A desktop computer is a personal computer designed for regular use at a stationary location on or near a desk due to its size and power requirements. The most common configuration has a case that houses the power supply, motherboard, disk storage ; a keyboard and mouse for input; and a monitor, speakers, and, often, a printer for output. The case may be oriented horizontally or vertically and placed either underneath, beside, or on top of a desk.
A mobile workstation, also known as a desktop replacement computer (DTR) or workstation laptop, is a personal computer that provides the full capabilities of a workstation-class desktop computer while remaining mobile. They are often larger, bulkier laptops or in some cases 2-in-1 PCs with a tablet-like form factor and interface. Because of their increased size, this class of computer usually includes more powerful components and a larger display than generally used in smaller portable computers and can have a relatively limited battery capacity. Some use a limited range of desktop components (DToM) to provide better performance at the expense of battery life. These are sometimes called desknotes, a blend of "desktop" and "notebook", though the term is also applied to desktop replacement computers in general. Other names being monster notebooks or musclebooks in reference to muscle cars.
A laptop computer or notebook computer, also known as a laptop or notebook, is a small, portable personal computer (PC). Laptops typically have a clamshell form factor with a flat-panel screen on the inside of the upper lid and an alphanumeric keyboard and pointing device on the inside of the lower lid. Most of the computer's internal hardware is fitted inside the lower lid enclosure under the keyboard, although many modern laptops have a built-in webcam at the top of the screen, and some even feature a touchscreen display. In most cases, unlike tablet computers which run on mobile operating systems, laptops tend to run on desktop operating systems, which were originally developed for desktop computers.
VAIO is a brand of personal computers and consumer electronics, currently developed by Japanese manufacturer VAIO Corporation, headquartered in Azumino, Nagano Prefecture.
Inspiron is a line of consumer-oriented laptop computers, desktop computers and all-in-one computers sold by Dell. The Inspiron range mainly competes against Acer's Aspire; Asus's Transformer Book Flip, VivoBook and Zenbook; HP's Pavilion, Stream, and ENVY; Lenovo's IdeaPad; Samsung's Sens; and Toshiba's Satellite.
Acer Inc. is a Taiwanese multinational company that produces computer hardware and electronics, headquartered in Xizhi District, New Taipei City, Taiwan. Its products include desktop PCs, laptop PCs, tablets, servers, storage devices, virtual reality devices, displays, smartphones, televisions and peripherals, as well as gaming PCs and accessories under its Predator brand. As of 2024, Acer is the world's sixth-largest personal computer vendor by unit sales.
ExpressCard, initially called NEWCARD, is an interface to connect peripheral devices to a computer, usually a laptop computer. The ExpressCard technical standard specifies the design of slots built into the computer and of expansion cards to insert in the slots. The cards contain electronic circuits and sometimes connectors for external devices. The ExpressCard standard replaces the PC Card standards.
The PowerBook G4 is a series of notebook computers manufactured, marketed, and sold by Apple Computer between 2001 and 2006 as part of its PowerBook line of notebooks. The PowerBook G4 runs on the RISC-based PowerPC G4 processor, designed by the AIM (Apple/IBM/Motorola) development alliance and initially produced by Motorola. It was built later by Freescale, after Motorola spun off its semiconductor business under that name in 2004. The PowerBook G4 has had two different designs: one with a titanium body with a translucent black keyboard and a 15-inch screen; and another in an aluminum body with an aluminum-colored keyboard, in 12-inch, 15-inch, and 17-inch sizes.
In computing, instant-on is the ability to boot nearly instantly, allowing to go online or to use a specific application without waiting for a PC's traditional operating system to launch. Instant-on technology is today mostly used on laptops, netbooks, and nettops because the user can boot up one program, instead of waiting for the PC's operating system to boot. This allows a user to launch a single program, such as a movie-playing program or a web browser, without the need of the whole operating system. There still remain a few true instant-on machines such as the Atari ST, as described in the Booting article. These machines had complete Operating Systems resident in ROM similar to the way in which the BIOS function is conventionally provided on current computer architectures. The "instant-on" concept as used here results from loading an OS, such as a legacy system DOS, with a small hard drive footprint. Latency inherent to mechanical drive performance can also be eliminated by using Live USB or Live SD flash memory to load systems at electronic speeds which are orders of magnitude faster.
Samsung Notebook, formerly known as Samsung Sens, also marketed as Samsung Notebook Series (2011–2013), is a line of portable computers produced by Samsung Electronics. The Sens line was first launched in 1995 and lasted until 2013, exported overseas without the Sens branding, and replaced by Samsung Ativ. Ativ itself was also dropped in favor of Samsung Notebook. As of 2020, Samsung Notebook co-exists with the company's Galaxy Book line of laptops but is facing transition.
HP Pavilion is a line of consumer-oriented laptop and desktop computers produced by HP Inc. Introduced in 1995, HP has used the name for both desktops and laptops in its home and home office product range. The Pavilion mainly competes against computers such as Acer's Aspire, Dell's Inspiron and XPS, Lenovo's IdeaPad, Samsung's Sens, and Toshiba's Satellite.
The Compaq Evo is a series of business PCs and thin clients made by Compaq and then Hewlett-Packard following the 2002 merger. The Evo brand was introduced by Compaq in May 2001 as a business-oriented brand. It replaced the Deskpro brand of desktops and the Armada brand of notebooks. Evo was rebranded as HP Compaq which was used until 2008. It is not to be confused with the later Intel Evo branding for performant laptops.
Acer Aspire is a series of personal computers by Acer Inc. aimed at casual household users. The Aspire series covers both desktop computers and laptops. Acer developed the series to range from essentials to high performance. The Aspire mainly competes against computers such as Asus' Transformer Book Flip, VivoBook and Zenbook, Dell's Inspiron and XPS, HP's Pavilion, Spectre, Stream and Envy, Lenovo's IdeaPad, Samsung's Sens and Toshiba's Satellite.
IdeaPad is a line of consumer-oriented laptop computers designed, developed and marketed by Lenovo. The IdeaPad mainly competes against computers such as Acer's Aspire, Dell's Inspiron and XPS, HP's Pavilion, Envy, Stream, and Spectre, Samsung's Sens and Toshiba's Satellite.
Acer Aspire One is a line of netbooks first released in July 2008 by Acer Inc.
These tables provide a comparison of netbooks.
Origin PC Corp. is a custom personal computer manufacturing company located in Miami, Florida. Founded by former Alienware employees in 2009, Origin PC assembles high-performance gaming and professional-use desktop and laptop computers from third-party components.
Predator Gaming is a gamer-focused brand and line of computer hardware owned by Acer. In 2008, Acer introduced itself in the gaming computer market with a line of desktop computers: the Acer Aspire Predator series, later renamed as Acer Predator. The series is characterized by the futuristic computer chassis and high performance. In 2016, a complete range of Predator desktops, gaming laptops, tablets and accessories exists.
Chromebook is a line of laptop and tablet computers that runs using ChromeOS, an operating system developed by Google.
