The Great Laptop vs Netbook Debate

[St0rmW1nd]

I also looked at the prices of some netbooks and they are very cheap, if you need a computer just for word processing, etc then a netbook is an excellent buy!

[MattR]

Problem with mine is it's got a HDD not SSD so it's very noisy. Apart from that it's good.

[St0rmW1nd]

Problem with mine is it's got a HDD not SSD so it's very noisy. Apart from that it's good.

I also have an HDD but it isn't that bad, thinking about upgrading my laptop soon.

[AL3X]

I'm still not too sure about netbooks, I've only used 'em a few times while at Best Buy or something, but I don't know how well i'd be able to type on the small keyboards. I have big hands so it would probably be kind of awkward while i get used to it. I want one to carry around tho, my laptop is okay for going between houses and things like that, but not to carry around all day.

[aldo]

I personally would love a netbook over a laptop any day (I have a desktop, so something very portable would be nice). They are starting to be nearly as powerful as laptops.

And lol, this topic reminds me of some stupid article on CNet, where a worker there said the netbook label ought to be removed because they are just as powerful as laptops. I registered on that site just to say how dumb that was... A netbook is called a netbook due to its size, not the power. .-.

[St0rmW1nd]

I personally would love a netbook over a laptop any day (I have a desktop, so something very portable would be nice). They are starting to be nearly as powerful as laptops.

And lol, this topic reminds me of some stupid article on CNet, where a worker there said the netbook label ought to be removed because they are just as powerful as laptops. I registered on that site just to say how dumb that was... A netbook is called a netbook due to its size, not the power. .-.

I'm tired of portable low preference computers, I really want a desktop. Laptops and netbooks suck...

[nevets04]

Laptop is better if you use it for everything. Like home, school, work, and games.
Netbooks are generally for work and school.

Honestly I dont feel either is good for gaming, unles your wiling to spend a lot of money.

[Tim]

I don't really consider there to be much of a debate. I have both and think they are both great and I use them for different things.

Netbooks I think are also great to be a portable companion to your desktop too, but I wouldn't have one as my sole computer.

I have an Asus eee 1000h and so far have nothing bad to say about it. The battery is great, the performance is great, the price was great. GREAT! ;P

[majordave]

Fully functional laptops are still expensive, weight too much, and are still under-powered. It's my view that getting a full sized desktop accompanied with a netbook is the better value and it's usually about the same price. Why grab a laptop with even a 16" screen when you can have a desktop with a 19" at least.

Because I'm an accountant and often go to clients' offices where I have to input data. USB numeric keypads are crap, so to me, laptops with built-in numeric keypads are the greatest invention since sliced bread!

And that's the first reason I much prefer full-size laptops over either desktops or netbooks. In fact, I no longer even OWN a desktop.

As far as desktops with 19" screens go, well, I have laptop made by HP called "The Dragon" which has a 20" screen! Totally impractical though. 20 minute battery life and far too heavy to lug around, much less perch on your lap.

My little pink Acer Aspire One is absolutely adorable! But for the most part, as impractical as "The Dragon." I'll list the reasons:

1. Tiny little keyboard. I'm a very small woman with miniature hands and skinny little fingers, and I find it very difficult to type on, and can't build up any decent typing speed. I can't even imagine how a full-grown man with meaty hands and fingers could possibly manage.

2. The mousepads on full-size laptops have improved to the point of where I don't even use a separate mouse, but on my netbook, it just plain sucks!

3. The screen size is too small to view many applications decently, or comfortably for any period of time. Can hardly read a Quickbook report on it, and don't even THINK about using it to analyze a complex excel spreadsheet.

4. Underpowered. Can't run multiple applications at the same time or open more than 1 or 2 windows without lagging. Also lags if you try to run any resource intensive programs (such as Office 2007) and pretty much impossible to view a number of HD youtube videos. Lower quality (resolution) youtube videos run just fine, however, for example, the official "Lady Gaga" videos on "youtube" stop to "buffer" every few seconds. Very annoying.

5. Maybe netbooks with SSDs (solid state drives) run better, but they also have very small hard drives, like 16GB--not even large enough to hold my itunes collection! Mine however has a 160GB HDD, and it boots up fast enough, sure, I surf the net and read my emails, but forget about downloading anything of any decent size.

In conclusion, I still use my cute little netbook for overnight trips where I don't plan on using it for anything other than checking my emails and looking a few things up on the internet, but for just about everything else, I much prefer a full-size laptop.

If I didn't need the built-in numeric keypad, I'd switch to a Macbook Air!

['Snorlax]

Laptop for home use - Netbook for school and stuff.
Imo.