Hi all,

As some of you may have already read I am considering a move from my Sony Vaio Windows XPpro system to an apple PowerBook OSX system. I was initially looking at the 15" Ti, and after reading stuff about noisy fans, peeling paint and poor airport reception had more or less made my mind up to wait until the 15" AlBook was released.

However, I really dont know how long I can wait for that to happen so I have had a look at the 17" and to my surprise the form factor of the case is not far of that of the 14" Sony Vaio I am using at present. This is important for me as I travel a lot and need portability. Basically the weight, height and depth are pretty much the same (with the apple slightly thinner than the Sony at 2.6 cm compared to the Sony's 3.5 cm), the only change is in the width of the box with the 17" AlBook at 39.2 cm compared to the Sony's 31.5 cm. So basically I am looking at a box more or less identical in size and weight to the one I have at present, but just 7.4 cm longer. Cool malooo. So I am thinking its not actually as big as everyone is making out. I might just order one now..... hmmmm. Of course the screen sizes are quite radically different (and perhaps this is what people are referring to), apart from the aspect ratio change between my 14" and the 17" you get a LOT more screen 'real estate' as the marketers call it, with the 17", which in my book adds up to yet another point in its favor (7cm wider and 2cm taller). All that in a case that is just 7.4 cm longer than my current laptop - which is one of the smaller and lighter Sony Vaio you can get. Not to mention the extra you gain by virtue of the higher resolution (1440 y 900 on the 17" compared to 1024 x 768 on the Sony).

I then start looking at the 15" Ti book, my original choice, and realize that it is actually lower than my Vaio (26 cm Sony -- 24 cm 15" TiBook) and just slightly wider (2.5 cm), <-- again just talking about box size at present. Hmm not a lot in it. What I loose in height I gain in width. Although in actual screen size I gain 1.5 cm in height and 3 cm in width with the 15" Ti (screen on my 14" Sony doesnt run to the end of the box, which is the same size as that used for the 15" Sony), not a big jump but I guess notable when combined with the higher resolution (1280 x 854).

Hope you are still with me.

Soooooo, what to do?

Given that its gonna be my main bit of kit and I will be using it for magazine and web work (Indesign, Dreamweaver and Photoshop) the extra width of either model is gonna be great. But I am starting to give the 17" serious consideration, it is starting to look like a better deal overall. And that is before you consider the new stuff the 17" has that the 15" doesnt.

Of course the best test of this will be to load up Quark, InDesign and Dreamweaver in both and see if the 15" will cut it (I guess the 17" should cope fine if it is indeed comparable to a 19" CRT). Hmmmm. The 17" is gonna be available a lot sooner than the 15" and if you go for one of the presales people (btselectronics seem to be excellent) you can pick one up at around the same price as a current 1Ghz 15" Ti book through Apple..... (at $2,899.00)

Thanks for letting me share my thoughts aloud.

Antonio