The demand for higher productivity requires that you stay connected to the world. It requires you to stay up to date with the newest technology. Portability, user-friendliness, and durability are the keys in the industry of technology. For instance, there was a time when we could not think of a day without using optical disks. But optical drives are yesterday’s technology. Now we prefer efficient, faster data storing and retrieval media such as pen drives, and cloud storage, and so on. These new technologies have made optical drives unnecessary on a laptop. Thus laptops turned into Netbooks and Ultrabooks and Tablet PCs. So, you need to find the laptop perfect for your needs. This post discusses different kinds of portable computers for different purposes and suggests the best based on your needs.
Traditional laptops
We all are familiar with traditional laptops. Traditional laptops come with DVD R/W and screens that are not touch-enabled. Due to their bulkiness and weight, traditional laptops are not suitable for travel and on-the-go needs, even though they are good to work with.
2-in-1 laptops
2-in-1 laptops aka convertible laptops are laptops that could be turned into Tablet PCs just by moving the lid all the down to the backside. These laptops feature a touchscreen. Pay extra attention to weight when buying convertible laptops. If they are heavy, you will not be able to use them as tablet PCs. Convertible laptops are relatively expensive, but most often they are not suitable for using as Tablet PCs due to their weight.
Ultrabook
An Ultrabook is a stylishly slim, lighter version of the traditional laptop. The most popular screen size featured on Ultrabook is 13.3 inches. However, 14-inch or even 15-inch Ultrabooks are not rare.
Because of its slim architecture, it becomes light too. In order to achieve the ultra thinness, these laptops are built without the mechanical part: the optical drive. Latest Ultrabooks sport up to Intel 8th generation core i7 processors or AMD Rayzen 7 1700 processors. Ultrabooks look much more elegant, gorgeous, and stylish compared to traditional laptops. They are more compact, and easier to carry. Ultrabook tends to have more battery backup than traditional laptops.
Ultrabooks can be an effective solution for those who tend to travel a lot and need on-the-go professional computing. An Ultrabook is nothing but a full-featured laptop (except for the optical drive), and it often features hybrid data storage (Solid-State drive along with a regular hard drive).
On the negative side, an Ultrabook is often more expensive (often costs $100 or more) than a traditional laptop with the same configuration.
Netbooks
The sole difference between a laptop and Netbook is that Netbooks are usually smaller, thinner, and do not have a CD/DVD/Blue-ray driver. It is built for on-the-go use. Netbooks come often in sizes as small as 10.1-inch, or 11.6-inch. Due to their smaller size, they are extremely portable devices. But the added portability does not come without its hitches. Netbooks cannot feature a full-sized keyboard. The keys on the keyboard are often smaller than regular keyboards found on laptops and Ultrabooks. Moreover, the smaller screen gives you a hard time reading and browsing the internet. Unlike Tablet computers, Netbooks do not have a specialized operating system to resize web material for a suitable view.
It is always difficult for a professional to work on a Netbook. The netbook is suitable for young people who aim to browse the internet or play low-end games.
On the other hand, most of today’s Netbooks come with HDMI port that can deliver full HD video resolution to an external monitor. So, if you lack space for a desktop; it is always a good idea to buy a Netbook and a large HD monitor to use at home. And when you need to use it on-the-go, you can detach the HDMI cable, and take your extremely portable Netbook wherever you go.
Tablet computers
Tablet computers are the slimmest, lightest computers that feature touchscreen (some Ultrabooks, and Netbooks feature touchscreen displays too), and longer battery backup. They are superiors than Netbooks because of their specialized operating system. Unlike Netbook operating system, Tablet computers commonly come equipped with the Android operating system, which has an innate ability to resize and display content in proper sizing.
Tablets often come in three different display sizes: 7-inches, 9.7-inches, and 10.1 inches. While Tablet computers could be your best travel mate compared to an Ultrabook, or a Netbook, but it has its limitations as well.
First of all, since the Tablet PCs are touchscreen devices, so you will mostly use it bending your neck down and looking at it at an angle almost equal to 60 to 90 degree. This increases the risk of eye or neck injury. Besides, you tend to use them so close to your eyes that it will increase the risk even more compared to a Netbook or an Ultrabook.
Secondly, the soft-touch on-screen keyboard is never a good solution for those who need to type a lot, whether for social networking or professional needs. So, ultimately, you end up buying an extra USB keyboard. Furthermore, typing on your Tablet PC looking down on it from an almost perpendicular location is not a good solution either. So, eventually, you end up buying a Tablet stand with keyboard for your Tablet PC, ultimately turning it into a convertible laptop.
Conclusion
According to our research on the work-friendliness, usability, and portability – full-featured Ultrabooks win the race for professional needs. Netbook and Tablet PC users say that they mostly use those devices for fun, and easier internet browsing.
If you are looking for a highly portable device that you can use as your travel mate, and for on-the-go computing, or for listening songs, or watching movies, we highly recommend you buy an Ultrabook.
However, if your main purpose is to browse the internet, watch youtube videos, or video chat on Skype, then we recommend you buy a Tablet and turn it into a Netbook by buying a stand with a keyboard.
If you will mainly be browsing the internet, and intend to use software like MS Office, Adobe Photoshop, or play some real games occasionally, then we recommend you buy a Netbook.
If you are tight on budget, check our post on best laptops under $500.