January 11th, 2007 at 06:15pm
Under Laptops
By Cody Kahl
Throughout the years there have been many technologies involved with notebooks, and laptop batteries are no different. There are actually three distinct notebook battery types on the market today. Knowing the difference between them will help you decide on exactly what to get when the time comes for a purchase.
In this article I will discuss the three different laptop battery types, as well as some of the advantages each one carries.
Nickel Cadmium – NiCd batteries were actually the first rechargeable laptop batteries ever. Manufactures loved them because their cost was relatively low and they had a high output. You won’t find Nickel Cadmium batteries being used anymore, due to them being heavier and not as efficient as the newer laptop batteries.
Nickel Metal Hydride - NiMH batteries can still be found all over the place — particularly for older model laptops. The rechargeable NiMH laptop battery was a big step up for notebook technology mostly in part because they were more reliable than the NiCd batteries, and they had an even higher output. The NiMH battery was also cheaper to produce, and safer to use.
The only issue with NiMH batteries is that they can have a memory effect. Basically, if you don’t fully discharge the battery, it can remember this and leave you with a less than perfect battery output.
Lithium Ion - LiON batteries are now used in most new laptops. Unlike the NiMH battery, LiON laptop batteries have no memory effect. LiON batteries are also lighter than both NiCd and NiMH notebook batteries. Both of these advantages equal out to the Lithium Ion battery being the most popular and most expensive among the various notebook power sources.
You are probably wondering which type of battery to get. Getting a Lithium Ion battery would be the best solution, and if you have the money that is what I recommend. If you cannot afford a LiON battery or your notebook is not compatible with one, then getting a NiMH battery is the next best thing.
Cody Kahl is creator and writer of Toshiba Laptops Guide - A site dedicated to providing only the best toshiba laptop battery information.
By Dragan
November 30th, 2006 at 06:56pm
Under Laptops
By Adam Knife
With the current portable computing market being very strong and offering hundreds of choices from full laptops, to portable media stations, to ultra-portable PCs, to smart phones and PDAs, you really need to know what you’re looking for prior to going out to purchase.
The current popular classifications of portable “smart” electronics allows everything to fall in to one or more of six categories: full laptop, thin-and-light laptop, UMPC, tablet PC, smart phone, or PDA.
Full laptops are the style notebook you’re used to, they range in size and weight, but are generally much heavier and bulkier than the other options. They’re also significantly more powerful, however, at a much higher power draw - which usually results in battery life of circa-four hours. Some laptops have dedicated graphics processors, however, most in the consumer price range do not - thus, gaming on laptops can be difficult and pricey.
The new “thin-and-light” style notebooks have caught on dramatically in the last few years. With the majority of the same features of the full laptopns, thin-and-lights usually sport 13- or 14-inch screens, light weight, and many energy conserving features to optimize battery life. These laptops also will not work well for gaming, but for business and web related work, will work amazingly.
UMPCs are a recent release from Microsoft, although, previously released as handtops - the handtops category quickly died out. UMPCs are usually small enough to fit in one hand, sport a variety of styles, usually a QWERTY keyboard, Windows XP or Tablet Edition operating system, low specifications, and generally low battery life. The most prominent UMPC on today’s market is the OQO. These are usually very pricey, and the small screens make them rather unattractive for gaming.
Tablet PCs are an old invention, and usually look a lot like a piece of thick paper. The screens are touch sensitive, and the mouse is usually controlled with a stylus, rather than a mouse or touchpad. Specifications and battery life is frequently lower than usual in these, and prices are usually substantially higher. They are much smaller than full laptops, though much bigger than UMPCs.
Smart phones and PDAs are frequently classed together, since the main difference is the ability to connect to a PST (public switched telephone) network. PDAs are personal digital assistants, and usually don’t feature a full operating system past simple functionality such as address book, calendar, and notetaking.
Adam X. Knife runs a laptop reviews site as well as a domain registrar reviews site and a site explaining Google PageRank.
By Dragan