Touch-screen notebooks are nothing new, especially in the realm of handheld smartphones and PDAs, but due to disappointing hardware and the lack of OS support, they've remained a small market niche for business notebooks and desktop systems.
Anyone who's ever used a laptop docking station quickly sees the advantage of being able to plug into multiple peripherals (keyboard, mouse, large-screen monitor, USB drive, printer, etc.) with a single connection.
When most people think "laptop," they think of a device with a 12.1-to-15.4-in. screen, which is really a bit cramped for extended use. 17-in. notebooks, on the other hand, provide a nice, large, desktop-size display. And unlike desktop computers, they still allow some mobility.
A lot has changed in the 20 years since the first laptop computers appeared, including gigahertz processors, color screens, optical drives and wireless data. However, one thing that has stubbornly stayed the same is the conventional clamshell format with its hinged display lid that opens to reveal a mechanical keyboard.
I have a confession to make: About two years ago I made a big mistake and bought a phone designed for mere mortals when what I really wanted was an Apple iPhone. Don't get me wrong -- my Sony Ericsson W580i has served me well -- but I'm ready to move up to a super-phone.
Whether you're buying for yourself or outfitting a department, shopping for a laptop today is a double-edged sword. The good news is that there's a huge variety to choose from, all with pros and cons. The bad news is that for many buyers there are just too many choices, leading to frustration and fatigue.
The past two years have been exciting ones for mobility, with the dawn of netbooks, <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9116844"> 4G communications </a> and the first smartphones without keypads. The next two should be just as attention-grabbing, if not more so, as a slew of new technologies make workers more productive on the road.
Whether it's to clinch a sale, show off a new product or discuss a potential acquisition, the digital projector is major part of everyday corporate work. As a result, mobile workers who need to make presentations on the road have become beasts of burden, often hauling 20 to 25 pounds of gear, including notebook, projector, and a seemingly endless array of accessories, cables and adapters.
The stock market's a mess, your company's balance sheet looks like a sea of red ink and your budget for outfitting 50 employees with new notebooks has been slashed to the bone. What's a poor buyer to do?
When you're on the road, you can't call upon the resources that officebound employees enjoy. But whether your temporary workspace is a table at Starbucks, a hotel lobby, an airport or a client's lunchroom, you've still got to get the work done.
One thing you can depend on these days is that the claims made for wireless routers, like 300Mbit/sec. throughput and 1,000-foot range, are nothing more than digital pipe dreams. The plain and simple truth is that these speeds and distances just aren't going to happen in your home, office or any place on this planet.
Look around at people talking on their mobile phones and, almost without exception, they are chatting on familiar-looking small rectangular boxes with glowing screens. However, this cookie-cutter approach to mobile phones will change dramatically in the next few years as phone designers get more daring and more personal.
It's not just fingerprints -- the shape, contours and lines of your face are also as unique as you are. Toshiba's Face Recognition software (which is available as a standard feature on the Satellite Pro U400, M300, A300 and P300 models) attempts to replace tedious passwords and uncertain finger swipes with identification gleaned from images of you smiling at your computer's webcam.
A lot has changed in the 20 years since the first laptop computers appeared, including gigahertz processors, colour screens, optical drives and wireless data.
The next time you're on the road and either can't find a Wi-Fi hot spot or it seems to take forever to download an important file via 3G, imagine you're in Seoul, South Korea. That's because Seoul's wireless WiBro network is nirvana for traveling professionals.
