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Power
Desktop computers usually attain its power from internal power supplies
that plug into the wall. These power supplies are large, weigh a fair
amount, and need a cooling fan to prevent over heating. The purpose of
the power supply is to convert the AC input into lower DC voltages that
the computer hardware can use. The current power supply standard is called
ATX.
Handheld computers rely on a fixed energy source. Since handhelds are
constantly mobile, batteries are the only feasible solution for powering
the device. This puts enormous constraints on the hardware to perform
at lower power consumption levels. This is one of the impeding issues
that portable hardware manufactures are dealing with.
In addition, handheld computers need to be small and light. Decreasing
overall power consumption in a device will decrease the overall weight
since it requires fewer batteries to run. Handhelds must also emit less
heat then a desktop computer since the device has to be handled. Cooling
the processor in a handheld is not a good idea since fans consume more
power and their isn't enough room in the device for one.
Power consumption is an issue that stretches over all aspects of handheld
computer design including the processor, data storage, display, networking,
and any peripherals. Handhelds tend to run on 2 AAA batteries and on most
Palm models last 2 months under typical use. As the technology becomes
more energy efficient we will see an increase in the developments of processor
speed, networking, and visual displays until it can rival the muscle of
the desktop.
For more information check out:
http://www.howstuffworks.com/power-supply.htm
http://guir.cs.berkeley.edu/projects/p6/finalpaper.html
http://www.palmpower.com/issues/issue199805/processor003.html
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