What is "smartbook"

n. A mobile device that has the functions of both a smartphone and a netbook.

A smartbook was a class of mobile device that combined certain features of both a smartphone and netbook computer, produced between 2009 and 2010. Smartbooks were advertised with features such as always on, all-day battery life, 3G, or Wi-Fi connectivity and GPS (all typically found in smartphones) in a laptop or tablet-style body with a screen size of 5 to 10 inches and a physical or soft touchscreen keyboard.

A German company sold laptops under the brand Smartbook and held a trademark for the word in many countries (not including some big markets like United States, China, Japan, or India). It acted to preempt others from using the term smartbook to describe their products.

Smartbooks tended to be designed more for entertainment purposes than for productivity and typically targeted to work with online applications. They were projected to be sold subsidized through mobile network operators, like mobile phones, along with a wireless data plan.

The advent of much more popular tablets like Android tablets and the iPad, coupled with the prevailing popularity of conventional desktop computers and laptops have displaced the smartbook.