust Intel Celeron version traditionally used in laptops, providing extra power to make multi tasking much easier. Linux is still available as an operating system, but Windows has become a major selling point for some. For all the advances and changes made, though, netbooks are still not fully fledged replacements for laptops, merely just a more portable alternative.

Netbooks are ideal for being used on the move. Being more portable than laptops, owners find that they can easily use them in almost any location. However, the size advantage means that there is a trade off in functionality. Its original concept of being a method to access the Internet is still the predominant function. They are not capable of the processing power that laptops provide and are best used for simple document production, email checking and browsing. Unlike laptops, they will not be suitable for design work, gaming or watching movies. Portability means that netbooks are really only good for one task at a time. Another advantage over laptops that netbooks have is their battery life. Whereas laptops will usually last for around 2 hours, netbook users will find that they'll be able to work non stop for periods of time up to 7 hours.

Confusion may well exist around the true capabilities of netbooks with many consumers believing that they can perform as well as laptops or PCs. Remember, they are not capable of producing the same results as a laptop, but are more than adequate for mobile web browsing and simple tasks. However, with technology advancing all the time, it might well be feasible to expect that netbooks will soon catch up with the more powerful laptops. Eyes will probably turn towards the Far East to see indications of this, but for now, business users who need to be in touch with their inboxes will find that netbooks provide a great vehicle upon which to carry out their work.

Plasma TVs and Cheap LCD TVs

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Kaduwanema

Small Laptop Computers.

How to Find the Right Laptop in This Economy Slowdown Era.

Small Laptop Computers.

By Ruddy Gunawan
Since few years ago, many so-called laptop experts have provided articles about how to choose the right laptop for us. But with global economy recession, now it seems everything is even harder for us. Our budget is tighter and we can't afford expensive laptop anymore. I know how it feels.

As a programmer, I think we should focus more on laptop's battery lifespan and efficiency. Maybe multimedia professionals need laptop with bigger screen size but laptop with bigger screen size is power hungry. Think twice before you buy anything. If you spend less time outside of your home, perhaps you need this kind of laptop. But if you like to spend more time with your laptop outside of your home, obviously you need a smaller laptop.

Your profession is another thing to be considered. At the present time students need laptop. Portability, easy internet connection, and size are three most important things for students. But how if you are a home business owner? Bigger size is better. Don't worry about battery life as your laptop will be plugged in most of its time.

In the end, it's all about what you need and remember to consider your budget as well. It's pointless to buy high-spec laptop if you spend most of your times at home. For example, if you are a gamer and you feel more comfortable in playing your games at home, choose personal computer instead of laptop. PC is much cheaper and with the same specification as laptop, it's still more powerful. I suggest to buy a laptop only if you really need it.

Find the best laptop according to your needs. Don't forget to try to find laptop batteries if you need it.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ruddy_Gunawan

Small Laptop Computers.

Eee PC 1000 Next Generation Laptop AKA Netbook - Review

Small Laptop Computers.

From ASUS, comes this remarkable netbook. The EEEPC 1000 is a high-speed internet machine with an excellent battery life.

In a word....

• High speed Wi-Fi 802.11n connectivity
• Comfortable Keyboard
• Shock proof hard-drive
• Excellent battery life

The features

With the same glossy, metallic finish as its predecessor, the 900, the EEEPC 1000 is definitely better in terms of storage capacity and speed.

The EEEPC 1000 has a classic 10 inch display, with a 1,024 x 600 resolution.
It measures 260x190x40mm, and comes preloaded with either Windows XP Home or Xandros Linux operating systems.

With 1.33 kg, the ASUS EEEPC 1000 is a little heavier compared to its other competitors in this category, which makes it more of an ultra-light laptop than a netbook. In exchange, the EEEPC is packed with excellent features which made me totally forget about its weight.

Like many netbooks, this machine sports a 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU, and has, as far as connectivity is concerned, a Wireless-N, 10/100 Fast Ethernet and Bluetooth. In fact the 1000 is the ideal internet-on-the go netbook.

