Matthew Richard Kerridge asked:




There seems to be a general amount of confusion regarding what exactly a “notebook” is in comparison to other kinds of portable computers. Unlike netbooks, which are a recent emerging kind of portable PC with a distinctly different role to play, notebooks have been around for a while and are now almost indistinguishable from standard laptops. The two terms are, in fact, often used as synonyms today.

The term “notebook” was coined around 1989 to describe emerging lines of smaller laptops that were about the size of a typical A4 paper notebook. The first two to fit the original label were the NEC UltraLite notebooks and the Compaq LTE line of systems, with the IBM ThinkPad arriving a couple of years later to really popularize the form factor. Laptops before then (and many since) were usually wider, taller, and thicker, with the laptops of today being so to fit extra goodies into the system, increase airflow to cool really powerful processors, or to simply have a larger, eye catching screen (or all of the above, as the case sometimes is).

For a while thereafter, the term “notebook” was used as a term to describe smaller laptops, which were generally used by businessmen and students thanks to their lighter weight and smaller form making them easier to carry around. Thanks to this reduced size, though, notebooks were generally known for something else as well.

Due to the reduced size, notebooks were generally less powerful than their larger laptops, making them great companions alongside desktops but not good replacements for them. This differentiation has lasted until today, despite the fact that notebooks come in a variety of sizes now, making them look and feel like laptops. With heftier, more powerful laptops claiming to be capable of anything all but the most powerful desktops, it is still relatively easy to pick out the less powerful, more streamlined notebooks, even when they do have 16“ screens and DVD drives.

This means, of course, that notebooks are now situated between laptops and netbooks in terms of processing power and general usage. Where netbooks are the extreme in portability and low prices, they are also the lowest denominator in regards to processing power and storage space. Unlike netbooks, notebooks are not specifically designed just for office use and surfing the Net – they can perform almost every task that laptops and desktops can.

With notebooks and laptops converging and becoming increasingly similar, it is possible that very soon there will not be any difference between the two at all.

In closing, we would like to mention that there is one distinction between laptops and notebooks that is actually increasing at the present time: touchscreen functionality. At present, the percentage of notebooks with a built in touchscreen is rising quite rapidly. While there are laptops with touchscreen support, the function is, at least for the moment, a notebook thing.

Jim

Kent Lee asked:




Lenovo, with its IBM ThinkPad Tablet PC X61 computer, has provided the computer world with a sleek, highly portable, and highly versatile convertible PC notebook of the kind is highly in demand by people who are always on the go, such as university students, field reps, entrepreneurs, and soccer moms. In addition, it’s very simply a tool totally designed for geeks such as the helplessly computer enamored and professional writers and journalists.

Lenovo’s beloved X series of personal convertible electronic notebooks continues its evolution of the electronic tablet with the IBM ThinkPad Tablet PC X61, an improvement even over its ‘PC Magazine’ Editor’s choice, the forerunner X41, while taking care of the flaws of the in-between X60 (more efficient performance, longer battery life, and higher testers’ scores against industry expectations).

The IBM ThinkPad Tablet PC X61 takes miniaturization to another level while improving computational power and versatility. This is a good thing, although some PC users might be somewhat irritated at times with the Munchkinization that can make typing a little more of a challenge for those with larger than average sized hands, especially men.

TheIBM ThinkPad Tablet PC X61 has been all the rage in the PC savvy world since it was released last year. It sports what is still considered to be the very best laptop keyboard in the industry and a sturdy, rugged, sleek black matte finish over a light circuitry chassis (made with light-but-strong magnesium alloy), and it’s almost instantly ready as soon as you get it out of the box. The ThinkPad X61′s electronics were based on Intel’s Santa Rosa platform, which was the very first x86 (Core and Pentium CPU chips) chip platform to be introduced for PCs back in 2003. The X61 Tablet’s powerful Core 2 Duo processor (X61 models come customized with your choice of the R, T, X, or Z family) is in the direct line of descent from this platform.

Because of its target audience, the IBM ThinkPad Tablet PC X61 does not give in to the industry warming trend of the wide screen, but keeps the standard 12″ screen, keeping vertical scrolling needs lesser. Not only does it have, despite its miniaturization, the full-sized keyboard that made the X41 so beloved, it also features cutting edge TrackPoint pointer-stick technology that is simply unmatched. The ThinkPad X61 Tablet’s one of a kind 180