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I haven't seen a 17" mbp in person, but I just got my 17" 1.5 ghz powerbook delivered. Yeesh, this thing is biiiig. And this is only 1440x900 resolution too. I can't imagine the newer, higher resolution mbps. That's alot of space! 😱
 
In addition to the firewire 800 and extra USB port compared to the 15" model, the 17" has less problems than the Fifteen incher's.

The only thing I am worried about the 17" is some people posted that it is easy for the screen to move around. I think this is because of the simple physics.

I have to say Apple did a great job for the 17" model's design as it does not look bigger than a 15" model. I was not able to tell the difference in size when I was at Apple stores between the two models (unles of course I cheated by looking at the tag).
 
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