August 12, 2009, 11:17 AM — Isn't the world of technology confusing enough without mislabeling a netbook as a mini-notebook? There are two or three manufacturers, and dozens of news outlets, that deliberately confuse their audience by implying a netbook is exactly the same as a notebook or laptop, just smaller. They are wrong, and should be ashamed of themselves.
True, there are a lot of similarities between netbooks and laptops, but the differences are critical. In fact, “laptop” is the more common and more widely used search term over notebook, but the alliteration between netbook and notebook seems overwhelmingly compelling to some. And since it's easy to read “netbook” and interpret it as “notebook” I use the term laptop whenever possible.
True, a netbook can run almost all the applications that a laptop runs, albeit more slowly. However, there are critical differences.
Netbooks don't have optical drives (CD or DVD)
Netbooks have slower processors (to reduce power consumption)
Netbooks use a smaller screen (to be much more portable)
Laptops, even the ones priced as inexpensively as netbooks, have larger screens, a more powerful processor, and optical drives. If you want all these things, in lieu of longer battery life and ease of portability, buy a laptop. If you need an inexpensive, portable computing device that runs programs locally but really shines when used with Web applications, buy a netbook.
There are two tools to choose from when looking for mobile computing devices. They are different. If you need a laptop to perform your tasks, get a laptop. If a netbook will perform your tasks, get a netbook. Just don't call it a mini-notebook.
