netbook vs lapptop/notebook

[mechnut450]

ok  I know most people  got one or both.  outside he dvd drive part  what the big differnece in them.  I might get one  if I can swing the bills this summer. I shockd cause most the netbooks are running as high as a low end  laptop.  with what little I do I could get away with  a netbook , ( facebook, email ,yahoo chat with family)  but outside that the only thing a laptop will let me do is watch dvds. ( yeah I could image them to a file format andtransfer  but I would /could  fill the harddrive up in  no time doing that .
outside the movie issues  which would be best/ long lasting  in terms of battery to power  usage.
also is it possible to run  a full blown oem  OS onto a netbook.?

[Damage Inc.]

I have a Dell netbook, my GF has a Toshiba portable comp., and we also have a desktop comp.

The Toshiba is faster than the Dell, and the battery life is about the same.  I *think* the Toshiba has a full version of 7 while the Dell has a striped down version.  A picked up an external DVD drive (and it sucks the life out of the battery, so have a power source nearby), so really the only diff I get is screen size (I don't do hardcore gaming, so I can't give you info on that, as other will surely chime in).

[guardiandashi]

my understanding is that the netbooks evolved out of 2 things, the opc/c (one pc per child) program that was trying to computers into disadvantaged areas, and the fact that modern tech has advanced to the point that "basic" pc functions can actually be pretty robust.

in other words even a "basic" $3-500 us pc can be pretty capable if limited.

the netbooks are the next step in that process or as I sometimes say they are the ultimate in thin/light pc's

laptops and notebooks tend to be significantly more capable.

[Clangador]

I have a netbook, but I wish I had got a laptop instead. I get5 more use out of my smartphone and Kindle Fire.

[Bosefius]

My netbook is much more portable and has a much higher battery life than my laptop. We are talking 4+ hours for the netbook compared to 2 hours roughly on the laptop. I use the netbook 75%+ of the time, it is just easier to use all around. Takes less room when sitting on the couch, doesn't get as hot, etc, etc. When I have serious work to do I use my laptop, otherwise everything is on my netbook.

If you are buying new then you are looking at a 'top end' netbook for the price of the lowest end laptops. If you are going used, you can get netbooks even cheaper (honestly, as there is a move from netbooks to 'ultra-portables' new netbooks are dropping in price quickly). If you are looking at web browsing, email and chat then definitely go netbook. If you are thinking about using DVD's then it's not worth it, once you add the portable DVD player and it's power source you are better off with a laptop.

[MemphisMark]

Are you set on a laptop/netbook, or are you open to a tablet? I have the original iPad, and it still works fantastic. I have 14 movies on it ATM, and if I wanted to put the money into a printer, I could print with it. The only thing I don't like about it is there is no Quicken app :(, the closest is Mint.com, which I am still trying to figure out.

Everything else that I can do on my desktop (outside of high graphics gaming) I can do on my iPad. Because of the new iPad, the base iPad2 is going for $399 and if you don't want cameras, you can probably pick up an original iPad for even cheaper.

I carry it in an inCase carry case, and it has room for all of my power cables, my keyboard, my MiFi Hot Spot and it includes a two position stand to prop the iPad up.

[cray]

ok  I know most people  got one or both.  outside he dvd drive part  what the big differnece in them.

Processing power. If you ever get a computer game that demands more CPU power than Angry Birds, you'll want a laptop with a modern i-Core or similar AMD processor. There is a sizable gap in power between even a low-end laptop's i3 (and video card) and a netbook's Atom, Via, or ARM.

Laptops also tend to have better secondary capabilities than netbooks, like extra external ports for USB devices, external video, etc.

with what little I do I could get away with  a netbook , ( facebook, email ,yahoo chat with family)

If that's all you do, a netbook or tablet (like Nook Color or Kindle Fire) should be plenty.

  but outside that the only thing a laptop will let me do is watch dvds. ( yeah I could image them to a file format andtransfer  but I would /could  fill the harddrive up in  no time doing that .

Netbooks and tablets will handle Netflix videos pretty well.

which would be best/ long lasting  in terms of battery to power  usage.

Netbooks, usually, though some laptops with lighter CPUs and large batteries do pretty well.

also is it possible to run  a full blown oem  OS onto a netbook.?

Netbooks usually run full OSs.

