What are the differences between netbooks and laptops?

Question

I'm going to be purchasing a netbook soon and i would like to know all of the pros and cons between a netbook and a regular laptop?
Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

A laptop are the same thing, just a portable computer. A netbook is inexpensive, small and usually not very powerful. Netbooks are mainly suited to casual use such as browsing the web and email hence "net" book.









Display size



Like i told you before, since laptops are smaller, they do come with smaller screens and resolutions. That is of course translated in a smaller workspace. Nowadays mainstream 10″ netbooks come with 1024 x 600 px res, and the next to come 11.6″ ones will have 1366 x 768 px .





8.9" netbook vs 15.4" laptop

The 15.4 laptops on the other side come with 1280 x 800 px (have a bigger dpi rapport, so everything is bigger on them and easier to read) or even 1650 x 1050 px. Bigger laptops can even come with Full HD resolutions.



Battery life



Netbooks are meant to be portable, thus a decent battery life is a must. Most offer at least around 5 hours of real autonomy, while the best can go up to 8-9 hours from a 6 Cell battery.



Few laptops can offer the same things. Of course, there are some, like the new ultra-portable Vaios on the new Macbooks, but they cost many times more than a netbook.



Price tags



Standard netbooks run for $200 to $450 , according to size and features. A good 10″ like the Asus 1005HA for example, with decent hardware and 10.5 hours battery life will only cost you around $360, while being light, durable and good looking.



Laptops on the other side can go for a lot more. It’s true some producers try to offer 15.4″ laptops for around $350 these days, but, you will get crappy hardware and crappy build quality, all in a heavy and bulky device. And that’s just not worth it.



Performance level



Here’s where the line is really drawn. Netbooks’ performances are limited by the hardware inside: they used low voltage CPUs that can only offer so much. They are good for everyday activities and even watching HD ready movies (720p, not 1080p), but not for games and other resources hungry applications. Performances level will increase in the future, with devices housing the Nvidia Ion platform (better graphic performances) and the new Intel CPU line, Pine Trail . But laptops will always be more powerful. Some a lot more powerful actually.

Answer 2

Generally speaking, there isn't much of a different between a netbook and a laptop. They both can perform very similar tasks such as browsing the internet, watching movies, listening to music, word processing, and extremely light gaming. The difference comes in the mechanics of the laptop and the netbook.



Think of a netbook as a stripped down version of a laptop. It's smaller, therefore has less space for features you may have grown accustomed to (such as large hard drives, faster processors, and dvd/cd drives). In addition, these devices require less electricity to run, thus the smaller screens, lack of dvd/cd drives, and other features that you love.



Netbooks have smaller screens, slower processing speeds, smaller hard drives, and smaller RAM capabilities than its Laptop counterparts. However, they are smaller and thus easy to handle/travel with and typically it's battery life will last much longer compared to the laptop counterpart.



The good thing about a netbook is the USB capability as well as its wireless capability. Most of the features that you are looking for (dvd/cd drive, hard drive space, full size keyboard, mouse, etc.) can be bought separately and connected via the USB port. You can purchase portable USB dvd/cd drive, external hard drives, wireless keyboard/mouse combos (or each separately), and much more.



Ultimately the decision is going to be based on what you plan on doing with your netbook. If you plan on doing movie or sound editing, picture editing, 3D composite sketches or rendering, or anything of the sort a netbook probably is the way to go. However, if you are looking for something extremely portable that doesn't rely heavily on high processing power, the netbook may just be the direction for you to go in.

Answer 3

netbooks are usually small with screens that are about 10-11 inches. they usually have single core intel atom processors and they mostly have around 1gb of ram. they don't have graphics cards, they have integrated graphics instead which uses some ram as video memory. because of there low power consumption, some netbooks can last up to around 10 hours with a fully charged battery. netbooks also dont have cd drives. If you intend to play games - don't get a netbook.



You have a few more options with laptops. some laptops have quad core processors in them and most laptops today have around 4gb of ram. most laptops have discrete video cards which are handy for blu ray playback and games. a battery in a laptop will typically last between 2 and 4 hours depending on usage. laptops have disc drives and you can even get blu ray drives in a laptop now.



it all depends on what you want to use your computer for. if you travel alot and browse the web, get a netbook, but if you want more features, performance and the ability to do the same amount of things as a desktop then get a laptop :)

Answer 4

netbooks are for minimal usage and laptops are for heavy usage like the whole day..but of course with the charger on. the netbook contains no other memory than the C drive but laptops contain 2-3 hard drives like that of a desktop computer. netbook is smaller and should not be turned on for more than 2-3 hours but laptops can go all day long. if you are light user, you can go for netbook, but if you need heavy usage, then laptop is a better choice.

Answer 5

Dale, the name says it all, a net book is built and designed to work best for networking, it can be used as a laptop but is smaller, lighter, and in some cases cost less, most do not have CD rom's , small hard drives, and limited memory, and most can not be upgraded, Laptops on the other hand can be upgraded, and used just like a desktop, as for cost i would search for a good deal on both and define what your need is: cost vs weight, functions, memory, and so on. you can get some really good deals on referbs from radio shack and other sources so don't just run out and spend 300 on a net book only to find out its not what you want or " need " for what you plan to use it for.

Answer 6

Acer Aspire AS5251-1805 15.6-Inch Laptop



*The Acer Aspire AS5251 Notebook offers powerful AMD V-Series performance, the latest connectivity technology and rich media features at practical price



*AMD V-Series Processor and 3GB DDR3 Memory accelerate all your daily needs with the multitasking performance and responsiveness needed to download music, launch movies, chat and complete your daily tasks.



*Enjoy today's best high-definition entertainment and stay productive on the cinematic

15.6-inch HD widescreen display with true 16:9 aspect ratio and hear movies and music come to life via built-in stereo speakers8



*Connect to the Internet anywhere, anytime; 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi CERTIFIED conveniently delivers rapid and reliable wireless connectivity from your home, at work or on-the-go



*The Aspire notebooks modish yet practical design brings a slenderized look. The mesh-patterned cover bring a rich appearance and prevents fingerprints and scratches

Answer 7

Netbook.

Cons:

MUCH smaller. (smaller keyboard, screen, ect)

my freind had one but it broke easily

no CD drive on most of them.

slow, klunkly.

barely any HD space.

waste of money.



pros:

good for if you are in college and you want to carry sometuhing light to a lecture or a coffee shop

smaller (more portable)

can connect up to 3G interent if you buy the right ones (through ATT, sprint ect.)

runs windows xp. (windows 7 and vista suck ****)

cheaper.





LAPTOPS!

Cons:

larger, more bulky.

heavy.

more expensive (if you get a top quaility one)



Pros:

bigger hard drive space

CD drive.

more USB/fire wire drives.

choice beetween windows xp, 7 and mac OSX.



i mean, these are pretty much teh obvious comparisons here... :)

Answer 8

I was wondering that too. I found this site helpful-

http://netbooksandstuff.com/what-is-a-netbook