Widescreen for theoretical 12" MacBook Pro?

charles f

I was just curious what folks thought about the potential for a widescreen monitor for such a small notebook (one that's rumored to be presented some time this year). Would a 'retro' squarish monitor make more sense? I think the widescreen aspect is for DVDs and video editing -- but how feasible is that on such a small notebook?

slewis

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charles F


I was just curious what folks thought about the potential for a widescreen monitor for such a small notebook (one that's rumored to be presented some time this year). Would a 'retro' squarish monitor make more sense? I think the widescreen aspect is for DVDs and video editing -- but how feasible is that on such a small notebook?

It will be Widescreen when and if it happens.



Sebastian

karelia

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slewis


It will be Widescreen when and if it happens.



Sebastian

I'm not so sure. The 12" PowerBook is lauded for it's near-perfect dimensions. I doubt that fans of the 12" are going to want to change anything but the internal hardware.

kolchak

A small widescreen has advantages and disadvantages. Yes, it's better for viewing widescreen video, and I sometimes wish my 12" PB was widescreen. On the other hand, you lose some vertical dimension, which may not be good. I was helping a friend with her 15" widescreen laptop the other day and I tried to show her local.live.com. Whereas my 20" LCD at home looks wonderfully spacious in the aerial views on Firefox, hers had only about three inches of visible vertical space in those views, thanks in no small part to Microsoft's ridiculously thick search bar on that site, not to mention the enormous amounts of clutter at the top of IE 6 (it was Windows, and she had some add-on toolbars, too).

charles f

I think it's inevitable that it will be widescreen...I've heard that all monitors will be widescreen within a few years. I'm just not sure that a 12" widescreen is a good idea for things other than DVD-watching on planes. I'd think a small monitor would be for word processing and other basic duties, not video watching or editing.

slewis

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karelia


I'm not so sure. The 12" PowerBook is lauded for it's near-perfect dimensions. I doubt that fans of the 12" are going to want to change anything but the internal hardware.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charles F


I think it's inevitable that it will be widescreen...I've heard that all monitors will be widescreen within a few years. I'm just not sure that a 12" widescreen is a good idea for things other than DVD-watching on planes. I'd think a small monitor would be for word processing and other basic duties, not video watching or editing.

Exactly! All of Apple's models and displays are widescreen (except the iPod Nano screen but that doesn't count ) and there's no need to take a step back.



Sebastian

idave

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charles F


I'd think a small monitor [portable] would be for word processing and other basic duties, not video watching or editing.

If that was all people wanted, you'd think laptops would actually be cool enough to be comfortable on your lap. But no, everyone wants speed, speed, speed. As a result, you can't use a current laptop computer the way it was intended, without putting something under it to insulate your legs.



If it was up to me, Apple would have two lines of portables; one for the power users and another for road warriors and couch potatoes. The former would be fast (and hot) for desktop use. The latter would be relatively slow and cool for laptop use and long battery life. I don't need a hot Core Duo processor for web surfing, email and word processing.

blingem

There is NO CHANCE of a 12" macbook pro. There just isn't. If you want a small screen, you'll buy a MB. If you want lots of power, then you need it for photoshop or videogames, so you would want a large screen anyways. Apple knows this, and their MBP line will NEVER EVER get smaller screens. Just stop dreaming and get a mb.

martin c

I see a 13.3'' widescreen MBP happening over a 12'' widescreen one.



13.3'' Widescreen

At least 2 GHz C2D

Santa Rosa

LED-Displays

Better battery life



I would purchase instantly.

blingem

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martin C


I see a 13.3'' widescreen MBP happening over a 12'' widescreen one.



13.3'' Widescreen

At least 2 GHz C2D

Santa Rosa

LED-Displays

Better battery life



I would purchase instantly.

You just described a macbook with LED.



I've posted in other threads anyways that the LED will most likely be put into the MB anyways. The same factory will produce the same screens for all of Apple's laptops, and LED will be the screen of choice. It is done.

martin c

Quote:

Originally Posted by blingem


You just described a macbook with LED.



I've posted in other threads anyways that the LED will most likely be put into the MB anyways. The same factory will produce the same screens for all of Apple's laptops, and LED will be the screen of choice. It is done.

I forgot to mention the graphics card that I will need to run Aperture. I tried running it on my friend's Macbook and it was really laggy.



I also need a non-glossy (matte) screen for accurate color representation when editing my photographs.

charles f

I saw a Toshiba (?) 12" widescreen notebook and it looked like a video game console -- why I doubted the efficacy of a 12" widescreen monitor for serious everyday use.



Personally I don't like the (mandatory?) glossy screens of the MacBook, plus the keyboard simply isn't as good as it is with the Pro versions. I'd think there's room for a smaller MBPro, whether 12" or 13". The rumors seem to indicate Apple is working on something, unless they're just toying around with prototypes (which may or may not be marketed).