Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) is an American multinational semiconductor company based in Santa Clara, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for business and consumer markets. While it initially manufactured its own processors, the company later outsourced its manufacturing, a practice known as going fabless, after GlobalFoundries was spun off in 2009. AMD's main products include microprocessors, motherboard chipsets, embedded processors, graphics processors, and FPGAs for servers, workstations, personal computers, and embedded system applications.
ATI Technologies Inc. was a Canadian semiconductor technology corporation based in Markham, Ontario, that specialized in the development of graphics processing units and chipsets. Founded in 1985 as Array Technology Inc., the company listed publicly in 1993. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) acquired ATI in 2006. As a major fabrication-less or fabless semiconductor company, ATI conducted research and development in-house and outsourced the manufacturing and assembly of its products. With the decline and eventual bankruptcy of 3dfx in 2000, ATI and its chief rival Nvidia emerged as the two dominant players in the graphics processors industry, eventually forcing other manufacturers into niche roles.
VAIO is a brand of personal computers and consumer electronics, currently developed by Japanese manufacturer VAIO Corporation, headquartered in Azumino, Nagano Prefecture.
ThinkPad is a line of business-oriented laptop computers and tablets designed, developed and marketed by Lenovo, and formerly IBM. The line was originally sold by IBM until 2005, when a part of the company's business was acquired by Lenovo. ThinkPads have a distinct black, boxy design language, inspired by a Japanese bento lunchbox, which originated in 1990 and is still used in some models. Most models also feature a red-colored trackpoint on the keyboard, which has become an iconic and distinctive design characteristic associated with the ThinkPad line.
CES is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typically hosts presentations of new products and technologies in the consumer electronics industry.
A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a specialized electronic circuit designed to rapidly manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display device. GPUs are used in embedded systems, mobile phones, personal computers, workstations, and game consoles.
Alienware is an American computer hardware subsidiary of Dell. Their product range is dedicated to gaming computers which can be identified by their alien-themed designs. Alienware was founded in 1996 by Nelson Gonzalez and Alex Aguila, and is currently led by Vivian Lien. The development of the company is also associated with Frank Azor, Arthur Lewis, Joe Balerdi, and Michael S. Dell. The company's corporate headquarters is located in The Hammocks, Miami, Florida.
HP Pavilion is a line of consumer-oriented laptop and desktop computers produced by HP Inc. It was introduced in 1995 by erstwhile Hewlett-Packard. The name is applied to both desktops and laptops for the 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.
Subnotebook was a marketing term for laptop computers that are smaller and lighter than a typical 'notebook' sized laptop.
The Qosmio series was Toshiba's consumer-marketed line of high performance desktop replacement laptops. The laptop was first released on July 25, 2004 as the E15-AV101 with a 1.7 GHz Intel Pentium M CPU, 512 megabytes of DDR SDRAM, and a 15-inch XGA 1,024 by 768 screen. Toshiba's most powerful laptop has undergone many revisions, with focus shifting from high-end multimedia functionality to heavy gaming. The current line, the X70 series, was released in 2013, featuring an Intel Core i7 processor with up to 32 gigabytes of DDR3 SDRAM and an nVidia Geforce GTX 770M as well as a 17.3 inch Full HD display.
The Satellite was a line of laptops manufactured by Toshiba's computer subsidiary now known as Dynabook Inc. Models in the Satellite family varied greatly—from entry-level models sold to consumers at major retailers to full-fledged business laptops sold through enterprise channels. The latter were marketed as the Satellite Pro.
The AMD Accelerated Processing Unit (APU), formerly known as Fusion, is the marketing term for a series of 64-bit microprocessors from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), designed to act as a central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU) on a single die. APUs are general purpose processors that feature integrated graphical processing units (IGPUs).
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 Portégé is a range of business-oriented subnotebooks and ultrabooks manufactured by Dynabook Inc. From 1993 to 2016, the Portégé was manufactured by Toshiba's computer subsidiary. The Portégé series was briefly discontinued after Toshiba left the computer market in 2016. In 2019, Sharp Corporation purchased majority interest of Toshiba inactive's computer subsidiary and resurrected the Portégé.
The Mini DisplayPort is a miniaturized and less common version of the DisplayPort audio-visual digital interface.
HP EliteBook is a line of business-oriented high-end notebooks and mobile workstations made by Hewlett-Packard. The EliteBook series, which fits above the lower-end ProBook series, was introduced in August 2008 as a replacement of the HP Compaq high end line of notebooks. The EliteBook brand included mobile workstations until September 2013, when they were rebranded as HP ZBook. The EliteBook mainly competes against computer lineups such as Acer's TravelMate, Dell's Latitude and Precision, Lenovo's ThinkPad and Toshiba's Portégé and Tecra.
Dynabook Inc., formerly Toshiba Client Solutions Co., Ltd., is a Japanese personal computer manufacturer owned by Sharp Corporation; it was owned by, and branded as, Toshiba from 1958 to 2018. It claims its Toshiba T1100, launched as 1985, as the first mass-market laptop PC. Toshiba had used the brand name "DynaBook" or "dynabook" since 1989, but Dynabook became the worldwide brand in 2019.
The Satellite A series was Toshiba Information Systems's premium consumer line of Satellite laptops. Introduced with the A10 and A20 models in 2003, the A series originally targeted high school and college students and workers of small offices and home offices, before becoming a premium line by the late 2000s.
The Satellite P series was Toshiba Information Systems's secondary premium line of Satellite laptops introduced in 2003. It later eclipsed Toshiba's primary premium line of Satellites, the A series, in 2011.
The Satellite S series was Toshiba Information Systems's midrange line of Satellite laptops. It was introduced in 2012, positioned above their mainstream L series but below the premium P range. Features included Nvidia GeForce graphics processing units, Harman Kardon speakers, optional touchscreen displays and optional backlit keyboards; it was the lowest price entry of the Satellite family to offer discrete graphics. Displays ranged from 14 to 17.3 inches diagonally in size, with only displays 15.6 inches diagonally or larger affording the option for full 1080p resolution initially—14-in panels were limited to 1366×768. The series was refreshed in 2015 to add a 4K panel option and raised the minimum screen size to 15.6 inches diagonally. The first models of the S series included a optical drive bay, with an option for a Blu-ray drive. The bay was removed in a 2014 refresh to make the laptop slimmer but restored in the 2015 refresh.
