Notebook vendors should pay more attention to their enterprise customers, says Gabriel Vitus, IT director of the Vancouver, B.C.-based Certified General Accountants Association of Canada. “Not only on the big issues, but also on the little things,” he says. “Like button placement.” Even today, many CIOs feel that too many notebooks have batteries that conk out in the middle of a job, weigh too much, or fail to keep critical information secure. “There’s plenty of room for improvement,” Vitus says.

As 2008 dawns, CIOs have some reason for optimism. Notebook makers are prioritizing improvements to design, storage, and displays that could make the notebooks of 2011 quite different than the workhorses of today. “Notebooks are rapidly evolving and improving,” says Rob Enderle, principal analyst of the Enderle Group consultancy. Does a three-pound laptop that runs some 8 hours sound good to you? Then you may like the machines of 2011.