Laptop vs Netbook

Hi Nick & Niki,

Thanks for a lovely event last night with Claudie Plen. I haven't stopped thinking about it all morning and keep journaling new ideas.

This is a random technology question that was triggered when I saw you two walking around with that netbook. I'm sure I could find out somethign on google, but I'd be really curiuos to know from you (particularly Niki, being the techno wiz) how you use a netbook differently from a laptop? I've always assumed that netbooks were really just for web surfing, checking email, and basic computer functions, and not so good for word processing, photos, etc.  Any insights on this would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks and best wishes,

Cheryl Kempton

Hi Cheryl ,

Yeah – it was a brilliant evening - I loved it :o)

Nick and I both ended up with the same model of Dell Netbook – and I actually got mine free with an 18 month mobile broadband contract with Vodafone...

… I've found that the machine is good for pretty much all basic functions – including word-processing – although when I play videos on it, it can get a bit clunky, and it is a bit slow in comparison to my other laptop. But it's so portable that since I bought it my old laptop has never left the flat. If I could choose again I might not go for that particular Dell model, because the battery life is a bit poor, but overall I'm pretty happy with it.

The main differences between a Netbook and a laptop would be: size (my Netbook is tiny in comparison to my old laptop), power (on a Netbook you'll only get a single processor, but most laptops seem to be duel core these days), and you also wouldn't get peripherals like a CD / DVD reader / writer.

Hope this helps,

Niki

Hi Cheryl

Good to see you on Wednesday and glad you got some ideas.

For me the joy of the netpad is the sheer portability - my old lap top is like a brick in comparison - I love being able to carry it without a burden and therefore being able to write anywhere

Nick

Thanks to both of you for your responses!