The significance of notebooks or laptops is increasingly growing in the modern life. The modern-day business has witnessed a phenomenal turn-around at the present moment. Given the hectic schedules and jam-packed daily routines, it has become virtually impossible for almost anyone to perform their activities being rooted to one particular place or work-station. The frequent movements of numerous businessmen from place to another have made them to carry a notebook or laptop in order to perform their business activities, even during traveling.

Notebook refers to a light-weight personal computer which is small in size and conveniently portable. A notebook is usually battery or AC operated personal computer smaller than a briefcase, which can be easily used and carried along in places such as airplane flights, libraries, temporary offices, and at meetings. A notebook is famously known as `Laptop` which typically weighs less than 7 pounds (3 kg) and is about 3 inches in thickness. Some renowned brands associated with the manufacturing of notebooks are IBM, Apple, Sony, Dell, Toshiba, and Hewlett-Packard among others.

One of the most remarkable differences between a notebook and personal computer is the `Display Screen` - notebook computers use a variety of technologies known as `Flat-panel technologies` to produce a light-weight and non-bulky display screen. The display screen of many notebooks is limited to VGA resolution. However, notebook computers have one minor drawback - the notebook monitors that use `Active-matrix Screens` and produce very sharp images, do not refresh as quickly as the full-size monitors of desktop computers.

When it comes to the computing power, the contemporary notebooks are almost equivalent to the personal desktop computers. Typically, the notebooks computers come with a battery pack which enables you to run them without plugging them in. However, their batteries require recharging at a regular interval. Besides, the laptops have the same CPUs, memory capacity and, disk drives as incase of personal desktop computers. Not surprisingly, the laptop computers or notebooks, as they say it, are much more expensive than their bulky counterparts.

Notebooks or Laptops are manufactured in different designs, sizes, weights and memory capacities. The following are some of the main categories of notebook computers which are produced by some recognized companies:

Ultra-portables:

Ultra-portables are laptops with screen-size less than 12 inches and weight of less than 4 pounds (1.7 kg) These laptops do not normally have full-size keyboards. Primarily, it is the business travelers who need ultra-portables because they are small and light. Ultra-portable are very expensive, have extendable battery, power-saving CPUs and integrated graphics.

Thin & Lights:

This breed of laptops, by and large, weighs between 4 and 6 pounds (1.8 and 2.8 kg) and with a screen-size of 12 to 14 inches. Notebooks of this category are manufactured by Sony, Apple Computer and Dell among others.

Medium-sized Laptops:

Medium-sized laptops usually have a screen-size of 14 to 16 inches and a weight of around 7 to 9 pounds (3 to 4 kg). The length and width of these medium-size laptops are generally decided by their screen-size. However, these medium-sized notebooks have relatively less computing power due to their smaller dimensions and longer battery life.

Desktop Replacement Computers:

This edition of notebook computers is chiefly used in a fixed location and not easily portable due to their heavy weight and bulky size. Their screen-size typically measures from 17 to 20 inches. Moreover, desktop replacement computers have limited battery life barely exceeding 3 hours. This is because the hardware is not optimized for efficient power usage.

Notebooks have really become very popular computer hardware. Its portability and affordable prices seem to be very attractive to business executives, and everyone else, who seem to be on the move all the time. As businesses become more globalized, notebooks become a must-have tool item for everyone who wants to be successful.