ThinkPad is a line of business-oriented laptop computers and tablets, the early models of which were designed, developed and marketed by IBM, starting in 1992. In 2005 IBM sold its PC business, including laptops to Lenovo. The Chinese manufacturer further developed the line, and is still selling new models in 2023.
Subnotebook, also called ultraportable, superportable, or mini notebook, was a marketing term for laptop computers that are smaller and lighter than a typical notebook-sized laptop.
An ultra-mobile PC, or ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), is a miniature version of a pen computer, a class of laptop whose specifications were launched by Microsoft and Intel in Spring 2006. Sony had already made a first attempt in this direction in 2004 with its Vaio U series, which was only sold in Asia. UMPCs are generally smaller than subnotebooks, have a TFT display measuring (diagonally) about 12.7 to 17.8 centimetres, are operated like tablet PCs using a touchscreen or a stylus, and can also have a physical keyboard. There is no clear boundary between subnotebooks and ultra-mobile PCs, but UMPCs commonly have major features not found in the common clamshell laptop design, such as small keys on either side of the screen, or a slide-out keyboard.
The ASUS Eee PC was a netbook computer line from Asus, and a part of the ASUS Eee product family. At the time of its introduction in late 2007, it was noted for its combination of a lightweight, Linux-based operating system, solid-state drive (SSD), and relatively low cost. Newer models added the options of Microsoft Windows operating system and rotating media hard disk drives (HDD), and initially retailed for up to 500 euros.
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 and Stream, Samsung's Sens and Toshiba's Satellite.
The MSI Wind Netbook was a family of subnotebooks / netbooks designed by Micro-Star International (MSI). Wind stands for "Wi-Fi Network Device". The first model was announced at CeBIT 2008, and first listed for pre-orders on May 9, 2008. While initially 8.9- and 10.1-inch screen versions existed, as of 2010 only the 10.1" remained, with a resolution of 1024 × 600. While most models had 1 GB of RAM, some had 2 GB, and hard disks ranged from 80 GB on the oldest to 250 GB on the newest models. Also featured were Bluetooth, WLAN and a 1.3 megapixel camera. The Wind PC was MSI's response to the successful Asus Eee PC. The keyboard was 92% of full-size.
Acer Aspire One is a line of netbooks first released in July 2008 by Acer Inc.
These tables provide a comparison of netbooks.
Nvidia Ion was a product line of Nvidia Corporation intended for motherboards of low-cost portable computers. It used graphics processing units and chipsets intended for small products.
The Dell Inspiron Mini Series is a line of subnotebook/netbook computers designed by Dell. The series was introduced in September 2008 amidst the growing popularity of low-cost netbook computers introduced by competitors.
HP Mini is a former line of small computers categorized as netbooks manufactured by Hewlett-Packard. They either contained a custom version of Ubuntu Linux, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition or Windows 7 Starter operating system. Like most netbooks, they were not built with CD/DVD drives. They were announced from mid-2007, and marketed from 2008 through 2012.
The Samsung N130 is a subnotebook/netbook computer designed by Samsung. At the time of its introduction, it was noted for a good keyboard, large 6-cell battery as standard, giving a battery life of up to 7.5 hours a medium 160gb SATA hard disk drive and a release price of 349 USD.
The history of tablet computers and the associated special operating software is an example of pen computing technology, and thus the development of tablets has deep historical roots. The first patent for a system that recognized handwritten characters by analyzing the handwriting motion was granted in 1914. The first publicly demonstrated system using a tablet and handwriting recognition instead of a keyboard for working with a modern digital computer dates to 1956.
The ThinkPad T series is a line of laptop computers. Originally developed by IBM, and introduced in 2000, the brand was sold along with the rest of IBM's consumer computer division to Chinese technology company Lenovo in 2005, who have continued to produce and market succeeding models.
The ThinkPad W-series laptops from Lenovo are described by the manufacturer as being "mobile workstations", and suit that description by being physically on the larger side of the laptop spectrum, with screens ranging from 15" to 17" in size. Most W-series laptops offer high-end quad-core Intel processors with an integrated GPU as well as an Nvidia Quadro discrete GPU, utilizing Nvidia Optimus to switch between the two GPUs as required. Notable exceptions are the W500, which has ATI FireGL integrated workstation-class graphics, and the W550s, which is an Ultrabook-specification laptop with only a dual-core processor. The W-series laptops offer ISV certifications from various vendors such as Adobe Systems and Autodesk for CAD and 3D modeling software.
The IdeaPad S Series is a series of notebook computers launched by Lenovo in October 2008. The IdeaPad S10 was initially scheduled for launch in September, but its release was delayed in the United States until October.
The first laptop in the IdeaPad U series was the U110 launched in 2008 by Lenovo. Showcased at CES 2008, the laptop also launched the IdeaPad series itself, and received the Best of CES 2008 award. The IdeaPad U series was a line of Lenovo's consumer line of laptops, combining Lenovo's traditional engineering with design changes that were significantly different from ThinkPad products.
Atom is a system on a chip (SoC) platform designed for smartphones and tablet computers, launched by Intel in 2012. It is a continuation of the partnership announced by Intel and Google on September 13, 2011 to provide support for the Android operating system on Intel x86 processors. This range competes with existing SoCs developed for the smartphone and tablet market from companies such as Texas Instruments, Nvidia, Qualcomm and Samsung. Unlike these companies, which use ARM-based CPUs designed from the beginning to consume very low power, Intel has adapted the x86-based Intel Atom line of CPU developed for low power usage in netbooks, to even lower power usage.
The ThinkPad Tablet 2 is a tablet computer announced in 2012 and released by Lenovo in 2013.
The ThinkPad Yoga is a 2-in-1 convertible business-oriented tablet from Lenovo unveiled in September at the 2013 IFA in Berlin, Germany. It was released in the United States in November 2013.
