Netbooks have recently decided to storm into the portable computer scene, and are seemingly stealing the thunder of our good friend the laptop, as more and more people are starting to get caught into the netbook whirlwind. Still, a lot of people are scratching their heads, asking the same question: what exactly IS a netbook, and what makes them different from laptops? We have decided to delve into this and save you and your scalp the trouble.
First off, you’ll see right off the bat that netbooks are smaller than the average laptop. While standard laptops average about 14” up, netbooks can get as bite sized as 10” or even 7”. Thus, this makes them loads more convenient, as you can stuff them just about anywhere, considering they’re also quite lighter than their laptop counterparts. While this may be a problem for the media-savvy traveler, this will prove more practical for businessmen on the go.
Also, despite the mini me status, since most netbooks boast 1024×600 screen resolution, most websites won’t be too much of a problem for the little guy, and the user won’t have to break his head and his wrist, scrolling back and forth.
Another thing about the netbooks’ size- it doesn’t eat up your battery as much, since, well, it’s tiny. It doesn’t have much to power up, saving you almost 3 hours of battery time than regular laptops. Again, a must for most businessmen and long distance travelers who don’t mind the small size as the battery life just makes it that more convenient.
Ah, convenience. I’ve seen quite a trend in advertisements, showing people stuffing their netbooks in their back pockets- while this may look quite cool as you walk down the street, it won’t be as lovely when you end up having to chase a pickpocket back the way you came
Size matters so much in this case (Did I just hear someone say “That’s what she said!”?), it influences not only aesthetically, but also performance-wise as well. While it’s all been unicorns, rainbows and butterflies up to this point, like any marketed product, they have their negative points.
The math is quite easy. A small body means small gadgetry on the inside. The processor has to be just as bite sized as the shell, so it’s very, very limited. I cannot stress this enough. While technology is making alarmingly quick advances each day, netbooks remain oblivious to any sort of power-hungry media- no videos, no HD, no compiling thousands of music without risking major decrease in speed for your hard drive. So, as I said above, media-savvy consumers- Stay away!
Another sizeable issue (see what I did there?) is the keyboard. Cucumber fingers will not love how tiny the keys are, as they will be spending more time correcting their mistakes than actually typing anything. While your officemates are wrapping up, you’ve barely typed the last word of your first sentence. Perhaps auto correct may save you.
While netbooks remain devoid of CDs and DVDs (again, size issue), they’re strength remains in net-related business, thus the name. Wi-Fi is up and ready for use, and most recently released netbooks are secured with Bluetooth capabilities, both very welcome for those who look to be bestowed with the godsend gift of the internet. Tether away, my nerdy friends.
Lastly, one of the biggest things that will remain an issue for MOST masses considering purchasing one or the other is yet again, the size- the size of their wallets. Netbooks, for the most part, are incredibly cheaper than laptops, more often than not by almost 200$. It obviously depends on the model, but for the most part, this is the case.
It all comes down to preference, people. If all you’ll need is a working companion that can do basic things such as taking down notes, browsing light webpages and playing minesweeper, then netbooks are definitely the way to go. If you need a gaming machine, a media monster or if you have fat fingers, invest in a laptop.
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