Netbooks vs. laptops: What's right for your needs?


Netbooks vs. laptops: What's right for your needs?

Introduction

Netbooks and laptops both help you stay connected. But how do you know which is right for your needs? Use the information here to help determine whether a netbook or a laptop works best for you.

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Netbooks

Netbooks

Netbooks, like the HP Mini, are designed to give you an easy, portable way to access the Internet with built-in Wi-Fi.1 The small, lightweight design makes netbooks a great choice when traveling but they're not intended for mainstream productivity and media-rich applications. Netbooks are best suited as a companion to your everyday PC.

HP Mini netbooks now come preinstalled with HP QuickSync software powered by Syncables™. You’ll no longer need to worry whether you have the latest version of a document because you can automatically sync, migrate, access and publish content between your main PC, HP Mini or other syncable devices on the same network.10

Laptops

Laptops

Laptops and notebooks are meant to give you a multifunctional computer. They have built-in Wi-Fi1 to give you the freedom to work and play wirelessly. Depending on the model, larger screen sizes, bigger hard drives and built-in DVD drives increase laptops' weight, which makes them less portable than netbooks but an excellent choice for your everyday computing needs.

Compare activities between netbooks and laptops

The chart below recommends activities for HP Mini netbooks and typical laptops. Some activities, like editing photos, can be performed on a netbook, but will slow down performance.

Activity HP Mini Laptop

Send and receive e-mail2

X

X

Use Microsoft Office productivity software (Word, PowerPoint)

X

X

Listen to music

X

X

View photos

X

X

Edit photos and videos

 

X

Surf the web2

X

X

Watch videos or movies

 

X

Video chat with a webcam2

X

X

Play casual games

X

X

Play mainstream, graphics-rich games

 

X

Run more than one application at the same time

 

X


How do netbooks and laptops measure up?

Here are some at-a-glance stats about the differences between HP netbooks and typical laptops.

HP Mini Typical Laptops

Size

10.55”x7.51”
(fits in a purse)

12 x 8"
(fits in a backpack)

Weight

Starts around 2.5 lbs.3

5-9 lbs.

Processor

Intel® Atom™

Dual-core standard; quad-core

Operating System

Windows 7 Starter, Windows 7 Home Premium

Windows7 Home Premium,
Windows 7 Professional, or
Windows 7 Ultimate

Graphics

Intel shared

Full range of Intel shared, NVIDIA and ATI shared and dedicated options

Memory

Up to 2GB

2GB-16GB or more

Hard drive6

HDD up to 500GB6

250GB-1TB500GB6 or more; SSD up to 320GB with dual drive configuration

Wireless1

802.11b/g or 802.11a/b/g/n7, optional Bluetooth, optional WWAN9

802.11a/b/g/n7, optional Bluetooth, optional WWAN9 (select models)

Optical disc drive

None

CD/DVD drive with optional Blu-Ray


Now the big question: Should you buy a netbook or a laptop?

It really comes down to how you'll use the product and your budget. If you want to edit videos, watch movies, play games and run more than one application at the same time while on the go, netbooks can't compete with the multifunctional prowess of laptops. But if you're looking for a compact mobile companion with built-in Wi-Fi1 for surfing the web, blogging and staying in touch with friends, the small price tag of netbooks is hard to beat for a secondary computer.


To learn more about HP's netbooks, go to www.hp.com/go/mini.

  1. 1. Wireless access point required and is not included. Availability of public wireless access points limited wireless, Internet and VOIP require separately purchased service contract.
  2. 2. nternet access required; sold separately.
  3. 3. Weight varies by configuration.
  4. 4. Dual Core is designed to improve performance of certain software products. Not all customers or software applications will necessarily benefit from use of this technology.
  5. 5. Certain Windows Vista product features require advanced or additional hardware. See www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/hardwarereqs.mspx and www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/capable.mspx for details. Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor can help you determine which features of Windows Vista will run on your computer. To download the tool, visit www.windowsvista.com/upgradeadvisor.
  6. 6. For hard drives, GB=1 billion bytes. Actual formatted capacity is less. Up to 8GB of hard drive is reserved for the system recovery software.
  7. 7. The specifications for the 802.11n WLAN are draft specifications and are not final. If the final specifications differ from the draft specifications, it may affect the ability of the notebook to communicate with other 802.11n WLAN devices.
  8. 8. HP Mini Mobile Drive available with SSD configuration only.
  9. 9. Broadband use requires separately purchased service contract. Check with service provider for coverage and availability in your area.
  10. 10. To use HP QuickSync, each device must have HP QuickSync software installed and all devices need to be on the same network.