Difference Between Netbook and Notebook

When laptops first arrived onto the scene, everyone thought that they signaled the death of the ubiquitous desktop. After all, who wouldn’t want to be portable and carry his computing power along with him. But desktops have remained intact, and rather laptop has given way to smaller versions of ultra portable computers that are being labeled as notebooks and netbooks. They have added to the portability factor being smaller and lighter than a standard laptop. However, they are inferior in computing and processing power than a laptop.

It is hard to define a netbook or a notebook. What is certain is that it is a continuum that we are talking about and netbooks being the lightest and smallest are at one end while notebooks lie in the middle with slightly bigger screens and higher processing power. At the extreme of this continuum are standard laptops with 17-21 inch screens and around 10 pound weight.

Gone are the days when everyone’s desire was to have the faster and better computing machine. Now most of the computing is done by the sites on the net, and the basic requirement of a majority of those who want mobility from their computers is to surf the net and to chat, email, and watch videos and listen to music. This meant that laptops had to give way to smaller sized notebooks that had less of computing power, and also has smaller screens.

Netbooks can be said to be a breed of mobile computing device that lies somewhere between tablet PC’s and notebooks as they have around 10 inch screen and a weight that is around 1 kg only. Added portability has meant sacrifice of some more computing features but those who are on the move and require the device just to surf and to chat, a net book is nothing less than a boon.

It is clear then that netbooks and notebooks belong to the same form factor as that of a laptop. They both have a monitor that is hinged to a keypad. The difference lies in the size, weight, and features. Whereas, notebooks have screen size in between 12-17 inches and weigh around 5 pounds, netbooks are smaller with screen less than 12 inches and weight less than a kilogram.

As told earlier, netbooks are smaller and lighter versions of notebooks which in turn are smaller and lighter than standard laptops. But in the process, there is also sacrifice of some features and processing power. If you want to use the device for listening to music, watching videos, chatting, emailing and surfing the net, netbook is ideal for you. But if you want more from the device such as editing content (videos and images), you need a notebook. Netbooks are best for those who need to carry their computer along whole day long as it is so light they don’t even feel like they are carrying their computer in their backpack. Netbooks do not have a CD or DVD drive and are meant for web based content. They typically have less hardware and thus have lesser brainpower which is good for them as they can last longer on their batteries.

On the other hand, you get CD drive with notebooks, higher processing speed, larger hard drive, and larger storage space. All this obviously increases the size and weight of the device. If you are looking for strength rather than convenience in your device, notebook is certainly better than a netbook for you. However, more power and larger LCD means drainage of battery sooner than is the case with a netbook.