Alternatively called a notebook, a laptop is a portable computer that is more efficient and nearly as powerful as a desktop computer. Portable computers run off AC power or batteries such as NiMH, NiCad, or Li-ion packs, for several hours.

As shown in the picture, the Dell Latitude D610 notebook has everything needed for normal operation. It has an LCD screen, keyboard, and touchpad. Although a laptop may have multiple external devices and cables connected, no external connections are required for standard usage.

Today, most laptop computers are becoming thinner and lighter to help compete with other devices, such as tablets. Some laptops, especially those with smaller form factors, may be also be called notebook computers.

A laptop is not spelled as “labtop,” “lab top,” or “lap top.”

Intel also sells a line of ultra-thin laptops under the name Ultrabook.

What was the first laptop or portable computer?

The IBM 5100 is the first portable computer, which was released in September 1975. The computer weighed 55-pounds and had a five-inch CRT display, tape drive, 1.9 MHz PALM processor, and 64 KB of RAM. The picture is an ad of the IBM 5100 taken from a November 1975 issue of Scientific American.

  • What was the first laptop or portable computer?
  • What are the different parts of a laptop?
  • What are the different ports on the laptop?
  • Is a Chromebook a laptop?
  • Related information.

The first truly portable computer or laptop is the Osborne I, which was released in April 1981 and developed by Adam Osborne. The Osborne I weighed 24.5-pounds, had a 5-inch display, 64 KB of memory, two 5 1/4" floppy drives, ran the CP/M 2.2 operating system, included a modem, and cost $1,795.

The IBM PCD (PC Division) later released the IBM portable in 1984, its first portable computer that weighed 30-pounds. Later in 1986, IBM PCD announced its first laptop computer, the PC Convertible, weighing 12-pounds. Finally, in 1994, IBM introduced the IBM ThinkPad 775CD, the first notebook with an integrated CD-ROM.

The first Apple laptop, the Macintosh Portable, was released in September 1989. Due to its size and cost (roughly $6500), it was not popular. Apple changed its approach to laptop development and, in October 1991, released the PowerBook line of laptops. They released the PowerBook 100, PowerBook 140, and PowerBook 170, which were better received in the computer market.

In the December 8, 1985 New York Times, an article was published by Erik Sandberg-Diment, who stated the average user would never want a laptop.

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What are the different parts of a laptop?

There are several parts of a laptop, as shown below.

Below are links to pages with further details about each of the parts shown in the picture.

  • Screen (e.g., LCD)
  • Keyboard
  • Touchpad
  • Ports (left side and right side)
  • Camera
  • Power button

Other laptop parts

The following list includes other components of a laptop and are not shown in the picture above.

  • AC adapter
  • Battery
  • Logic board
  • Storage device (e.g., HDD, SSD, M.2)
  • Fan
  • Speakers
  • Microphone
  • Memory
  • Optical drive
  • Wireless card

What are the different ports on the laptop?

Each of the ports on a modern laptop is shown below.

The left side of a laptop

Our example laptop below has the following available ports. Clicking any of the following links provides further information about that port.

Each laptop is different, and the available ports vary between manufacturers. Your laptop may not include the same ports as shown below or might have different ports than shown.

  • Kensington lock, or security cable slot
  • AC adapter port, or power adapter port
  • HDMI port
  • USB 3.0 ports
  • Headset port

The right side of a laptop

On the right side of our example laptop, the following ports and buttons are available. Clicking any of the following links provides further information about that port.

  • Power button
  • Volume control
  • USB 2.0 port
  • SD card reader

Other laptop ports

Below is a full list of ports on laptops over the years. The ports available on a laptop depend on its age and manufacturer.

  • Card reader
  • Docking station
  • DVI
  • FireWire (IEEE-1394)
  • HDMI
  • Modem (RJ-11 aka telephone)
  • Network (RJ-45)
  • Parallel port
  • PS/2 port
  • S-Video
  • Serial port (RS-232)
  • Sound card (sound out or line out, sound in or line in, microphone)
  • USB
  • VGA/SVGA

Is a Chromebook a laptop?

Yes, a Chromebook is a laptop. That being said, the term Chromebook should be used because they only run ChromeOS rather than the Microsoft Windows or macOS operating systems seen on other laptops. See our Chromebook page for further help with Chromebooks.

If you need a port not available on your laptop, use a converter that changes one signal to another. For example, if you need a VGA connection, use an HDMI to VGA converter. There are also docking stations and hubs that add ports.

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