17" mbp is a step backwards.

[CaoCao]

Its quite the opposite for me. I've had the 13" macbook pro for a month and thought it was too small and I really hated the glossy screen so I moved up to a 15" macbook pro WHICH I thought was perfect but then I was within 30 days when the macbook pro lineup got updated to the i5/i7 so i got an exchange without the restocking fee and decided to pay a little more for the 17" i7 model.

At first it was huge compared to the 13" and the 15" but after a week of use the 17" actually looked normal in size! Everyone comments on how BIG my 17" is on campus but to me it looks and feels so small (I guess I got used to the size). And now I am very glad that I have the 17" with the express card slot (use usb 3.0 later on) and I love the bigger display that you get with the 17" as well as the very excellent and LOUD speakers! It feels like carrying around a slim portable desktop computer around with you.

The reason it doesn't feel to big is because it might have a lot of diagonal, but it isn't that heavy (many 17" desktop replacements are 10lbs+) and is relatively thin plus it has decent speakers

 

[akdj]

"I think you and the OP are missing the entire point of the 17" MBP. The computer is targeted towards creative professionals that will utilize the high resolution display and then backup all their Photos/Video on external drives using eSata via ExpressCard 34. Any pro photographer uses Compact Flash cards not SD cards in their cameras. If you think your 600 dollar consumer DSLR that uses SD cards is a pro tool you are sadly mistaken. Sorry to burst your bubble!"

Kind of a brutal way to explain it...but quite true, although the $600 SD camera comment is kinda silly, IMO. I've got a few colleagues that have cheaper cameras as backups and every day shooters...and they come up with some phenomenal shots

But you're right...the 17" is designed for professional creation...whether it be video production/, still photo manipulation, audio editing, etc. The ExpressCard slot is a must on a laptop if one's going to using it for any of the above.

The Leatherman analogy is perfect. You can do anything with it. I don't miss having an SD card reader...typically, with my SD cams...I'll just plug them via USB direct to the computer. Works fine. I use a couple different items in my Express slot...but I miss the old slot (54mm?) that was in the older G4 powerbooks...which I still have two of for P2 transfer (I shoot with the HVX P2 and EX-1 SxS cards)...they plug right into the slot Of course, they're PCI, not PCI express...so they've become much faster...with a greater variety of Tools to use.

J