It feels like yesterday when the whole world was going crazy with netbooks. These are laptops that have 11 – inch screens that are very affordable.
Don’t worry though, because netbooksare alive and well in the form of ultrabooks. They may be more expensive, but they certainly last a long time. Think about it – they’re small, portable and easy to maintain.
What’s the best 11 – incherout there anyway? Let’s take a look at some of the best to give you an idea.
Apple MacBook Air
Ah, the MacBook Air. When it first came out, nobody knew how to categorize the laptop. It was the first of its kind. It missed out on the essential features, such as a GPU and an optical drive, but the emphasis on portability and mobility made it a hit.
The current MacBook Air is better than ever. Featuring Ivy Bridge i5 and i7 processors, the 11 – inch version comes in two storage options – 64 GB and 128 GB, both solid state drives.
This gives the Air a very fast boot time from sleep, something Macs are famous for. The resolution is at a standard 1366 x 768 pixels, as increasing it more would result in consumers using a magnifying glass.
Weighing in at just 2.38 pounds, the elegantly – made MacBook Air is one of the finest laptops around for its class.
Lenovo ThinkPad X230
We’ll go beyond 11 – inches here. Specifically, the X230 has a screen size of 12.5 inches with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels.
The X230 is just like every other ThinkPad you’ve seen out there, except that it’s shrunken into a smaller size with the DVD drive thrown out. It makes for a very portable laptop, weighing just 3.4 pounds.
The laptop comes with an Ivy Bridge i5 processor, giving it great loading times and better integrated graphics. Sadly, the laptop comes with a hard drive instead of an SSD to keep the price low.
However, with the best keyboard and overall build quality in the business, you can never go wrong with any Lenovo.
Maingear Pulse 11
Who says 11 – inch laptops have to be stuck with integrated graphics? They can also play games!
Say hello to the Pulse 11, a laptop from boutique company Maingear. They’re popular for their larger gaming laptops, and the Pulse 11 is a new product out for a few months now.
Categorized as an ultraportablegaming laptop, the Pulse 11 soars above other similarly sized laptops when it comes to performance.
This laptop comes with an Ivy Bridge i7 processor and a dedicated graphics card. It has the NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M installed.
While the 650M may not be the best, it’s certainly deliversimpressive frame rates with the laptop’s native resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. Demanding games such as Skyrimcan run at a playable 32 fps. Using that as a benchmark, you can play other games comfortably.
At just 3.7 pounds, this is one of the smaller but powerful laptops. It’s perfect for anyone who wants to game on the go.
Conclusion
With three varying designs and purposes, 11 – inch laptops don’t have to be pigeonholed only as portable Internet computers. They also serve different purposes, such as games!
