The days of back pains and shoulder cramps are soon to be a thing of the past for me. I have seen the light and I'll never go back to the torture of carrying around a large laptop. My solution for a lighter life is a sub-notebook.

What are Sub-Notebooks?

A sub-notebook is a class of laptop computers that are smaller and lighter than typical laptops. They often have smaller-sized screens that are usually less than 14 inches, and weigh less than 2 kg (4.4 lb.) The size and weight reduction are typically attained by the omission of ports, and DVD/CD drives.

Are Sub-Notebooks for Me?

I have to admit that a sub-notebook is certainly not a perfect option for every laptop user out there. Sub-notebooks are for persons who need the use of a computer without the fancy bells and whistles. A sub-notebook has all the essential parts of a typical laptop like a keyboard, touch-pad, WiFi, sub ports, ethernet port, built-in webcam, headphone and microphone port, speakers, operating system (usually Windows XP) and a hard drive.

So if the only reason you're hauling around a huge laptop is any of the tasks listed below, then a sub-notebook is perfect for you, and your aching back:

Creating and editing Microsoft documents (Word, Excel, Power Point).
Surfing the Internet wirelessly
Watching movies (from the hard drive)
Listening to music (from the hard drive)

I want one, but which one?

It is not that hard to choose a sub-notebook right now, because they are no major differences between each brand. The only thing you should look for is one with a long lasting battery life. The two sub-notebooks I got my hands on this week were the Acer Atheros Aspire One and the HP Mini 1035NR, and to be honest, they both have strengths and weaknesses, which I have listed above. I have already made up my mind which one I'm going to get, but this list will surely help you to choose which one is best for you.

Closing Thoughts

With more persons using flash drives as their primary means of storage, and the development of really small and thin external DVD/CD drives, getting a sub-notebook is now more feasible than ever before.

Pros

Very low price

Good performance

Dual card readers

Responsive touch-pad

Cons

Hard to take apart for upgrades

Noisy cooling fan

HP Mini 1035NR

Pros

Strong wireless with Bluetooth

Roomy keyboard

Bright display

Large display

Cons

Limited expansion ports

Smaller and slower hard drive

Short touch-pad with poor button placement

The products mentioned in this article were provided courtesy of Royale Computers and Accessories telephone: 906-1067, 906-1068, and 754-5048.