No one buying 17-inch laptops
By Peter Rojas 
posted October 11th 2004 10:56AM
posted October 11th 2004 10:56AM
We know this is hard to believe, but people haven't exactly been snapping up those ginormous 17-inch widescreen laptops. At least according to an analyst with DisplaySearch, who says that sales of 17-inch laptops sales have been "slowing dramatically" while sales of 15-inch widescreen lappies are all zoom zoom (so it's not like consumers aren't digging on the widescreen thing). Maybe they're just holding out for someone to introduce an even more backbreaking, even less portable 19-inch laptop. We know we are.
Truly a 17" notebook is perfect for me. I'm a student and the only time I carry it is when I move into my temporary apartment and when I move out. The full size keyboard and screen real estate won me over. How many people really move their notebooks that often? You probably just return from work or school and check your email on it and do some surfing. With a 17" notebook you can also enjoy movies a little more.
I am actually one of those people who carries a laptop to and from work, meetings, and off-site work sessions -- oh, and on trips too. I had my heart set on the 17" PowerBook until I saw it in person. It's just too big...the 15" is perfect!
Well, If I was in the market for a Laptop, I'd certainly consider a 17" Notebook. Extra Real Estate would be nice. My Used IBM T20 serves me well, but there are time I wish I had a wider screen.
I own one of the 17" Toshiba's like that shown in the photo and while it is a very nice computer it is far too large and heavy to ever leave my apartment. It is a nice desktop replacement, but for the same price you can buy one heck of a desktop and monitor...
While 17" is nice, instead, laptop designers should focus on providing the following:
-Much longer battery life
-Faster boot times
Today's laptops should take a lesson from the PalmOS world with "Instant On" technology. There's nothing more infuriating than having to sit there and wait for Windows XP Pro to boot through. Hell, my killer solution is to design an affordable PDA with a larger screen, integrated Wi-Fi, and a l-o-n-g battery life. If I had that, laptops wouldn't even be needed...
i had a 17" for awhile and i have to agree. it was cool and all... but a 15" is a better solution in the long run. the next Powerbook (G5) i get will be something of the 12-15" variety than the 17" or whatever the next jumbo size is. with the money saved you can easily get a jumbo CRT or a decent LCD if you need more at-home screen real-estate or for viewing movies. and save a few pounds when lugging it around in laptop duty.
i am more concerned about screen density personally. the super-tiny DPI (1280x768 on a 10.4") on the VAIO TR2-AP that replaced my 17" Powerbook is far superior to the 1024x768 on the current 12" Powerbook. *vastly* superior.
as far as instant-on goes... in my 8-9 years of laptop use i don't think i ever really turned them off. close the lid and let it sleep. Powerbooks are basically instant on from a closed lid... same deal with a PC if you turn that BS hibernation crap off. i would say that 99.8% of the time that i had the lid closed on a laptop... it was sleeping... not off. a key benefit of having a laptop goes away if you shut it down and then reboot it every time you close and open the lid.
True, you can just attach a huge monitor, then why not just go for a desktop. I move my 17" notebook from room to room, to my bed, etc... To tell you the truth it even fits in my backpack. And the 2 extra inches don't kill my back when I move my notebook, I'm a big boy:-) It's really nice having a desktop replacement notebook in comparison to adding dektop hardware to a regular notebook (screen, speakers & number pad).
p.s.-I'm writing this in bed with my 17" notebook on my stomach
First off, hibernation isn't "BS" - I'm not sure if you pay your own power bill or what, but when you've got (by my own count) 20 devices taking standby power at any given time in your house even when "off", let me tell you, you're going to be conserving power wherever you can. It adds up. There's no reason to leave a laptop actually running all night long while you're asleep - I mean what are you doing on that thing? Downloading old porn movies over eDonkey? Running Earth simulations?
Not to mention component life. Laptops have a hard enough life as it is; they need a break from the heat every once in a while. Heck, a CPU fan is only rated for something like 50,000 hours, which means it's probably going to die within 5 years if it's constantly running. Probably less than that given the additional stress it's under actually being inside a laptop.
I have my power settings set to never standby and never hibernate while I'm on AC power. But I hit that power button every night before I go to sleep and that hibernates it. I mean what the heck, you can't wait 30 seconds for it to warm-boot in the morning? Press the power button and go make some coffee or something.
Now. As for 15 vs. 17 inches. I've got a 15.4" widescreen model and it's about as big as I'd ever want a laptop to be. I do carry it around (hell, it's been literally all the way around the world), and at about 8 pounds it's just on the edge of portability. I do enjoy the wide display, though - not just for DVD's either, but also for Photoshop work. You can have a 4:3 photo open and fully viewable and still have all your tools on the side. Quite useful.
