Does size matter?
Several years ago, the choices for notebook PCs were somewhat limited. In general, you’d find notebooks that had display panels that spanned in size from 12″ to 15″. Anything outside of this range was unconventional, and hence, expensive. Today, though, a plethora of different display sizes has become mainstream. You’ll just as easily find an 8.9″ notebook at an online computer store as you would a 17″ system, all at prices that are significantly cheaper than they were even 3 years ago. In fact, notebooks are so affordable now that more than half of all PC sales in the US and Canada in the most recently closed calendar quarter were comprised of notebooks (55.2% in the US, to be precise). However, with choice comes confusion, and the recent entry of the ‘netbook’ category of devices into the mix complicates matters even more. Aside from working on the ThinkPad SL, I’m also the product manager on Lenovo’s IdeaPad S-series netbooks and I’d like to summarize some of the major differences between netbooks and notebooks so that you can make a more informed decision about which the right system for you is. Some of the information isn’t universally true, but it’s safe to assume that the information is valid for sub-$500 netbooks. Please feel free to ask me questions about these systems in the comments section and I’d appreciate it if you would also participate in the accompanying poll.
| NETBOOK
(e.g. IdeaPad S-series) |
NOTEBOOK
(e.g. T-series,X-series) |
|
| Primary usage | Content consumption, web-surfing, email, social networking | Full, rich PC experience. Everything a netbook does + content creation, high definition video, large data set manipulation |
| Display size | 7″ – 10″ | 12″ and up |
| Size + weight | Ultraportable | Ultraportable to true desktop replacement |
| Processing power | Lightweight processing, < 50% of Celeron capability | Up to graphics-intensive processing |
| Graphics | Integrated only | Integrated, discrete and switchable graphics |
| Ergonomics | 85-90% ISO full-size keyboard | ISO Full-size keyboard |
| Storage capacity | Low capacity, low quality SSD; HDD up to 160GB | High quality, reliable SSDs up to 256GB; HDD up to 1.5TB |
| Processor choices | Extremely limited | Broad range across numerous price points |
December 2nd, 2008 at 10:17 am
Do you really need those biased explanations added to the sizes?
I know people who are on the go but want 17″ because they do CAD; I prefer small sizes even if portability is not required because they are convenient to move around the office or apartment.
December 2nd, 2008 at 1:31 pm
certainly there is a market for smaller systems with more processing power. my high-res X61s serves as a travel tool to accompany a fully-loaded thinkstation D10. the only place where the X61s falls somewhat short is when working with CAD, although it’s actually not that bad with small files in solidworks.
my ideal machine would be a 13.3″ IPS or AFFS @ 1680×1050 thinkpad with a dual- or quad-core processor and a 512MB+ nvidia quadro FX 770M (or better) GPU. i don’t need a full-on workstation when mobile — just something fast enough to work on files when mobile and present projects to clients, while staying portable enough not to be a burden. combine “unnoticeable” and “horsepower” in the same package.
December 2nd, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Hi Goran,
The phrases I used to describe the notebooks with various display sizes are all industry-standard terms, not my personal take on what the respective sizes represent. Do a search for “desktop replacement”, for instance, and the general consensus is that it refers to a 17″ or larger notebook.
December 2nd, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Hi, Brandon.
They may be used like that, but that’s exactly the kind of self-reinforcing boxing that I object to. If you’re asking for size, you’re not asking for the role, right?
December 3rd, 2008 at 7:10 am
Current notebooks can not be desktop replacements (for me) because of horrible display quality. I’ve given up on 15″ notebooks since I can no longer buy new notebook with display quality which would be at least in par with my four years old R51 SXGA+ IPS.
As for netbooks I hoped that Lenovo introduces a model with trackpoint (10″ ThinkPad S30 had trackpoint and non-crippled keyboard layout seven year ago !) but it didn’t happen.
The Erik’s mod is getting closer to my “best notebook configuration”. The former X 4:3 form factor series keyboard size was perfect (especially if you get NMB keyboard) and the mod has delivered acceptable display quality (non-TN panel !) and useable display resolution. Those super-low-res displays were the biggest cons of X series. Unfortunately X series is dead now replaced by bulky widescreen monsters. It would have to be a 11″ model to get the same size as good old X ones. Sad.
December 3rd, 2008 at 4:47 pm
If Canadian customers are important to you then why don’t you introduce S10 netbook here? (This is my second comment complaining about the same issue, first one went in the dark, unheard!)
December 4th, 2008 at 5:14 am
Can you make a small notebook with the fold out keyboard?
