"Penny" IS a skateboard! It is a brand of skateboard. If you are talking about the original skateboard... what people are calling cruisers now... that would be a cruiser "skateboard". And it sounds like you are calling popsicle boards "skateboards" as if those are skateboards and if it isn't a popsicle it isn't a skateboard. No. They are all skateboards.
That having been said... do you want to do tricks? vert? street grinding and rails? or do you want to go from one place to another (cruise?) and do you want to do it fast? That will ultimately decide what type of skateboard that you get.
Personally, I prefer cruiser skateboards. They are fast, fun, and have been around since the beginning. Penny is a brand of skateboard, they have been around for about 3 years. There are several different brands of cruisers, not just Penny.
Longboards are also pretty cool. They have extra large wheels and cruise pretty smoothly. As a beginner, you might find that longboards are the easiest and most practical to ride. Cruisers (aka "mini-cruisers" and mistakenly often called "mini-longboards") are smaller than the skateboards that have been popular for the last 20 years (popsicle boards) and a great lot of popsicle board riders find them hard to ride because they are shorter and not as wide -therefore they take more skill and would be good for a beginner to learn on - as if you learn to ride on the "hardest" type of board, then you can ride anything. Right?
If you DO go for a Penny, get the Penny Nickel. It is a little wider than the Penny Penny and therefore easier to learn on. The less wide the board, the more balance and coordination it requires. But I would also suggest checking out Globe, Stereo Vinyl, Santa Cruz, Alva, Z-Flex, and even generic cruisers.
Scateboards are more cooler, more fun and more bigger! Also Skateboards come in lots of designs and everything but It's your choice which one you want.
I recommend a longboard! They're fun and bigger and meant for cruising and easy to ride :)
Skateboard, penny boards are smaller and harder to use. You should try them both out before you get one.
