In the fast paced world that we live in today, mobility has become king. The need to have computing power at all times have driven the need for smaller and more powerful computers. From the desktop, then the laptop, and now netbooks. But how do you know if you need a laptop or a netbook. We’ll discuss the differences of the two devices.
The primary difference between a netbook and a laptop is the price. Understandably, the bigger and more powerful laptop costs a lot more than a netbook. The hefty price tag does come with a few perks. One of which is the much bigger LCD screen which can range from 14 to 19 inches compared to a netbooks usual 7-10 inches. Even the insides of a laptop is significantly beefed up, sporting dual even quad core processors and 2GB or more RAM. Netbooks on the other hand rely on less powerful components to cut costs. Another thing that adds to the laptops advantage is the size of the keyboard. Some might not think that this is important, but typing a lengthy document on the miniature keyboards that netbooks have is essentially a nightmare.
Though it may not seem likely, netbooks do have some bright aspects to it when it comes to this david and goliath battle. Being small isn’t always bad. The small form factor and a usual weight of around 2lbs netbook allows for greater mobility compared to a 6lbs laptop.The less powerful processor of the netbook also aids the netbook since it guzzles less electricty than the power hungry laptop. Laptop owners need to contstantly charge their devices and seem to be jumping from one outlet to the next. Smaller memory cards with large capacities like the microSD also helps the netbook since it diminishes the importance of a laptops huge storage capacity. You wouldn’t need a 200GB hard drive if you can have a few microSD cards to hold your files.
But the strongest argument on the netbook’s side is the number of inovative technologies that seem to be popping-up like crazy. There are already netbooks that sport a touch screen interface that allows for easier drawing and notetaking compared to a laptop. There are even sim card slots that allow the netbook to act partly like a phone.
Choosing whether you need a netbook or a laptop should really be based on your requirements. Netbooks have the advantage of mobility and longer battery life, but isn’t really good for anything more than browsing the internet or reading mail. Laptops on the other hand are quite powerful and can do just about anything that a desktop can, but the power requirements and weight can prove to be a serious obstacle if you really need to lug it around all day.