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Portable computers come in all sizes and configurations. They could be anything from full-featured notebooks, replacing desktops, to minimally-featured cell phones. The latest darling in the collection is the mini laptop, smaller than a regular notebook but with all or most of the same features. A mini laptop with a major component sorely missing, the optical drive, is being called a netbook.

Netbooks

Netbooks range in size from 8 inches to 10 and half inches diagonally. The typical size of the laptop monitor screen on a netbook is 1024×600, with variations in vertical pixel ranges dictated by specific manufacturers. A typical netbook does not feature any kind of optical drive, not even an ancient floppy drive. The reason they're called netbooks in the first place is because you're expected to use web applications (like GMail, for instance) and install software downloaded from websites and Internet repositories.

Netbooks are generally cheaper, in price, than other mini laptops. The slower, less power-intensive processor is used to preserve laptop battery life for as long as possible. The current generation of netbooks uses 1.6 gigahertz single-core processors. The internal drive can be either a hard disk drive or a solid state drive. Hard disk drives contain platters for storing data while solid state drives use flash memory chips to perform the same function.

Mini Laptops or Mini Notebooks

Marketers don't seem to be sure what they want to call laptop computers that are smaller than standard notebooks. It doesn't really matter, but using one term makes it easier for consumers to tell the difference.

Mini laptops differ from netbooks in that the size is generally between 11 and 14 inches diagonally. Mini laptops include some form of optical drive, so software can be installed from it or media files read from it. With netbooks, on the other hand, you have to attach an external USB optical drive or move files to and fro with USB flash drives.

Computer marketers and manufacturers are trying to stay away from using the word netbook to describe laptops that fall into that category because consumers are starting to equate the word with cheap. While netbooks aren't made any less reliable than their larger cousins, the prices can be a lot cheaper, usually hovering around $300.

The Future of Mini Laptops

I can picture a time when laptop computers will consist of little more than a flat monitor screen. Everything except the primary components (motherboard, CPU and memory chips) will be add-on peripherals that we can pick and choose at will, depending on our needs.

There is already a faster USB port being tested, so it's only a matter of time before USB drives, wireless optical keyboards and mice, and other USB-driven peripherals will operate as fast as anything considered internal today.

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