Dell Plans Thin, Light Notebook

Dell Computer plans to launch a new lightweight notebook inJanuary. The three-pound model, which has yet to be named, will have a 266-MHz Pentium processor, 17-mm keys (vs. 19 mm on larger notebooks), and an 11-inch screen. It will house a small battery and will come with an external attachable battery for longer wireless computing. Pricing is not yet available.

Dell is the last of the major PC companies to come out with a so-called thin-and-light notebook. Such notebooks have been a very small percentage of the portable market, but they've recently started gaining attention.

"Dell is a very successful company, but they have never tried to be a leader in any product category," says Andrew Seybold, editor-in-chief of "Outlook," a mobile computing publication. "They wait until a market is mature, then they make money on extraordinarily good products at extraordinarily good prices."