Notebook (also called laptop) computers are lightweight personal computers, which are quickly gaining popularity. The popularity of the notebook computers has especially increased since their prices have been dropping significantly, while maintaining similar performance as their larger siblings (i.e., desktop computers or workstations).
One clear advantage of notebook computers is their ease of portability. The lighter weight and increased battery life has made the use of notebook computers more commonplace. Aside from size, a major difference between notebook computers and personal computers is the graphical display system. Notebook computer designers employ a variety of techniques to produce lightweight graphical display systems.
FIG. 1 shows a typical notebook computer in accordance with the prior art. A notebook computer 100 typically includes a liquid crystal display (LCD) 102 for displaying graphical images and a base unit 104 for encasing different hardware elements of the notebook computer. The hardware elements include a keyboard 106, a battery 108, a hard drive (not shown), and a central processing unit (CPU, not shown).
In some applications, the notebook computers may be utilized as a tablet (also called a convertible laptop), i.e., where a user may input data by inputting it directly onto the LCD 102. Some users, however, dislike tablet computers because their usage requires a different approach (e.g., using a pen instead of a pointing stick). Additionally, the current convertible laptops use their own proprietary or nonstandard operating systems (OSes). The nonstandard implementation of the convertible laptops creates compatibility issues with other computer systems in use at the user's home or office.
The wider use of notebook computers has also created problems for their users, including physical ones. Incidents of carpal tunnel syndrome, eyestrain, and backache are on the rise. For example, increased passenger capacity in airplanes has resulted in reduced leg and shoulder room, in turn, increasing the stress on laptop users' posture when utilizing their computers. For example, with respect to FIG. 1, users often rest their palms on the hand rest area of the keyboard (210) while typing on the keyboard 106, which increases the stress on the user's hands. Similarly, user eyestrain may result when the LCD panel 102 cannot be tilted back far enough (e.g., due to space restrictions), thereby rendering a less than ideal brightness yield from the incorrectly angled LCD panel.