Portable laptops have been pretty much the flavor of the season ever since the breed’s grand launch in 2007.  If the Eee PC by Asus had started the craze, the trickle has now turned into a full-fledged deluge with portable laptops dominating the global computer market. But like every other machine, the portable laptop comes with its own set of inherent weaknesses and limitations and there’s a checklist of pros and cons that set it apart from its main competitor — the laptop.

The portable laptop is essentially what is meant by its name — it is basically a mini laptop both in terms of size and specifications. So, although it’s easier to lug around for its portability and hence has proved to be an essential tool for busy executives on the move or intrepid travelers and even professional photographers, the machine has its limitations and is probably not best suited to complicated work. For instance, a portable laptop will lag its larger counterpart in terms of graphics clarity. Since the portable laptop comes with a cheaper price tag ranging between $300–$600, both the hardware and software of the machine lack the punch of a laptop.

So how does your portable laptop’s inside look like? A typical portable laptop will come with 7 inch to 10 inch wide screen. The processor speed will marginally vary between approximately 400 MHz and 1.6GHz. The RAM capacity will be between 250 MB and 4 GB. There is either going to be a conventional hard drive or a Solid State Drive (SSD). While the more conventional drives generally have storage that’s higher than 80 GB, SSD drives are lower down the pecking order when it comes to storage volume. However, since the SSDs do not have moving parts and are not only lighter but also durable, this obviously helps in the machine’s performance. If the SSDs do not satisfy your memory needs, opt for an external flash drive — it does not get any lighter and portable than that.

It is more than likely that the portable laptop will be WiFi capable and have bluetooth. And there is generally an in-built webcam and microphone. For easy maneuverability, the keyboard is around 80%–90% smaller than any general keyboard. There is going to be a memory card reader that can support SD, SDHC and MMC cards. The battery duration is comparable with that of a laptop and stands at about 2 to 4 hours. And the featherweight stuff weighs between a mere 1.5 and 3 pounds.

If there’s one Achilles heel that holds back a portable laptop, it’s this: they do not have an optical drive. This can prove to be a serious impediment to getting data from a CD or DVD (including movies) unless an external drive is installed. But that’s compensated for since the portable laptop generally comes with the required software to make the machine work properly.