December 5th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Peter,
The S10 netbook is available in Canada, along with the IdeaPad U330, IdeaPad Y430, 530 and 730. However they’re only currently being offered through retailers and business partners and are not listed on Lenovo Canada’s website.
December 5th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
I hope there’s an Atom S series (otherwise you may risk HP eating your lunch with their Mini line if this form factor becomes popular – price is a major motivator here).
An S100 with 18.5mm ThinkPad keyboard and 10″ widescreen/trackpoint, I’d buy in a second, even if it cost 50% more than the competition. Others may feel same!
December 6th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
The S10 would be a nice replacement for my aging thinkpad 240X, but it has no trackpoint, and the battery run time also seems to be a bit short (And there is no high capacity battery, which my 240x has).
Beside that the S10 just doesn’t look like a thinkpad, it looks more like some cheap consumer device, and I doubt its built quality can match that of a real thinkpad.
So I will be buying a used X-series once my 240X dies or the limited memory size is becoming a problem.
What I would wish is something with the size of a 240X, but with more memory, three mouse buttons and a higher resolution display (it could also be a bit larger, the frame around it is quite large, I just don’t want a smaller keyboard).
December 7th, 2008 at 9:43 am
There are also other important criteria, beside just the size, which do commonly play a role here. Small size netbooks even they are usually very portable and much cheaper, do in contrast to full blown subnotebooks (11″-13″), only offer a limited working performance and usability at all. Netbooks are thus categorized sitting somewhere between PDAs and real subnotebooks.
Beside limited performance capabilities (ATOM CPUs), most netbooks only do come along with small horribly PDA like size keyboards and small screens, which are only good for sort of small web browsing, email and calendar handling etc. Everything non trivial that’s beyond this, can only be performed with reservations on netbooks.
Personally I prefer the wider range usability of subnotebooks and there are even 11″ subnotebooks on the market, which do offer much more capabilities than netbooks (…for example the Lenovo U110 or Sony TT/TZ series). In former times the Thinkpad S30/S31 was such a small and very handy ultra-compact subnotebook, which had a phenomenal usable keyboard design and layout. And there was the Thinkpad 240 just to name another former times ultraportable subnotebooks.
Generally it always depends on the individual working environment, which notebook type might best fit. – But if real mobile portability and still some sort of working/processing performance is needed, the classical subnotebooks (11″-13″) are still first choice to take into account here!
December 8th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
I’ve had a lot of experience with reduced-sized devices that we now call netbooks. They generally suck. I prefer a two notebook setup, a full sized one (desktop replacement) and a smaller one for travel. I currently have a 15″ T61 and an X40 and eventually will upgrade the X40 to an X200 or X200S. I also have an Asus EEE PC 701 and it is almost unusable because of its tiny keyboard. I previously had a Thinkpad 240 which wasn’t too bad but the X40 is a lot nicer without much size penalty. I also had a Hitachi Visionbook Traveler (aka Thinkpad 235), Toshiba Libretto 50CT, and still have (but basically never use) a Nokia 770 internet tablet. I also still use daily my old Thinkpad A22P with the 1600×1200 15″ display.
For full sized notebooks I wish you would bring back the 4:3 display format. There are a lot of other users clamoring for IPS but I don’t care as much about that.
For small notebooks, it seems to me that
1) internal optical drives are now pretty much useless; an 8GB USB flash stick is around 12 dollars which turns the DVD-R into an obsolete medium.
2) 1-hour battery packs are useful because they are small and last long enough to get you throw a power interruption (such as accidentally unplugging your AC adapter) or check your email. 2-hour packs are useful for sitting through a meeting with your laptop running. 4 hours (the limit of the 8 cell X40 pack or 9 cell T61 pack) is not really more useful than 2 hours. What you really want after 2 hours is 8+ hours, to get through a whole day. And after that, you want 24+ hours to get through several days.
3) It seems to me that ALL small notebooks should support hot swap batteries, so you can run indefinitely without powering down. There could be a small external battery pack that would run your computer while you swap the main battery.
December 11th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Hi Brandon!
Just a few comments for S10 (While netbook becomes the hottest product in Hong Kong right now)
1. Keyboard layout and feeling is a bit poor when compare with the competitor
2. Battery power is a bit short on 3 cell environment
3. SSD option is not available to Windows OS configuration.
In Asia, most people may needs a hour(even more in sometimes!) for traveling from their home to the workplace, most of them use public transport(Bus/Metro..), SSD plus a longer battery power is extremely important!
You may see someone using netbook to type document when you taking on metro, chatting in MSN while you on bus..
Anyway, S10 is a beautiful product!
P.S. I am using X60 right now