The quality of notebook display screens varies considerably. Many notebook display screens are limited to VGA resolution. Active-matrix screens produce very sharp images, but they do not refresh as rapidly as full-size monitors.

In terms of computing power, modern notebook computers are nearly equivalent to personal computers. They have the same CPUs, memory capacity, and disk drives. However, all this power in a small package is expensive.

Notebook computers come with battery packs that enable you to run them without plugging them in. However, the batteries need to be recharged every few hours.