Laminate just means layers of stuff. Real wood laminate means that it is probably formed of about 1mm of real wood, bound to an HDF layer (High density fibre as opposed to MDF, medium density fibre). The top finish could be anything. Personally my house has HDF laminate thru most of it, it seems to be waering OK, and it is absolutely pounded each day. I also have a full 3/4 inch thick solid wood floor laid by my good self in the conservatory. Now which is better ?
1) The solid wood floor looks better IMO but perhaps I'm biased
2) The solid wood laminate has less gaps and is a tighter fit.
3) They are both a pain to keep looking good, i.e. constant cleaning, wiping etc, and you must remove all spills immediately.
4) THe laminate could be resanded and sealed once perhaps twice.
5) The solid wood floor could be sanded and resealed 20 - 30 times.
6) The laminate was easy to lay.
7) The solid wood not so.
8) The solid wood floor is warmer.
There are probably other things I could say, but really what the gist is that it is horses for courses. Remember a solid wood floor is not so good in say a kitchen, which is exactly where mine is installed !! and most definitely is not good in a bathroom, whre I have full plastic wood look alike laminate, sounds horrid, but not that bad really.
WRT scratch resistance, all about the same, they're gonna get scratched, it's life.
