The choice between a laptop or a netbook can be a daunting one. Both have distinct advantages and disadvantages, and knowing those can be the difference between being completely satisfied with your purchase, or suffering from severe buyer’s remorse.
A few years ago, the decision to purchase a laptop or a netbook could be narrowed down to one metric. How much the consumer could afford. Back then, the price difference between the two could be as much as $1000. This is no longer the case, as the prices of laptops have gone down considerably. This is due to a few factors, but mostly the cost of manufacturing. Nowadays, the decision to purchase a laptop or netbook has very little to do with the price of both options.
The first step in determining whether to purchase a laptop or netbook is to figure out which of the two best serves the needs of the consumer. Both a laptop and a netbook offer basic functions such as checking email, instant messaging, and basic chat functions. Social media will work well, as a well as surfing the web, which includes streaming of audio and video content, albeit in standard definition. If these are all the functions that are required, a netbook is the easy choice.
Gaming is a category that can cause a consumer some confusion. It is entirely possible to play games on a netbook, however, the type of gaming that can be done are limited. Generally speaking, gaming on a netbook will work for casual online gaming. Any game that requires a moderate amount of processing power will require a laptop.
Some of the tasks that need a laptop to be completed may seem odd for many consumers, since a lot of them can be performed on much smaller devices, like cell phones and tablets. For example, multi-tasking and running office software. Multi-tasking is the ability to be working on one task, and switch over to another task without quitting the first. A good example of this would be composing an email and listening to some music. With multi-tasking, the user has the ability to switch over to the music software and change to another song, and then return to writing the email as if they never left. On a netbook without multi-tasking, the user would have to either finish writing the email, or discard it, in order to go to the music software and change a song. If multi-tasking is a feature that will be used constantly, a laptop would be the appropriate choice.
Running office software is another function that generally is not well supported on net books. Office software has become extremely complex in the last few years. Not only used for word processing, but spreadsheets, presentations, document editing, and the like, are all very common functions of office software. Given how powerful our computers have become, it can be very easy for consumers to underestimate the amount of processing power necessary. If this will be the primary use of the equipment, a laptop is key.
Having an accurate idea of what functions will be necessary is the key for knowing if a netbook, or a laptop, is the appropriate choice. Once that has been determined, the technology has been designed to provide years of worry free enjoyment on the go.
About the author: Nicole Rodgers has been blogging in the technology, education, and insurance industries for three years. She likes to educate her older family members about technology that can improve their lifestyles. Whenever she finds something interesting about new technology she likes to start a website on it and blog about it.
5 Responses to “Choosing between a Laptop or a Netbook”
Last year when I was buying a new computer, I took a long time in deciding between the laptop and a netbook. I was on the road a lot so I had to take that into consideration. It was easier to carry around the netbook and more discreetly too. I chose the netbook.
I have been using a Samsung netbook for more than one year, and I regret having bought it. Yes, it is cheap, and it should allow you to perform most of the tasks you need. In my case, after having used it for two or three months, it began to run slower and slower. Now, it is almost impossible to do anything. Even Internet browsing is difficult, as it gets stuck in many pages. After that, I decided to buy a Chromebook. Yes, I know, it is almost the same, a Chromebook is a Netbook, but the operating system is very important. My new Chromebook runs much faster (even with very similar software) than my Windows 7 powered netbook.
In conclusion, I would not reccomend a Windows netbook at all.
It really comes down to what you want to do. A netbook is a great solution for many people do to its portability. Lots of people just surf the web, manage their mp3 player, and write documents. The would be fine for that. Like you say, though, even moderate gaming (or anything else processor intense, for that matter), would require a full laptop.
In my opinion, it is still best to go with laptop regardless of how you use it. It’s true that netbooks are cheaper however it has limited functionality. Like you said you can play casual games but not “real” games. Most of the netbooks have small screen size which makes it uncomfortable for the users to look at it. If you’re planning to buy a netbook might as well buy a laptop. It might cost you more but it’s better to pay more than having a machine that would make you regret due to its limitations.
I would say a laptop hands down. Netbooks have far less functionality and is pretty much limited to the web plus a few other things. A laptop is far more flexible. Again, it depends what you are wanting to use it for.