Types and Usage
Laptops and notebooks are most commonly used for general-purpose personal computing.
All the laptops are created different; they vary by size, weight, power, functionalities, the way users can input data, etc. But all of them are computers in small package. The laptop remains a mainstay among computer electronics. Besides with newer hardware geared towards performance, laptops are a viable option for those who want a mobile device that can do a good deal more than what a traditional tablet is capable of.
Historically, people divide laptops categories as follows:
1. Notebook: Notebooks (notebook computer, sometimes also called the garden-variety laptop). To be considered a notebook, a computer must weigh around 5-8 pounds and thus be portable. Its display ranges from about 13 inches to 16 inches. They are equipped with sound cards and can have very sophisticated graphics for games and multimedia.
2. Ultrabooks: These laptops are thinner and can weigh a mere 3 pounds, but their screen can come in at around 15 inches. They run on lower-power processors for longer battery life. Usually their keyboard is smaller.
3. Netbooks: These laptops are very small and inexpensive, with less powerful processors than most laptops and very small keyboards. This type of computers is still around, but they have been upstaged by tablets (such as Apple’s iPad or Microsoft’ Surface), which are marketed in an even sleeker package but provide more powerful resources.
4. Tablets: Tablet PCs feature a touchscreen display and retain full functionality without a keyboard, though one may be docked, linked, or hinged to the display.
Small, thin multitask laptops which have become very popular, and they have certainly exploded in popularity. Their displays range from very small monitors to rather big ones. They can be used to perform even professional tasks, as they can be really powerful (and expensive!) or, on the contrary, they can have a heftier price point…
5. Desktop Laptops: As they name states, they are used as desktop replacements, and thus they aren’t meant to be portable, even though users can move them easily around the office or the house. These laptops weigh more (up to 10 pounds, as a rule), and they have larger displays, sometimes as big as 20 inches. They have roomier keyboards.
6. Ruggedized laptops: Ruggedized laptops are engineered to operate in environments that would destroy a consumer-grade PC. Ruggedized laptops are resistant to impact, vibration, extreme temperatures, varying types of weather, moisture, or dust and debris.
7. Armored laptop: Armored laptop used by German military.
