Unlike the olden days, we are now faced with many options when it comes to the size and power of our laptop.  You can buy everything from a small netbook (as small as a 7” screen) to larger than life notebooks that have screens over 18”.  With this buffet of laptops available to the consumer, how do you decide which one to buy?

For me, the toughest decision is whether or not I should buy a netbook.  You see, I work at home and it would be convenient to have a computer that I could use away from the office (like at the kitchen table) or when we go on the road traveling.  I already have a desktop that satisfies my gaming needs (at the moment), and really I am looking for portability.

But when it comes down to making the decision whether to buy a notebook or netbook, you have to consider the following:

1. Are you willing to sacrifice computing power for mobility?  If you are just working on basic stuff such as word processing, surfing the Internet or checking email, this won’t be an issue.  But if you are expecting your computer to be able to do something a little more complex (such as video rendering or games) you might be disappointed with the speed and responsiveness of a netbook.
2. Is weight an issue?  If you are a student or business person that will be carrying your laptop with you wherever you go for extended periods during the day, a lighter notebook will be better for you and your back.  Also, if you go with a smaller notebook or netbook, you will be able to carry more without having to have a large bag as they take up less space.
3. Are you going to be running primarily on the battery?  If you will be away from being able to plug in your notebook during the day, a netbook provides better battery life since they are designed to be more power friendly.  In fact, some of the netbooks can even run 8 hours on a full charge, which should be good enough for most of your working day.
4. Do you have problems reading or seeing text on a computer screen?  If you are wearing bifocals or don’t have the greatest vision, the screen size of a netbook may be a challenge for you.  If you find yourself in this predicament, you can go with a netbook, but chances are you will have to increase the font size to ensure that you are able to read the screen or go with a notebook that would have a bigger screen and therefore bigger font.
5. Are you going to be playing a lot of games?  If you are an avid computer gamer, then a netbook won’t work very well for you.  There currently is only one that I can think of that has a dedicated video card (the ASUS N10 in particular) and even that netbook can only play games on the most basic settings.

Make sure to consider the above questions when deciding on whether to buy a netbook or a notebook, and if you do, you should be happy with your decision.

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