The first commercially available laptop notebook computer became available in 1981. It was heavy and slow, but it was the first step in computer technology. Then in 1995 Microsoft launched Windows 95 which enabled laptop computers to contain a universal processor, the Intel Pentium. Since that time there have been some noteworthy innovations that propelled the laptop notebook into every business and millions of home worldwide.

One of these innovations is the improvement of the laptop notebook computer batteries. The heavy lead-acid batteries were replaced by lighter nickel batteries. Then later the lithium batteries became the choice for notebook computers. These changes in batteries made the units lighter and more portable. The other important development that came from the upgraded batteries was longer battery life. The average lithium laptop battery lasts between 3-6 hours before needing a recharge. This improves the portability and true wirelessness of the unit.

Another important improvement to laptop notebook computers is the evolution of the screen. The old laptops had black and white screens with low resolution displays. All notebook computer screens are now liquid crystal displays (LCD) with high resolutions of 1028 x 768 pixels, which is the standard for desktop screens as well. Making the notebook computer screens comparable to desktops evened the playing field and makes the laptop an acceptable alternative.

A critical innovation in portable computing was the creation of power-saving processors. Previous processors took so much energy to run, they had almost rendered the laptop immovable. For the old ones to work, you really needed to plug it in to an energy source because no battery could power the cumbersome processor long enough to get anything accomplished. Once the Intel Pentium came on the scene in the mid 90s, an energy-saving processor enabled truly portable technology.

The improvement of storage capabilities on notebooks changed the limits of the systems. The early laptops had floppy disks that held only a limited amount of information. Then came the 3.5" hard disk. While this was an improvement it still put limits on the laptop notebook computer. With the increased internal storage on hard drives and the switch to CD/DVD drives a world of possibilities opened up for mobile computing. The addition of the USB port allowed almost any portable storage device to be plugged into and accessed by the notebook computer.

Internet connectivity was a critical piece of the mobile computing puzzle for laptop notebook computers. Internal modems were placed in notebooks and we could connect to the internet through cables, but we still were tied down to the Internet wall jack. Once Wi-Fi was available in notebooks, true portable computing was possible. Anything a desktop could do, now a laptop notebook computer could do also. You can surf the web, create Office documents, send email, play a game, listen to music, watch a movie, and do it all from any location in the world.

These innovations over the last 10 years or so have really made laptop notebook computers an important tool in business and communication. People of all ages use notebooks because of its lightweight design, powerful computing, easy connectivity to the Internet, and crisp, clear LCD color display.