page_title: Subnotebook
section_title: 1996–2000
hierarchical_section_title: Subnotebook / History / 1996–2000
caption_attribution_description: Apple Macintosh PowerBook Duo 270c Laptop Computer with extended-capacity battery (bulge on left is not Apple standard battery)
context_page_description: A subnotebook is a class of laptop computers that are smaller and lighter than a typical notebook.
  These computers are sometimes confused with the ultra-mobile PC category, which is the name of a platform of small form-factor tablet PCs. UMPCs are smaller than subnotebooks, however both generally run full desktop operating systems such as Windows or Linux, rather than specialized software such as Windows CE, Palm OS, or Internet Tablet OS. Subnotebooks are also sometimes confused with netbooks which are a different category of devices that branched off from mini notebooks in general. Netbooks are most often much less expensive than subnotebooks, as they are optimized for use as portable Internet capable devices and generally lack the processing power of a workstation. Netbooks typically have 9W TDP CPUs, sacrificing performance for power efficiency, whereas subnotebooks often use 18W TDP processors.
  Subnotebooks are smaller than full sized laptops but larger than handheld computers. They often have smaller-sized screens, less than 14 inches, and weigh less than typical laptops, usually being less than 2 kg.
context_section_description: In 1997, Apple launched the relatively light-weight (4.4 lbs) but short-lived PowerBook 2400c. This was co-designed by IBM and made for Apple by IBM Japan to replace the aging PowerBook Duo line. However, it measured 1.9 × 8.5 × 10.5 inches, so it was actually bigger than a Compaq LTE notebook.
  IBM had sold "thin and light" models in its ThinkPad range, such as the ThinkPad 560 ultraportable (1996) and best-selling ThinkPad 600 (1998). It finally entered the subnotebook market in 1999 with the 1.3 kg ThinkPad 240, targeted at business travellers. The 240 and 240X had 10.4″ screens. Later, however, IBM replaced these with the X range, with 12.1″ screens. At 8.3″ × 10.6″, the ThinkPad X40 is not much smaller than A4 (8.3″ by 11.7″) and better described as an ultraportable, rather than a subnotebook.
  Sony launched an ultraportable (ultrathin) less than an inch thick in Japan in 1997, the PCG-505, which reached the US in 1997 as the VAIO 505GX. This was followed by the even thinner Sony VAIO X505, which measured just 0.8 × 8.2 × 10.2 inches, and reached 0.3″ at its thinnest. However, it was very expensive and had poor battery life, and was soon withdrawn.
  Sony also launched the C1 range of subnotebooks, starting in Japan in 1998.
caption: An Apple PowerBook Duo 270c
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