Portable computers become, well, really portable

Tag: battery notebook

 Computer makers have always advertised notebooks as "portable," a technically accurate but highly misleading word for their back-breaking products.

Now they're flooding the market with something different: portable computers that actually are portable.

Better still, manufacturers have taken two different approaches to cut size and weight.

One uses cutting-edge technology to put traditional notebooks on a diet and create powerful-but-expensive "slimbooks."

The other removes needless components and software to make tiny "netbook" computers that can cost less than $300.

Apple brought the first slimbook to market in January with its MacBook Air.

The device packs a 13.3-inch screen and a full-size keyboard into a three-pound package.

A 15-inch Macbook Pro, by contrast, weighs 5.5 pounds and ranks among the lightest full-size notebooks.