1. A Tiny Laptop and a Larger Notebook

Be sure to see the slideshows for Fujitsu's Lifebook P7120D laptop and Lenovo's 3000 N100 notebook. They show various features of the computers and discuss components in context. Also, don't overlook the Features Table on the next page.

Fujitsu's P7120D weighs around three pounds and as you can see in the photo is quite a bit smaller than Lenovo's over 6 pound 3000 N100. In some ways to compare these two computers is like comparing apples and oranges. However, they do share some similarities and some of their differences are quite illuminating.

Fujitsu designed the P7120D primarily as a business computer. I remember talking to Fujitsu reps quite some time ago about the laptop and their plans for it to go head to head in the business market with small portable computers such as those from Sony and Dell. The P7120D is still on the market and still outfitted with the same components as when it first came to market, a sign that it is a laptop with the technological stability business computer buyers demand.

Lenovo's 3000 notebook line was the company's first break from the solid business-oriented IBM ThinkPad group of notebooks it inherited. The 3000 line is built on a consumer based chassis that has served as a base for a range of models from those with the most basic of components to those with fairly high-end high CPUs and graphics processors. Like all good consumer portables, 3000s are designed to grow with technological change, a very different goal from portable business laptops and notebooks.

As you can see in the Features Table on the next page you can put together a 3000 N100 with a modest set of components similar to the ones in the P7120D. You also can build powerful Core Duo and even Core 2 Duo notebooks on the 3000 chassis.

As with all laptop and notebook choices, you have to pick the best solution from available technologies. Smaller laptop computers like the P7120D tend to have less powerful components that fit in smaller spaces, require less power and run cooler. With larger notebook computers the sky is almost the limit. Do remember, however, that notebooks in the 3000 size range aren't large enough to contain the highest end CPUs and graphics processors and their cooling systems. For that you'll need to look to companies like Alienware and Eurocom and their monster notebooks that can be as much as double the size and triple the weight of a mobile computer like the 3000.

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