17 inches is overkill. Nobody needs that in a laptop. If you're not going to carry your system around, buy a cheap tower and a nice LCD screen. I mean really. 17 inch laptops are in that no-man's land that shouldn't really have any appeal for anybody.
I love my 17" G4 Powerbook. The screen real estate makes a big difference for everything I do on my computer. Plenty of room for hands while typing and the enlarged speakers sound pretty darn good for built-ins. Don't think I'd ever go back to a 15" screen.
It sleeps peacefully and wakes up refreshed ready for more work. I just don't understand all the anger and hostility from some of the previous postings.?
I HATE the 17inch notebooks by the PeeCee makers, they are all ultra-bloated, I honestly cannot understand why anyone would want one. As a student, I carry my 12-inch powerbook to class. I would never purchase anything larger, as it has dual output display mode if I ever need extra real estate (and on a mac, that can happen) I wouldn't even spend the money on the 17-inch powerbook, even though it is worlds better than PC hardware in the same class. It's just TOO BIG!
All good points Jeff, until "17 inches is overkill..."
The 15 in. widescreen is great for photoshop work, but try cutting a commercial or news story in the field on one...you will definitely appreciate the extra real estate of the 17 in. When I'm not cutting I grab my 15 for email and pre-production, but when it comes to working in post, I gotta have the 17 in. (which has also made the trip around the globe). A little heavier yes, but there's a reason edit suites aren't outfitted with 15 in. monitors.
To be up front: I'm personally a Mac lover. I know a lot of Mac people can get really over-zealous about their stuff, but I've been researching 17" laptops ever since I had my eye on a 17" powerbook. I think the overall 17" market is poor because no one's really done it as well as Apple. Now WAIT, before you start replying right away..
A laptop's main function is to be portable, right? Well I say Apple's done it the best so far cuz their 17" is 6.7 or 6.9 lb and 1" thick. The closest I've seen from a PC counterpart is Sony's, and MAN Sony makes great stuff but even their ~$1700 17" book is 8.6 lb and ~1.6" thick... a far cry from Apple's 17.
I'm a design student. Graphic, web and getting into video. I am salivating for the day my 17" powerbook arrives, after trying to edit a serious image in Photoshop or get ANY work done in After Effects? I might as well go back to cutting actual film with a pair of scissors and using a marker for special effects..
There's definitely a market for them out there, but the manufacturers just have to start making em right. Fortunately, imho, at least one of em has.
*Edit to my comments: I've been working on a 15" powerbook, 'tis why I'm all hyper for the 17".
Last successive comment, honest. Just to have fair cards on the table:
Sony 17": 16 x 11 x 1.8 at 8.6 lb
Apple 17" 15.4 x 10 x 1 at 6.9 lb
That way I hopefully don't sound merely like a raving lunatic.
I have a 17" Powerbook and love it. It has lots of screen so I can do all sorts of video & image stuff with it. I mainly use it around the house, but it stuffs into a laptop bag pretty nicely.
I've considered getting a 12" for the road. I could just leave it in the car and use it on the trail. If I take an iSight, I could have a Claude glass to give me stylized views from on the hiking trail.
What I don't understand is why ANYONE would want a desktop machine unless they ABSOLUTELY need the extra CPU power. The ergonomics are awful. You have to sit on a chair. You can't lean back on your couch or comfy chair. You have to look up, up, up, and that's hard on the eyes. You have to find your mouse and keyboard, and find a place for your mousepad.
Maybe if I had a 17" PC I wouldn't be such a big fan of big laptops, but I don't think I'm up for the maintenance issues.
17" are the future of home PC , seeing next gen designs they look like notebooks with big screens , its very usefull to carry from room to room and you'll use it more then a regular pc ( as a tv / pvr etc . ) since its not desk bound .
keeping the laptop on all the time could be a good thing , while over heating is bad , heating then cooling then heating isn't good either so their might be truth in the claim that keeping it on would prolong its life .
since most laptops run on 60-120W , its like keeping a light bulb on and you can use power saver mode .
great site and good comments too , even jeffs that made me luagh , how did he knew about downloading old porn movies over eDonkey ?
I work in both worlds (apple & pc) and laptops are essential for me. apple has done their share of the work on making a 17 portable (see "facts" and "perspective" for dimensions). when will a pc maker? i have been looking a long time and no luck. in fact, i think they are going the other way, which is really discouraging. so, yeah, maybe they aren't selling because they haven't made them portable in the eyes of consumers yet.
In my daily job I write software code. Lots of it. I've lived on 21" monitors but now that I'm in charge of the IT department I have to travel to 9 offices around the globe. It makes ZERO sense to have a 21" montior/keyboard/mouse/docking station at 9 locations, plus trying to have a meeting or interviewing from behind that whole getup is a nightmare. So, I either have a little dinky 15" screen or I have to use a computer that doesn't have my recent documents, email, etc... I dumped the docking station et al for a 17" sony. Pretty good, but I'd still prefer a 19" laptop to get close to my old 21" monitor.
