Hi Rob,

I believe there are a couple of reasons why the WebDropDown could be considered lightweight:

1) Rendering - it uses lists and list items (UL , LI)  in the rendering, and not tables 

2) Ease of use and functionality - if you take a look at the samples at :

http://samples.infragistics.com/2009.1/WebFeatureBrowser/Default.aspx

most ASPX markup is only a couple of lines, with no or little code behind. All features are enabled by just switching a single property . For example fully automatic server-side filtering via AJAX (like google suggest) is enabled by setting EnableAutoFiltering=Server

3) Lazy loading - the control can be rendered , with no items initially loaded, and only when a request is made to open the dropdown or type something, items will be loaded via AJAX on the server 

4) possibility to perform Client-side filtering on the items collection, without going to the server

5) when requests are made for items, only the markup is initially loaded, no objects are created on the client, unless they are needed - i.e. when an item is hovered or selected, only then it is loaded

I hope this helps. If you have any other questions, or feedback for the control, we will be very happy to assist.

Thanks,

Angel 

http://community.infragistics.com/aspnet/media/p/87810.aspx

data paging

http://community.infragistics.com/aspnet/media/p/87811.aspx

use the drop down's item template that is not available in WebCombo

http://community.infragistics.com/aspnet/media/p/86763.aspx

Taz.