[mechnut450]

well cray I am not talknig about netflicks ( since i doubt the org were my fiancee at would like it if i ate up ther e bandwith  streaming movies every weekend) I have a huge stock of anime dvds and some movies I liek ot watch but my 5+ year old portable dvd player  got a bad power cord( section of it anyhow ) and outsidfe of hard wiring it to the board )  it a pain in but cause if i shift the player it cuts out and i got to start all over.)
I do own software to rip my dvds to a file format, but  iwould fill up a 320 gig hardrive in nothing flat ( once i could figure out the transferring of it to the netbook ipad.   Games wise I been playing the  cityville  and farm ville   plus playinbg anger birds on facebook. but that the top of the games lol.. I not mind  fitting a dvd series onto the net book/ipad   if i knew I had enough power/room  to play them with out any lost. heck It be great if I can watch my downlaoded anime files  (since it be the bets time to caught up on them)
also would one of these new 7-10 inch touch screen tablets I beenseeingi handle such programs ( and take the codec pack files to watch all my anime with ?) I go for a used one cause It not like I gonigo t run it forever lol.. mainly want something I can keep up my files/ make  notes with and possible transfer  to the pc later ( just thought of this) while out in the worl. I got my cell for pics or if I want high end I can always use my digitial camera.

[Bosefius]

Ok, reading your reply to Cray it seems you are inclined to buy a laptop. Honestly, I think you are looking at a wash for price, it sounds like you would have to buy a 1tb or larger internal hard drive for your desk top plus the price of the netbook.

From re-reading your want list I agree with the others, consider a tablet. Though I will say DON'T go with the Kindle Fire, it has a locked 16gb of memory. Instead, go with a Nook Color (hacked into a tablet with Android 2.3 it is more than usable, I quiet like mine). The Nook Color (and Tablet) both have Micro-SD card slots so they can be expanded with a 32gb card (which are fairly cheap anymore). Also, with Android it is easy to connect to a Windows desktop to access a shared drive (for videos, music, etc).

Just some thoughts.

[Goose]

Pretty much everything I know on the subject of portables, I learned here: http://www.pcmag.com/reviews/laptop-computers

The "10 best laptops" thing updated over the weekend (48 ours sooner, and I would have read only about half as much as I just did), but the if there was a "10 best netbooks", it's been taken down.

The two "How to"s are old.

AMD has taken over netbooks as we knew them, and even with a new wave of Pine Trail Atoms just coming out, there seems to be no more movement in the segment; To wit: The last review of a netbook was mid-Feb.

When I bought a couple of years ago, there seemed to be this binary choice in the $300~400 range: Netbook with 6~8 hour life, or some ~16" luggable with all of half-an-hour to it, sans cord.

We do seem real close to Ive Bridge coming out, and I think I've read all the laptop models have the new HD 4000 graphics system, which seems to be around the GeForce 430 or 440 level in games, and greatly improved in image quality for video over the HD 3000. http://www.anandtech.com/show/5626/ivy-bridge-preview-core-i7-3770k/16

[mechnut450]

lol  I have  1tb, 100 gig and a 5oo gig external ( portable )  harddrives and  they all been maxed filled. I was thinking if i had a netbook ai can at least use an external if needed to pull my files off of ( or really just  open the netbook and swap out the hardrive to a larger one ) if that would work lol. I do build pcs so a simple harddrive swap is easy . I just don't havea lot of experience with latptops and such ( outside of relaods and upping the memory when needed.

[Dave Talley]

net books are ok, I tell customers they are essentially mobile surfing devices, not full computers

and currently you can get full sized laptops in the 300-450 range that are great basic units, battery times vary by screen size and brand

in general 14" screens use less power because of the smaller screen and
in general toshibas tend to have better battery performance

most laptops that I have seen lately have the average battery life of
17" 3-4 hours
15.6 inch 4-6 hours
14 inch 5-7 hours

a quick surf around and you can easily get a decent laptop inexspensively

now if you want smaller and lighter you can take a look at the ultrabooks
no dvd drive but fast and light and great battery life but are priced at 700+

[mechnut450]

thanks everyone gives me a lot to  chew on lol,  next step will be the funding of something ( I know my portable dvd player finally burnt out this weekend ( put disk in and getting no disk  error ) and I not hearing the motor spin up. ( plus the power plug  ( cord0 got a break in it cause it gets bumped and shuts off.