What I should be doing, of course, is buying a digital copy of the movie or bringing the DVD that I paid for with me to play on a portable player or laptop, both of which sound not so fun.

ENGADGET: This is the Modem World: It's my movie

He has carried a portable satellite video phone and a laptop to regularly blog to schoolchildren and push his green message.

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And we can see why: all-in-one PCs don't have the modular, expandable design of a tower, and also aren't mobile like a laptop (not that gaming notebooks are portable, per se, but you get what we mean).

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The Series 7 Slate PC offers all of the features of a full-sized laptop in an extremely portable package, providing highly mobile users with the computing power they need for maximum productivity anywhere they go.

ENGADGET: Samsung's Series 7 Slate PC hands-on Hands-on

For a category that was once regarded as an odd-duck luxury for the early adopter, 2012 certainly saw the portable computing tech grow closer to becoming a true laptop alternative.

ENGADGET: 's CES 2013 Preview: Tablets

With a laptop-style keyboard and well-spaced keys for its size, the Belkin Portable Keyboard Case for iPad mini helps reduce typing mistakes common on tablets.

ENGADGET: Belkin bulks up iPad mini with $80 Portable Keyboard Case

Perfect for slipping into a laptop bag or pocket, all of Iomega's 2.5-inch portable hard drives are host powered, requiring no external power supply beyond the power provided through the USB bus on a personal computer, laptop or netbook.

ENGADGET: Iomega pushes ahead with USB 3.0 transition, promises to keep drives at USB 2.0 prices

Students hanging out in the lounge balance portable computing devices on their laps, and one student climbing stairs is intently focusing on a laptop balanced in her palm.

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