COMMENTARY--
Commentary: Apple, Sony, and others have come out with laptops featuring big 17-inch flat-panel screens. The displays are beautiful, sure. But is there a solid business rationale for them?Big-screen laptops are, if not the latest rage, at least the latest curiosity. Apple's television commercial, featuring diminutive actor Verne "Mini Me" Troyer and Chinese basketball behemoth Yao Ming, plays this up to great effect. Set down a 17-inch flat-panel notebook in front of you, no matter what size you are, and people are going to notice, I promise.
If all you have open on that giant screen is a single word processing document, they're also going to think you're nuts for lugging that thing around. So the question for today is: Nice as these machines are, who would pay a premium for one of them?
Creative types, for one. A 17-inch screen is an obvious choice for people who need to do serious graphic design, digital photography, and/or video editing on the road. If you can couple that screen with an overall thin and relatively light portable system, a 17-inch laptop is a big win for creative people on the go. And given Apple's overall friendliness with/dependence on creative professionals, the 17-inch PowerBook is probably the right big-screen portable for them.
For general business use on the road, the question is how to balance size, affordability, and portability in a way that makes sense to you and your employer. On that basis, a 17-inch laptop--though impressive and convenient--seems like overkill, unless you have lots of spare cash sitting around.
Even for us mildly creative types, a 17-inch flat panel is too big for anyplace but first class--at least if you're my size. I wonder if my boss would consent to buy me front-of-the-plane seats to match the wide shoulders of the 17-inch Mac?
I can't believe I even asked that question. I'll just continue sitting in coach and using the 12-inch Mac, which fits the tray table very nicely, though my elbows remain a problem for my fellow passengers.
But I have to admit that the 12-inch PowerBook is too small for me. I can have a word processing document open, but that's about it. Likewise for desktop use: A 15-inch screen seems small, particularly after you've tried a 17. Today, a 17-inch display seems to strike the perfect balance between size and affordability for desktop users, though I see screens 20 inches or more on the horizon, as prices come down.
While a 17-inch portable may be too big to take on your next flight, it could make a great desktop replacement. The screen is large enough that you won't be tempted to plug in a monitor while working at your desk, just an outboard mouse and keyboard. It allows you to view pages side-by-side or two have two documents open at once, a boon to cutting and pasting.
These portables have all the other virtues of big screens, too, like giving you space to keep your instant-messaging and e-mail clients at least partially visible while you run your word processor full-size. And with built-in Wi-Fi, these portables let you truly dominate those little bistro tables at the coffee house.
Still, these are high-end machines. It'd be easier for creative professionals and (maybe) spreadsheet junkies to get their bosses to shell out the big bucks than it would be for you or me.
Prices will come down, of course, but even then the size question looms. Is a 17-inch screen too big for a portable system? If you plan to use it in a confined space, probably. But if your notebook never lands on anything smaller than an office desk or your lap--comfortably seated in a giant lounge chair at home--bigger is almost always better.
What do you think? Have you considered a 17-inch laptop? How would you talk your boss into buying you one? Let us know at edit@zdnet.com.au
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