A pictorial guide to the subtle differences between small, cheap laptops
We've yapped it up with MID and UMPC makers before in order to figure out exactly what makes the two any different from one another, and now that lines are being blurred at a blistering pace in the ultraportable / netbook / low-cost laptop / undersized PC market, it's about time someone laid down some ground rules. Thankfully, there's no "discussion" necessary here -- just follow that flow chart above and you'll be an expert in seven to ten seconds flat. Guaranteed.





















nice one, engadget!
Whew, finally got out of the I'm Stuck loop...somehow...I dunno how...uh...*runs*
What happens if said Laptop has an Apple logo on it?
Indeed nice and should be slightly altered and glued to the doors of every PC retailers out there. I've encountered to many people that want to buy those "cute" little laptops, but what they don't know, girls in particular, is that netbooks are not as good as a proper laptop. The difference in hardware is like night and day.
@iGoon#2: according to that flowchart, all MacBooks are ultra-portables. (well, same with all 13" laptops)
But MacBooks are 13.3" which definitely isn't smaller than 13" so they are just plain old notebooks.
Don't feel so special now, eh?
:)
its actually from the register ;)
**bottom left box**
clearly a laptop should fit on your lap, a netbook isn't very good at that, if Psion wins the whole netbook litigation, netbooks should just be called notebooks, since they are pretty much the size of them, whoever started calling laptops notebooks is pretty dumb, or has really large notebooks
I believe one of the reasons they started being called notebooks as opposed to laptops was to discourage people from actually using the computer on their laps after research suggested some health concerns (particularly in men).
Brilliant!
Brilliant!!!!
- Drink Guiness.
YES! it is brilliant!
The flow chart was disigned to fit perfectly on the iPhone screen!
And learn how to spell "Guinness" correctly, blasphemer!
my dog's name is guinness
The MacBook Air is a "Plain Old Laptop!" lol. 13.3" screen screws with the chart.
Of course its a plain old laptop. Its just a very thin laptop.
I'm pretty sure 13.3 inches qualifies as 13"... in which case it is not larger and if you continue to follow the chart is a netbook. Makes sense I guess since Apple was kinda sorta targeting that market when they released it at Macworld 2008
MacBook Air would qualify as an ultraportable, not a netbook. AND DUMBASS 13.3 IS CLREALY LARGER THAN 13" .
Apparently it isn't that clreal.
uh all laptops that are called 13" are technically 13.3" they just say 13 inch cause it's an easy abbreviation, all pc's that are 13 inch are also technically 13.3", unless in special occasions like sony's 13.1", but it's such a insiffnificent difference people just call them all 13"
I don't know how you ended up with netbook by following the < 13" screen portion. The Macbook Air clearly has a video port (mini displayport.) That would make it an ultrathin. Doesn't that make a little more sense?
Hahahhahahahaha
I'm ->
There was supposed to be a less-than sign, followed by a dash and a Stuck, below the I'm ->. I guess that's engadget's anti-html for ya.
Nice one, jerk
AHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!
Noob
Nube
Nuub
Nub
Peace, brothers and/or sisters.
geeneeus!
do you think he had fun while making this
Gahhhhhh, I don't want to give The Register props for that flow chart but...it's well done. :(
Eh? What's so wrong with the Register?
It's The Sun of the tech media world...
Most netbooks do have video out ports... this is wrong!
Exactly! Acer Aspire One, for example, a well known netbook, has video port.
the ASUS EEE 700 series, grandfather of the whole category, has a VGA out... that portion of the chart kind of breaks the whole thing.
The Register wrong? Say it ain't so.
Some commenters are suggesting the chart's supposed to be funny too, but I'm not seeing it.
Where does the VAIO P go?
Seriously, I own one and love it but I'm still not exactly sure what it is. Your chart calls it an "Ultrathin" but I really wouldn't call it that. I bought it thinking Sony was full of shit and I was buying a $900 netbook but after using it for awhile there is no way I would call it a netbook but I am not quite sure what it is.
disregard the video port thing because that's just wrong (netbooks have video ports too) and the Vaio P is a netbook
Am I the only one that thinks this guy is an idiot. Aside from the over the top excessively crude language; his flow chart is crap. According to him, my hp mini is a "ultrathin" I can tell you its not that thin and it over 500$ because I was an early adopter and I added a wireless n, blue tooth, 16gb ssd to it. And by the way, if a laptop is 13in w/ an optical drive, its a laptop. You don't need to add fancy language to it to make it sound like it's more then it really is.
