Why not a widescreen 12" Powerbook?

[Nermal]

I couldn't find any specs on dpi on Apple's site, so I calculated them myself (probably incorrectly ):

12.1" = 106
13.3" = 113
15.2" = 101
17" = 100

 

[JFreak]

yep, apple aims at about 100dpi so this proposed +110dpi would cause significantly different "look and feel" to the laptop; therefore i don't buy the idea.

 

[Coolvirus007]

The whole point of a 12" is so thats is very small. The 15" and 17" are almost desktop replacements. I thinks thats the concept that apple is aiming for therefore the 12" wont be wide screen.

 

[jefhatfield]

Yeah, that's a 13.3 inch widescreen. I guess if they release a 13" PB, then that's the screen it could use...but it's not a 12"

lying down on the couch right now with a standard 12 inch screen, i notice my eyes can easily see the right and left borders but i still move my head up and down a little to see everything

i would like to see a slightly wider view for optimal viewing in the 12 inch context

 

[JFreak]

anybody want to calculate the dpi for a 12"(ish) display that would have a 1152x768 resolution? or, how big/small would the screen have to be if the dpi would be 100(ish).

i guess that would currently be the only viable resolution for a mini-widescreen, because it cannot be as big as the 15" model and the screen has to be at least 1024x768 (or otherwise iMovie will not run).

 

[Barham]

1152x768 has actually been on a Powerbook before. The Rev A TiBook is that resolution. I have one right here. I imagine that it's a bit lower dpi on the old 15"ti, but on a 13" it would be about right.

I think if we ever see a wide ultraportable 13", it'll be a major overhaul for all three powerbooks. I'm thinking G5 powerbook, which means a LONG time still.

-Hasta

 

[acceber]

I cannot wait till the day I can buy 15" Powerbook for the weight of a 12" or less. Even though there is only like a 500 g difference, or whatever. To me, the 15" is the perfect size for everything. It's just kinda heavy and not as portable as the 12" version.

 

[JFreak]

1152x768 has actually been on a Powerbook before.

well, then, we have a winner if the mini-powerbook gets widescreen in the near future, that will likely be the resolution.

 

[rinseout]

yes, and given that the 1280 horizontal pixels is the same as 15" powerbook, that screen has different DPI than the rest of apple systems, therefore making ui elements smaller. i think that is not acceptable, and currently there is no way to scale the elements.

I know you said currently, but it's worth pointing out explicitly that Apple is working on letting the user specify the DPI at which the UI/desktop is drawn. So in some sense the user will be able to trade between seeing detail or having real estate.
It doesn't look like this will be a user-level feature in Tiger, though, although the API is there for applications.

Article about this.

 

[jefhatfield]

I cannot wait till the day I can buy 15" Powerbook for the weight of a 12" or less. Even though there is only like a 500 g difference, or whatever. To me, the 15" is the perfect size for everything. It's just kinda heavy and not as portable as the 12" version.

since my rev a 12 inch ibook and adapter are about the weight of a 17 inch pb, then i say one day apple's 15 inch pb will be 5 lbs or less

time brings us cheaper prices, more performance, and lighter portables...but believe it or not, at some point it will all flatten out and prices, performance, and weight will stabilizize...and knowing exactly when can make you very, very rich

 

[QFace]

I wouldn't have bought my 12" powerbook if it was widescreen... as somebody said before, too much scrolling. Also, Civ III doesn't support widescreen, and I HATE when the aspect ratio gets messed up. I agree that widescreen has tons of advantages, but at 12 or 13 inches, the vertical height is just too small.

 

[JFreak]

Civ III doesn't support widescreen, and I HATE when the aspect ratio gets messed up.

yes it does, at least this 1280x854 resolution which 15" powerbook uses. and with 1152x768 widescreen, it would just show you 1024x768 image with 64 black pixels in both sides. how messed-up would that be?

now that i have thought about this, it would be really nice to have such model in the powerbook lineup. 13" maybe - does any company manufacture such display panes? those extra pixels would definetely be useful for many. there could possibly be enough room for pcmcia slot, if they need to make its case somewhat wider than before... should that happen, the little sister wouldn't be so crippled anymore

there would also be a nice difference between ibook (square) and powerbook (widescreen) laptops as whole...