I mean, is 1-2, even 5 lbs that big of a deal? I suppose if you don't have a desk and all you do is check email, then it's ok to have a small one, but professionals (CAD, software development, artists, financial) need the big ones.
I carry my 17" PC everywhere. I am a small female who travels 3 out of 4 weeks per month and have no trouble hauling around the 10 pounds of laptop and case. For those who don't like to carry that on your shoulders, try a rolling bag, like I use. I also own the same brand in a 15" and always prefer the 17" to the 15". I can never go back to that small screen and gets lots of envious comments from fellow passengers on my frequent flights. By the way, a 17" fits a coach seat perfectly(with no extra room) in case you don't get the first class upgrade.
I have the 17" Toshiba Media Center Edition, and I love it!! It is perfect to carry from one room to another to watch TV, or if you visit a friend or use it for presentations it's amazing! I also use it occasionally for editing and scoring pictures, it's great to bring into a studio, plus the chicks dig it.
Obviously it might not be for you if you plan on taking all over campus. But it's not even bad to take to and from work if you park nearby. C'mon, I doesn't weigh more than a bag of groceries.
I hope they don't abandon this niche, I say bring on the 19" Laptops!!!, or better yet - how about a laptop with no monitor, just a lcd projector and a laser display keyboard. A truly portable movie house that you can take to grandmas for Thanksgiving.
I have a 17" Toshiba, and I love it. The screen is wide enough to play movies on and when I write papers I can shrink word to the "normal" size while I look at an internet source or have an IM or two going on the side. Since I'm a college student I occassionally take my lap top to study groups or the library, the only problem I've had is finding a decent looking carrying case. If there were better options then I think people wouldn't mind so much. The only cases I've seen are either sleeve cases, too bulky, have silly patterns on them or are over priced--unlike smaller cases, which offer more of a variety.
Having read the above I would add that 17" and 19" ... are and will be great.
Portability has three faces for me.
As a journalist I can do the foot stuff with my Palms plus keybboards plus modems. Two pockets of a jerkin full. Batteries last a month or so.
In a vehicle my Wallstreets are fine - with the 12v adapter I am not held to a battery life of maybe three hours.
On the boat a 17" screen would be a big advantage for chart plotting etc. But I would let the boat carry it around!
So, yes, I reckon there is a place for big screen laptops but admit it is not in my back pocket.
Oh man am I stupid or what!? I wish I had read Jeff's incredible, insightful post about how I don't need 17 inches!
Now I realize how truly stupid I am for falling in love with this incredible notebook. What am I going to do now?
Well I've got the laptop so there's no going back now, but maybe I'm doing other things wrong. Jeff, when putting my pants on, I always put my right leg in first, is this totally stupid? Also, I eat about two substantive meals, and just a bowl of cereal in the morning. Should I be eating more or less. Or should cereal not even be appealing to me? Oatmeal, or eggs maybe?
Please write back quickly Jeff, my life is falling appart and I need you, oh lawgiver, to restore order to chaos!
Why is it that every forum on the internet has one guy who is basically the world's biggest badass?
To 17Incher (poster of the first post): You move your computer as often as you move your couch, and you bought a laptop?
hey, lisa drain, if you're actually reading this....
go to http://www.acmemade.com/thedesignerslim.html
it is a very attractive case for laptops. sort of pricey but oh so pretty.
Jeff "17 inches is overkill. Nobody needs that in a laptop." you are SO wrong. I have a visual disability so coupled with the ability to move my computing about the house and out and about the 17" screen is perfect
Everyone who is real pc user will need
17" laptop. All others are just average
people who are using laptops for fun.
This is just a thought...but maybe if I'm trying to play Half Life 2 or Doom 3 I just might need more than 15" of space! Don't underestimate the draw of gamers on the laptop market. If you're into business and making money and all...great, buy a latitide or one of those god-aweful tiny macs. While I do need some mobility (which the 17" widescreen Dell XPS Gen 2 provides) I demand performance out of my notebook that won't go out of date in 6 months (like your latitude). I also don't want to buy an external monitor. For those of us who actually use the processing power of a new computer, there is no choice but the 17" widescreen.
As someone who does both AutoCAD and plays games, I'm looking forward to a 17" screen size. I take my laptop home, to work, and on the road. The only issue I can forsee is the size of the carrying case not fitting under the seat in coach.
My big complaint is that the manufacturer's seem to want to add more bells and whistles (subwoofers, tv tuners, etc.) when I want a bigger battery, a 120G HD, and a mobile-class processor that'll allow 3+ hours of battery life.