Whoa, buddy, relax. It's a parody of the whole nonsensical segment branding the netbook craze has given rise to, not a serious attempt to quantify every small portable computing device on the market. Notice the "I'm Stuck" loop and the ladder (ala Chutes and Ladders).
Excessively crude? Oh, you mean his one use of the word ass.
Ass ass ass. Ass ass ass.
"Aside from the over the top excessively crude language"
Um? The chart says "ass" once. Is that really "over the top excessively crude language?"
ass
It failed for my thinkpad x60.
so mac air is a laptop,w/no built in cd drice. sony tt is 12 inch that plays blu rays but is a netbook,,.,dee dee dee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Aaaargh Im stuck in the Im stuck!!
I'm stuck I'm stuck I'm stuck I'm stuck...
:)
That is a hilarious flow chart, I lol'd at the "You've got a HANDHELD" "No" "Really? Lemme see it." "Look!" "You are holding a wallet, you dumbass."
... its not so funny when youre the dumbass holding the wallet :(
Or when your wallet is empty...
Seeing how most "notebooks" classified as "netbooks" have video ports, this sequence fails almost every time.
Cute.
sweet my macbook is a subnotebook
wtf
Oh, I didn't know 13.3" was smaller than 13".
the difference between a laptop and subnotebook is evidently .3 inches
What about black friday specials, I don't think my $400 2007 BB sony is an ultraportable.
Pretty sure my approximately 17" 10lb ECS G900 doesn't qualify as a 'just a laptop'. More like a Portable PC. God, I hate lugging it around.
Where does the EEE 1004DN go? It has an optical drive.
Ah, a flaw, as the Pandora is certainly a handheld but has a full OS. But still awesome.
Lol - love the "PC formerly known as Netbook"
This is fail. There are entire lines of ultraportables are all under 13 inches, with optical drive, video ports, etc and they are not ultra thin. For example Fujitsu P series.
Ha, My buddy is going to be pissed he spent $1400 on a "handheld" Tablet PC. (Tablet is a special OS, right?)
Nah. Just extra software on top of the "Full OS"
Not too impressive. If the difference between a MacBook and an ultraportable is 0.3 inches of display then Apple is even more magical than I thought. Also, to get there for a laptop with a 13 inch screen you follow "Is the screen larger than 13 inches?" (no), "Does it have an optical disk?" (yes), "Is the screen smaller than 13 inches?" (NO), "Does it have an optical disk?" (YES). Guess I'm missing the funny.
Hmm.. interesting..
I wonder what my early 80's laptop with an 8.5" screen and 1.4 mhz turbo mode would classify as :)
What's sad? I last used it in 2004 to type up a college term paper using word for dos.
My iMac is a Handheld!!! :P
this is funny
Jeez that 13" thang should be changed to 13,3" There isn't a company that produces 13" notebooks (I am pretty sure), always 13.3" fujitsu,lenovo x300, toshiba, etc except sony vaio Z @ 13.1".
Huh, don't all netbooks have video ports? Or does VGA no longer count as a video port?
subnotebooks are more than 2 kg??
You must be kidding.
ROFL TAFKAP reference FTW!!!
I think there is a flaw in your logic, the only necessary difference between a plain old lap top and an ultra portable it the price?
According to that, the Eee pc 701, the thing that kicked off the whole netbook craze, is not a netbook, but ultrathin (it has VGA out)!
I was just going to say the same thing. I own an actual Asus Eee 4G, the computer that literally started the whole netbook craze... yet according to this flowchart, it's an "ultrathin" because it has a VGA out port? Obviously this flowchart is a brilliant parody not to be taken seriously, but I think that at least the Eee should be an "artist formerly known as Netbook". ;-)
this is a really confusing graph...
not bad, except that by following this chart, my tablet pc is a "netbook". no way in hell. everything on this baby is high-end except the vidjacard
a netbook can't have video ports?
horseshit.
question, I got my wife an Asus n10j-A, which has a 10in. screen, no optical drive, it runs vista home premium, its less than 4.4lbs, and it has an HDMI port with a decent graphics card, but its not ultrathin? where would it fit? Am I supposed to look at the "I'm stuck chart instead?"
Kewl - now I can call my old Motion M1200 a netbook. It's like I have a whole new computer! I feel great!
If you need a flowchart to tell you that you have a COMPUTER, you're a douche.