Another key feature of the EEEPC 1000 is its fantastic keyboard size which is just 92% of standard keyboards, making typing easy. The mouse track pad is excellent and unique too. It supports multi-touch inputs, that is, one can stroke two fingers horizontally or vertically and scroll through documents. This makes navigating through web pages so much easier.

The EEEPC has a shock-proof 40GB hard drive (8GB SSD, and 32GB SDHC Card). This will be appreciated if you tend to drop your laptop. It has also 2G RAM standard, which is far better than most of this competitors.

Another major advantage of the EEEPC is its battery life. Thanks to its 6-cell battery, I got up to 6 hours autonomy (7.5 hours for the 1000H model). This makes the 1000 the ideal outdoor netbook.

Additionally, the EEEPC is equipped with what Asus called Super Hybrid Engine technology. It allows users to underclock CPU frequency, voltage and control LCD brightness. This allows you to control the EEEPC 1000's energy consumption, and reduce it by up to 15%. In conclusion, the EeePC 1000 is a wonderful internet netbook, which compares well to the best netbooks in terms of design and performance.

The Price...

The EEEPC 1000 is a tad pricey at £330 ($620), but at that price, it more than delivers on its promises.

Benjamin Street has just spent the last 2 weeks researching online for the latest next generation laptops. Whilst doing this research he discovered the best place to get value for money when buying a new netbook. To find out where to get the best deals on new laptops and netbooks, take a look at my new laptop.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Benjamin_Street

Small Laptop Computers.

Notebook or Desktop Computer -- Which Should You Choose?

Small Laptop Computers.

by: Reid Neubert

On TV and in the movies, we see a lot of portable computers being used in homes and offices. Does that mean that's the trend? Is that what you should get?

Portable computers cost more, so unless you really have the need for one, you get a lot more computer for your money with a regular desktop PC. The main thing is portability. If you need a portable computer, get a laptop. ("Laptop," "portable," and "notebook" all refer to the same thing, by the way). Otherwise, a desktop computer is a better buy, and better ergonomically.

The Price Difference

You might wonder why laptops cost more than desktop computers with comparable features and power. That is largely because it is more expensive to manufacture laptops and their parts. For portable computer components, factors such as compactness, the amount of heat they generate, their weight, and power consumption are more important than they are for desktops. Those factors add to their manufacturing costs.

Space Requirements

While laptops are certainly compact, a desktop computer with a flat panel monitor can take up almost as little space. While called a "desktop" computer, the computer itself is most often kept on the floor. That leaves just the monitor, keyboard and mouse on the desk, which is really very similar in footprint to a notebook computer.

A great way to further reduce the space taken up on the desktop computer is get a keyboard drawer to hold the keyboard and mouse. That way, they slide out of the way under the top of the desk when they aren't needed.

Be Mindful of Ergonomics

Ergonomics is the science of designing and arranging things so that people can interact with them more comfortably and safely. The basic ergonomic principals for computer use tell us that, 1) the keyboard should be as close to your lap level as possible (assuming you touch-type), 2) the monitor should be about arm's length in front of you, and 3) the top of the monitor should be at about your eye level. Try achieving that with a laptop computer! Two words: im-possible.

It is obvious then, that a desktop computer is much better ergonomically than a laptop is. For prolonged use, especially, you're much better off with a desktop computer.

And Don't Forget Usability

Another aspect of ergonomics is usability. Because of size constraints, laptops also are lower on the usability scale than desktop PCs are. For one thing, laptop keyboards lack the separate groupings of the different sets of keys with space between them. For another, there are fewer keys on a laptop's keyboard, so some of them have to perform double duty. On a standard keyboard, you don't have to deal with that.

Screen Resolution

Computer monitors -- the bulky ones, anyway -- can be set at different resolutions. In other words, you can change the fineness of the image on the screen. The range is typically 640x480 -- that is 640 pixel across and 480 pixels up and down -- to 800x600, 1024x768, or even higher. At 640x480, the icons and such appear quite large; at 1024x768, they are substantially smaller. The most common resolutions today for desktop computers are 800x600 and 1024x768.

