Notebooks have become popular among all users, especially students, due to their compactness and power. Different types of notebooks have emerged, including desktop replacements with large monitors and high specs, super-laptops with up to 20-inch monitors, netbooks with limited functionality and portability, and ultrathin laptops with solid-state hard drives.
Notebooks have evolved a lot in the last ten years, transforming from an elite tool only of wealthy professionals, into a device that is gradually replacing the desktop computer and becoming pervasive among all users. Students, in particular, find notebooks ideal for their needs, as they are compact, can be taken to class or on the go, and are powerful enough for virtually any educational need. As the notebook market developed, companies began looking to differentiate themselves by creating new classes of notebooks, leading to a very different set of types.
As notebooks began to replace desktops, they necessarily became more and more powerful, leading to a class of laptop: the desktop replacement. These computers usually have fairly large monitors, in the 15″ to 17″ (38cm to 43cm) range, have a good enough video card to handle advanced graphics, up to 4GB of RAM possible, a DVD player, and a CD burner, a wireless card for Internet connectivity and hard drives with up to 500GB of storage space. This allows them to handle most tasks that a desktop computer can do, carry around a lot of video or music files, and play and burn CDs and DVDs.
Even beyond desktop replacement are laptops that aren’t even laptops, sometimes called super-laptops. These can have monitors as large as 20 inches (51cm), making them comparable to many large desktop systems. Their larger monitor means they have a much larger footprint and weight, making them difficult to transport. It also means there’s more room for components, though, so these computer notebooks can fit multiple hard drives for extra space, lightning-fast video cards, and massive amounts of RAM. While not hugely popular, these 20-inch laptops see some use among gaming enthusiasts, as well as some design professionals and those who want a true desktop replacement that’s only mildly portable.
At the other extreme is the so-called netbook. These computer notebooks are quite small and meant to have limited functionality. Many netbooks are built around the idea of running mostly web applications, so the need for internal processing power is greatly reduced. At their minimum, netbooks can have monitors as large as 5″ (13cm) and rarely exceed 12″ (30cm). Netbooks are super portable, often weighing around two pounds (1 kg), and their battery life can be quite extensive. In addition to their portability, netbooks are also one of the cheapest notebooks and are considered a greener alternative to larger computers that require more toxic materials.
Another type of super portable laptop has also appeared recently, which aims not to sacrifice too much power for its small weight and footprint. These ultra-thin laptops use solid-state hard drives to eliminate a great deal of weight and thickness and rely on external devices such as CD-ROM drives or DVD players. While not as light as netbooks, ultrathin laptops are generally a bit more powerful. With this added power, however, comes a hefty price tag, and ultrathins are usually significantly more expensive than a comparable mainstream laptop.
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