Netbooks vs. notebooks: What’s right for your needs?

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]

Notebooks
Notebooks are meant to give you a multifunctional computer. They have built-in Wi-Fi [1] 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 notebooks
The list below recommends activities for HP Mini netbooks and typical notebooks. Some activities, like editing photos, can be performed on a netbook, but will slow down performance.

HP Mini

Send and receive e-mail [2]
Use Microsoft Office productivity software (Word, PowerPoint)
Listen to music
View photos
Surf the web [2]
Video chat with a webcam [2]
Play casual games
Notebook

Send and receive e-mail [2]
Use Microsoft Office productivity software (Word, PowerPoint)
Listen to music
View photos
Edit photos and videos
Surf the web [2]
Watch videos or movies
Video chat with a webcam [2]
Play casual games
Play mainstream, graphics-rich games
Run more than one application at the same time
How do netbooks and notebooks measure up?
Here are some at-a-glance stats about the differences between HP netbooks and typical notebooks.

HP Mini

Size : 10.55”x7” – 11.4×8.03”(fits in a purse)
Weight : Starts at 2.69 lbs. [3]
Processor : IntelR Atom™
Operating System : Windows XP Home Edition, Windows 7 Starter, Windows 7 Home Premium
Graphics : Intel shared or NVIDIA ION LE shared
Memory : Up to 3GB
Hard drive [6] : HDD up to 250GB [6]; SSD up to 80GB
Wireless [1] : 802.11b/g or 802.11a/b/g/n [7], optional Bluetooth, optional WWAN [9] and GPS
Optical disc drive : None
Typical Notebooks

Size : 12 x 8″(fits in a backpack)
Weight : 5-9 lbs.
Processor : Dual-core standard; quad-core
Operating System : Windows7 Premium, Business and Ultimate
Graphics : Full range of Intel shared, NVIDIA and ATI shared and dedicated options
Memory : 2GB-16GB or more
Hard drive [6] : 250GB-1TB500GB [6] or more; SSD up to 320GB with dual drive configuration
Wireless [1] : 802.11a/b/g/n [7], optional Bluetooth, optional WWAN [9] (select models)
Optical disc drive : CD/DVD drive with optional Blu-Ray
Now the big question: Should you buy a netbook or a notebook?
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 notebooks. But if you’re looking for a compact mobile companion with built-in Wi-Fi [1] 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] 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] Internet access required; sold separately.
[3] Weight varies by configuration.
[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] 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.
[9] Broadband use requires separately purchased service contract. Check with service provider for coverage and availability in your area.
[10] To use HP QuickSync, each device must have HP QuickSync software installed and all devices need to be on the same network.

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