Something They Don't Tell You

Laptop displays, on the other hand, have a fixed, or native, resolution. You can change the setting, but then the images and text don't look good. While people tend to think that bigger numbers are better, a higher screen resolution may not work as well for you. It may make everything too small to see comfortably.

Remember, the laptop's screen is smaller that a desktop's. While a typical desktop computer screen is 17" or so a laptop's is usually in the range of 12" to 15." That is a big difference. Make sure you can see everything clearly before choosing a high-resolution laptop.


About the author:
Reid Neubert is the creator of ConsumerTechTips.com, the site that provides simple, useful information about consumer electronics for shoppers, plus money-saving links to online bargains from leading retailers. For more information or to contact Reid, visit http://www.consumertechtips.com

Small Laptop Computers.

Could Netbooks Be the Notebook Future? Small Laptop Computers.

Small Laptop Computers.

This week is IDF, and one of the platforms Intel is highlighting is called Netbooks, based on its Atom processor. I struggle with this concept because a Netbook feels and looks like a small notebook and the initial offerings act like notebook computers. The old saying goes if it looks like a duck and walks like a duck, chances are it is a duck.

But Netbooks promise a different experience, and I'm convinced we haven't yet seen the second shoe drop.

Let's talk about that second shoe today.

The Netbook's Strength and Weakness

Let's start with weakness first. These products are not high-performing, if you measure performance by graphics and processor speed. You won't be doing photo editing, gaming or any truly processor- or graphics-intensive work on them. Multi-tasking won't be their greatest strength, either. Some are too small, in terms of screen and keyboard size, for many users.

Where they match notebooks is in connectivity and compatibility. Netbooks generally have the same wired and wireless capabilities as regular notebooks, and they will run a full OS (typically Linux or Windows XP, with some capable of running Vista).

The products' strengths are battery life, size and price, making the product potentially more appealing to the most mobile of notebook users.

To net this out, this product is vastly enhanced by connected solutions, but at a disadvantage against a laptop as a traditional desktop replacement.

Enter the Cloud

Much like Apple did with iTunes and the iPod, the real opportunity for a Netbook lies not in the hardware or the applications that run directly on it, but in the services to which the device connects. This may be the ideal platform for a blended mobile thin client offering, where the device is mostly connected via WAN, Wi-Fi or Wimax but has the capability to be used on a plane or otherwise disconnected in a pinch.

It still has enough power and battery life to play music or watch videos, and it can even play remote or local Flash-based casual games, making it acceptable to a wide audience of users who also like its aggressive price, small size and relatively good battery life.

Given the security advantages of cloud-based applications (the data generally remains with the more secure remote location) and the increasing popularity of applications like Salseforce.com, Google Docs, Jooce, Evernote, TwitterFone, Blist and G.ho.st, this seems like the right product (if bundled properly) at the right time.

Refining the Offering

I've been using a couple of these for a little bit now, and I'm convinced that the current operating system choices aren't showcasing this product well enough. You get Ubuntu Linux, XP and occasionally Vista Basic. In other words, you get your choice of an incompatible OS (that looks old), a compatible OS that is old, or a crippled version of a new OS. What I think this class of product needs is an OS that is specifically designed for it, much like what Apple did for the iPhone.

Other users think that the gOS Ubuntu variant is likely better than the slightly modified version I've seen so far, and WindowBlinds makes a big difference in terms of making the user interface (XP or Vista Basic) seem more advanced.

I also think services like SugarSync and Live Mesh, which better mirror what is on a full-sized laptop or desktop system, go a long way to making this generation of product vastly more useful. I've always thought the missed opportunity with a small laptop like this is that it could be used in conjunction with a desktop computer, rather than instead of it.

In the end, though, I think this is the birth of something interesting, and eventually those that are currently doing thin clients and blade PCs will likely come around to the idea that these may be an excellent solution to temporarily bridge the gap between the wired clients they use and the mobile clients we want at an affordable price.

Whatever the result, there is clearly a change in the wind.

Read Rob's article, "Cloud Computing and IBM: The Pendulum Swings Back" - http://www.itbusinessedge.com/blogs/rob/?p=251&nr=inbound

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rob_Enderle

Small Laptop Computers.