'Bigger = better'

[arf9999]

I don't get the concept.

A notebook should be portable. If it weights more than 2.5kg (without power brick), it's too damn heavy.

I would rather have a small, portable unit with a docking station on my desk. That way I can have a 19" monitor, a full size keyboard, good speakers and not have a backache from carrying my laptop through the airport.

I'm going to take this concept to the ultimate - this is my next notebook: http://www.sony.co.za/product/vgn-tz17gn/sku/vgn-tz17gn%2Fbe1?site=hp_en_ZA_i
11 hours of battery life (okay, so prolly 8-9 in real life), 1.2kg, includes optical drive, LED backlight for the screen, carbon fibre body.... mmmm. pity about the price.

 

[NoName]

I don't get the concept.

A notebook should be portable. If it weights more than 2.5kg (without power brick), it's too damn heavy.

I would rather have a small, portable unit with a docking station on my desk. That way I can have a 19" monitor, a full size keyboard, good speakers and not have a backache from carrying my laptop through the airport.

I'm going to take this concept to the ultimate - this is my next notebook: http://www.sony.co.za/product/vgn-tz17gn/sku/vgn-tz17gn%2Fbe1?site=hp_en_ZA_i
11 hours of battery life (okay, so prolly 8-9 in real life), 1.2kg, includes optical drive, LED backlight for the screen, carbon fibre body.... mmmm. pity about the price.

Depends entirely on what you plan on using the laptop for, and how much travelling you need to do. No use having a docking station on your desk if you're gonna spend 2 months travelling from hotel room to hotel room in the middle east Times like that you feel the need to have something portable that can still perform as well as your normal desktop, especially if you like games/dvds.

Also, dont know about you, but I could never bring myself to play games or watch a dvd on an 11" screen. As far as entertainment is concerned, size DOES matter

As for weight..... thats what the wheels on my carrybag are for

 

[bwana]

I would rather have a small, portable unit with a docking station on my desk. That way I can have a 19" monitor, a full size keyboard, good speakers and not have a backache from carrying my laptop through the airport.

I got the 17" so I could avoid all of this. This way I dont want, need, or even have a desk. I work with images and layouts all day so the extra real estate afforded by the larger sized screens is appreciated. I know a lot of writers and they always seem to gravitate towards the smaller 12-15" displays because that's all they need.

 

[arf9999]

Depends entirely on what you plan on using the laptop for, and how much travelling you need to do. No use having a docking station on your desk if you're gonna spend 2 months travelling from hotel room to hotel room in the middle east Times like that you feel the need to have something portable that can still perform as well as your normal desktop, especially if you like games/dvds.

Also, dont know about you, but I could never bring myself to play games or watch a dvd on an 11" screen. As far as entertainment is concerned, size DOES matter

As for weight..... thats what the wheels on my carrybag are for

ok...games - but I don't play games. the travelling thing is a biggie tho'. no point having a 17" with you if you can't use it on the plane...firsly because it's just too big, secondly because the battery life is so sh!te. If I want to watch DVDs in my hotel room I just hook up said ultraportable to hotel TV. As for performance... even at 1.2 GHz, dual core performance is pretty impressive for all the things I use a notebook for (including photoshop - but I agree with bwana, image editing needs monitor real estate). I s'pose it's all horses for courses...