Does anyone not in the manufacturing or retail sectors ever use the term "Notebook"? I've never heard anyone utter it in normal conversation and every time I read it I have to mentally translate it to "Laptop". Is it a UK thing? Do people in the US habitually refer to portable computers as "Notebooks"?
Definitely a regional thing. In Germany both terms appear as loanwords (I don't think there is a "real" German word for it) and they're used interchangeably.
One of the two was a trademark leading to the other one being pushed as an alternative. But I can't even remember which one -- at this point I couldn't even tell you which phrase is more widely used.
EDIT: IIRC at some point "Notebook" was used to refer to laptops that were smaller and/or lighter than the regular (rather heavy and bulky) laptops at the time. There's also a major online discounter called notebooksbilliger.de (literally "cheaper notebooks"). In day to day language I would err towards "Laptop" being the more widespread term but not by much.
No, netbooks were a separate category in sizes that are now common with tablets (i.e. around 10 inches). There's also "subnotebook" but I never understood the exact distinction of that category.
I think that word is a very EU thing. I'm originally from the US and never heard it used anywhere there. Having lived the last 7 years in continental Europe I can say that its used in Poland (notebooki/ultrabooki) and Germany on most websites and in the spoken languages, but I'd still say Laptop is the more general term and pops up more often.
I think they started to move away from the term laptop because of the health risk of frying one's parts by using a hot machine on your lap[1]. So a notebook is a safer way to refer to it.
I don't know about the U.S. but here in Turkey we used to (4-5 years ago) refer to the portable computers as "Notebooks". Nowadays most people call it "dizüstü bilgisayar" which directly translates to laptop computer.
Your comment made me think about that. Wonder how the usage in daily language changed... Maybe because notebook was English. Not sure.
I've always seen it as more like an age gap thing. Youngsters usually refer to those as "notebooks", and older people (or those that work in an enterprise setting) call 'em "laptops".
I've probably heard the term and used it once and a while, but laptop or just computer/PC is much more common, at least around NYC. Or "my Mac" if it is a mac.
