Loaded 15" pb vs 17" pb

macux said:

I'm trying to pick a new pb to replace my aging 12" ibook. I love the extreme portability of the small ibook, but would like to be able to read text more easily. In particular, I'd like to know how the 15" and 17" pb compare for reading a full page of text in acrobat reader.

If I get the 15" I'll upgrade both the video and hd, so the only other difference would be weight.

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I can view two pages side by side on my 15" but it can get a little crowded and I sometimes have to resize the windows. I my brother in law's brother has a brand new 17" and it's amazing. The resolution is awesome and you can easily view a lot more windows. The only thing I don't like about it is that it's not as portable as the 12" and 15". I feel great when I carry my 15" around but I get queezy and nervous whenever I pick the 17" up. For easier portability, get the 15". If you feel comfortable weilding the 17", get that one.

Agree with Pismo.

The best way (and the ONLY way) is to visit your Apple Dealer and test drive both the 15" and 17". Since $$$ was not the problem for me, I was about to get the 17". But after playing around with it and carrying it around in the apple store, I realized that it wasn't very portable (my own preference, I'm pretty sure other MR members with 17" would disagree). Also, the screen was wider than the 15". Great for watching movies, illustrator, Photoshop). So I got the 15" PB instead. Great machine!!!


Let us know what you decided!

My brother has a 15''. After seeing and carrying that, i wouldn't go for the 17 unless you really needed the screen space. Its cheaper, lighter, and easier to carry. I agree with Pismo. Have fun and let us know what the results are!
-B

I had a 15" for a few months but now have a 17", I would never go back, I'm in love with the extra screen space and the ultra slim design. I find it very portable, you just need the right gear. I'm using a bag/sleeve from WaterField Designs. It's a perfect combination.

Also... the speakers are a lot better on the 17". Lots of problems with the speakers in the 15".

I went into the Apple store last weekend first customer in the morning and wasn't sure what I would walk out with. It's not like you're some weakling and can't carry 6.9 lbs from one airport gate to another! I wasn't sure about it either, but it just isn't that much bigger for the benefit of the screen. It is literally the same width of a standard 19" monitor. And it was maybe $150 more than the loaded 15" with 128 VRam and 100 gb hard drive. I figured I'm gonna spend all this money, I am going to get the top of the line from Apple.

macux said:

That's basically the question, weight versus readability. But, they're usually nailed down in the apple store, and walking it around the store isn't quite the same as carrying it through security at the airport.

Has anyone ended up with the 17"?

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Just a note about reading those "small" fonts on a 12" iBook:

The text size on a 12" and 15" is going to be around the same. The 15" is a larger screen, but the resolution is also higher. I'd say the text size appears around the same on any of those systems, including the 17" PB. If you definitely want your fonts to look larger than on your 12" iBook, get a 14" iBook. Same resolution, larger screen.

Sorry, I just don't want you to buy a 15" PB expecting the text to be massive or something. It'll pretty much be the same.

Get 15" - its so cool!!! I saw both 17 abd 15 @ Apple Store, and thought that 15 is more light, and portable and it has better proportions

go for the 15" you get more extra's for the same money you can spend on a basic 17"...

17" is great as desktop replacement, ideally if you only need it on two locations, but I wouldn't drag that with me everywhere... too big

All of my professors have 17s and laugh at me for my "toy" (12" PB) except one, and she wished she had gotten the 12 because the majority of the time she uses her book its closed and hooked up to a 20" monitor...so the 17 is just waisting space. Personally I have no problem viewing things on my 12" and I doubt I would upgrade to the 15 ever...the only thing I like better is more performance options. Hopefully those will trickle down to the 12" form factor for people like me that like a small book that you can put a sleave on a toss into your backpack.

Abstract said:

Just a note about reading those "small" fonts on a 12" iBook:

The text size on a 12" and 15" is going to be around the same. The 15" is a larger screen, but the resolution is also higher. I'd say the text size appears around the same on any of those systems, including the 17" PB. If you definitely want your fonts to look larger than on your 12" iBook, get a 14" iBook. Same resolution, larger screen.

Sorry, I just don't want you to buy a 15" PB expecting the text to be massive or something. It'll pretty much be the same.

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But of course, if you want to blow something up (read a pdf at 150%, for example) you can do that on a larger screen to a a greater degree while still fitting it on screen. The ppi might be similar, but it is in this way easier to make text bigger on a screen with more pixels.

To put it another way, if expanding a Word document to an acceptable size takes, say, 1440 pixels to fit entirely on screen with no horizontal scrollbar, the 17" is going to do a better job showing it than the 15" at 1280 max. pixels. No, one is not actually bigger than the other, but the larger screen can let you see more of it at once. To see all of it on the 15" screen you'd have to shrink it.

joecool85 said:

All of my professors have 17s and laugh at me for my "toy" (12" PB) except one, and she wished she had gotten the 12 because the majority of the time she uses her book its closed and hooked up to a 20" monitor...so the 17 is just waisting space. Personally I have no problem viewing things on my 12" and I doubt I would upgrade to the 15 ever...the only thing I like better is more performance options. Hopefully those will trickle down to the 12" form factor for people like me that like a small book that you can put a sleave on a toss into your backpack.

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Most faculty members here as well as special guest speakers use teh 12" PB. Am suprised your profs use 17"s!!! Hmm...