Best Small LaptopsThe best small laptops, whether a mini laptop computers,an ultra portable laptop or just a small laptop computer are different for every body. Depending on your level of use, any one of these different types of computers might be the best small laptops for you. Each of these different levels of small computers have different maximum levels of hardware available. Whether one of these is "best" for you depends on what you will do with the laptop. A small computer of a different type is best for different levels of use. I'll go through the different types of Small laptop computers and what type of use they are good for. Mini laptop computers are the best small laptops for some people. We are calling any laptop with a display 10 inches or smaller a net book. Netbooks or mini laptops are what majority of people writing about laptop computers consider the lowest level of new laptop computers. Most of them say they are not suitable to be person's primary computer. They are right and wrong when they say that. There are things you can't do with most netbooks. Almost none have an interior optical drive. That means you cannot read or write CDs or DVDs. You can't load software sold on CDs or DVDs. Unless you have downloaded a movie, you won't be able to watch it on a mini-laptop. You won't be able to borrow a CD and rip it to your i-tunes library either. Speaking of i-tunes, if you get a net book that uses one of the versions of Linux, it won't run i-tunes. Apple hasn't released a linux version. Most mini laptops have the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950 or the GMA 500. Neither of these will play games. Most displays are WSVGA -- 1024 X 600, not high definition. The Intel Atom processors in the vast majority of the mini laptops sold today are slower than most of the other processors you can buy in new laptops today. These are the some of the reasons people say that net books aren't suitable to be a persons primary computer. You can buy a new mini laptop for between $250 and $300. If you find a good sale, you can get it for less. You can get get an external CD/DVD burner that will plug into one of a net books USB ports for about $60 or less. The mini laptop will be running Windows XP, have a 160 GB hard drive, and 1 GB of Ram. There will be a wireless b/g card. What this means, is that you can do everything that we have listed above except play games. More and more college students are recognizing that the price makes these the best small laptops for them. They don't need more. Click the heading to learn more.
Ultra portable computers are a step up in size. They are also a step up in performance. They are a step up in price too. How big these steps are depends on the level of ultra portable laptop you are looking at. The original premise of what is now this class of computers was lighter easier to carry with full (or near full) laptop performance. The older versions of this type computer were powerful machines. They had top end processors such as the P8400 or better with internal optical drives. Some had low level discrete graphics cards. These were machines designed for the elite business traveler. The prices ran $1500+. The "new" ultra portable laptop isn't the same. The push today is for longer battery life and lighter weight. To reach these goals, many of these ultra portable laptops have shrunk to have 11 to 13 inch displays. The displays generally are WXGA or better. Many do not have interior optical drives. To get better battery life, these ultra small laptop computers have low voltage processors. The Intel processors labeled CULV (consumer ultra low voltage) and generally numbered with a U or an SU are not fast processors. They are slower than any Intel processor you will find in a laptop made in the last year that has two cores. They won't have discrete graphics cards-- they use too much power. They generally have all the disadvantages of net books in a bigger size.
There is a semi-official definition of the term ultra-portable laptop computer. It means a laptop under 5.5 lbs.There are computers just about that weight. Again, in this size, there are a range of processors. They all have optical drives though, and reasonable discrete graphics cards are available. The screen size is 14 or 15 inches. The screen resolution will be WXGA or better. At this size you aren't paying the same premium you do at smaller sizes. The price is about the same as similarly equiped slightly heavier models. Without obvious differences in size or equipment it is difficult to charge a significantly higher price. From a performance stand point, these are the best small laptops.
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