Yes, most of the Netbooks are thinner than a Laptop and also portable as well.
I am using Intel Atom based Netbook, which is thinner more portable and also it's a lightweight and easy to take anywhere you can enjoy reading ebooks, playing games and many other work that is associated with your nature of job.
They are both good. It will depend on your personal need whether you want a laptop or smaller netbook. A netbook will not have a DVD drive and will have less memory storage than a laptop but is more portable.
The netbook and laptop cases vary in size because a netbook is significantly smaller than a laptop. You should definitely check which one your friend has to ensure you get one that is going to fit the size of their computer.
A netbook is a version of a laptop computer. It is smaller than a notebook, sometimes called a regular laptop and is generally less powerful and less expensive.
The smallest laptop on the market is called the Foleo. It is bigger than a smartphone, but smaller than a regular laptop. The Foleo is not considered to be a netbook.
A netbook will probably start and run slower than a desktop, but the real advantage comes in weight and portability.
Windows XP shouldn't have any problem on both a laptop or netbook.
Netbooks are cheaper than laptops, but if you want quality out of your hardware, look somewhere else. A netbook will usually run your wallet about 3/4 of the price of a laptop but will have significantly lowered specs.
Notebook, Ultrabook, Netbook.....
Besides the size, a laptop notebook computer has more functions and capacity than a netbook. You can read more at http://forums.cnet.com/5208-19680_102-0.html?threadID=313546
A Netbook is simply a smaller version of a laptop, but has less memory. Although it is very easy to carry and is portable to have, Netbooks have lesser GBs.
A netbook because if you have a budget of $300, then you're gonna be really lucky to find a decent laptop...
A netbook is a small laptop that's more portable but slower, a notebook is usually the same as a laptop but used to mean a smaller unit. Laptops are usually the largest of the three classes.