Due Next Year: Dell's 19-inch Laptop

WheelRunner writes "Engadget is running a story about Dell's new 19-inch laptop. Sadly, it's too late for the only lap that could hold it, Marlon Brando's." Maybe if Apple would put a keyboard-containing lid (and a briefcase-style handle) on the 20" iMac, a market for car-battery backpacks would emerge.

Comments

Engadget misses the point

[winkydink]

I don't think you'll see many road warriors adopting 19-inch laptops any time soon, but that's not the intended market.

This laptop is designed for people who need casual portability, like taking the machine home with you at night or on a weekend.

Re:Engadget misses the point

[BaudKarma]

In that case, it's probably much cheaper to get a laptop with a 15" screen and buy a seperate 19" monitor. You've got a laptop thats actually portable, and the big screen for when you're ready to sit down and work for a while.

Re:Engadget misses the point

[jonadab]

> In that case, it's probably much cheaper to get a laptop with a 15"
> screen and buy a seperate 19" monitor.

Cheaper, yes, but...

> You've got a laptop thats actually portable, and the big screen for when
> you're ready to sit down and work for a while.

Yeah, but then you're stuck with the dinky little screen half the time, and the hand-cramp-inducing, RSI-aggravating, profanity-provoking reduced-size keyboard all of the time, which is just plain wrong.

With a 19-inch "laptop", you've basically got an ultra-portable mini-desktop that you can use *anywhere* (well, anywhere with a chair and a table or desk), that takes three seconds to set up and three seconds to take down and can also double as your main workstation so you don't have to worry about syncing. Going to visit your parents for the weekend? You just fold the thing and stick it in the car: no cables to unwind, no separate pieces to lug (except maybe a mouse, which weighs nothing and fits in a pocket), just grab it and go. You can use it at work, at home, at the relatives' place, at the hotel, ... anywhere. Well, not *anywhere* in the standing-in-line-for-the-waterslides sense, but anywhere with a table and chair, i.e., pretty much anywhere it's practical to use a computer anyway. (Okay, airplanes... but what percentage of the laptop-buying population *really* flies more often than three times a year or so?)

This is not intended to displace the sub-14" laptop for people who really want to be able to use the thing balanced on one knee while horseback riding and are willing to maintain a separate desktop for indoor use. That's what nine-inch subnotebooks are for, or handhelds. The super-sized laptop on the other hand is aimed to displace desktops for people who would like to be able to move the thing much more easily.

19 inches?

[TripMaster Monkey]

I only hope they make a carrying case large enough to haul this monster around in.

A 19" laptop...a laptop computer that may violate the size requirements for aircraft carry-on luggage...not that's progress!

Re:19 inches?

[plopez]

A 19" laptop...a laptop computer that may violate the size requirements for aircraft carry-on luggage...not that's progress!

Nah. This is old news.
http://oldcomputers.net/kayproii.html
http://oldcomputers.net/

Proving once again how far behind the times Dell really is... :)

Weight

[Stibidor]

Oy. How much is that beast of a machine going to weigh? The article calls it a "backbreaking monster." No kidding!

God I Really Hope

[ultimabaka]

This "19" laptop" is actually something akin to 19". This may sound dumb, but "17" laptops" always look like they're 6" high by 25" long, and that just disgusts me. Yeah, that's probably what they're supposed to look like, but I personally don't see the point to it. It's bad enough that, according to TFA, the widescreen laptop market is supposed to be nearly 80% of the total laptop market, but if this "19" laptop" winds up being 6" high by 3 feet long or something equally annoying, I'm going to hurl.

If I see a 19" laptop with something akin to a normal 19" flat panel monitor, I may consider it. But otherwise, forget about it.

Re:God I Really Hope

[Jeremy Erwin]

Depends on how you program-- the extra space can be filled quite easily with a man page.

Re:God I Really Hope

[Golias]

I really think we should all start to reject the diagonal as a way of measuring TV sets and monitors.

I don't know how many people I've seen who see an ad for a "40 inch widescreen" and say "wow, that must be HUGE," when in fact it's about the same height their old 32" 4:3 TV set, and most US TV broadcasts will be just about exactly the same size on it.

Diagonal measurment has always been an obfuscating tactic by TV and monitor makers, even before widescreen systems started showing up. I think "width x height" should always be given, so you can know exactly what you are buying without having to figure out square roots in your head.

The problem with miniturazation...

[TripMaster Monkey]

This recent development underscores the main problem with miniturazation...that while we can continue to make things smaller and smaller, their interfaces (input - keyboard/mouse, output - screen/speakers) must remain large enough to be useful, and the larger, the better. Even if you totally discount other problems like removable data storage, the main problem of user interfaces will continue to stand in the way of true miniaturization.

I'm wondering why we haven't seen a laptop marketed with a roll-up keyboard, fingertip mouse, and VR glasses? Freed of these constraints, the actual laptop could easily be made small enough to be wearable.

Dell ain't dumb. Wake up.

[the_mutha]

Its obvious these laptops would be intended as desktop replacements.

Think about it, in the PC world of today people:

• don't have much space
  
• want a computer they can move arround not just in their homes
  
• want a computer that doesn't have 1000 cables connected to it
  
• want an elegant and compact design (none of those plastic mod cases with ugly neon all over)
  
• want a large screen

A laptop with a 19" would fit perfectly here. Remember, Dell isn't where it is because its dumb. It does its research, and if its coming up with a 19" laptop, its because there is a market for it. Don't be fooled, airplane junkies won't be using this kind of laptop, they'll want something ultra compact with a long battery life.

Luggable

[Yankel]

I'm gettin' the Kaypro and Osborne out of the basement. They're obviously worth something again!

But seriously, we're really getting back to "portable computers" and "laptops" again, as opposed to "notebook computers."

I guess the easiest way to shrink these things down again is to :

1. swap the LCD for a projection device that displays onto your glasses.

I imagine we're not quite there yet -- unless you want to look like "Lawnmower Man."

2. Without that pesky monitor in the way, your nearly full-sized keyboard can fold in half for storage.

Re:Who wants a laptop that big?

[Anonymous Coward]

I would definitely be into a 19" portable if it was an AMD 64X2 and had an option for good graphics chipset w/ @ least 128 MB of dedicated RAM and 1600x1200 or greater resolution.

It would probably spend 80% of the time as my secondary desktop system that I leave on fulltime for web browsing/net monitoring/ssh & rdp sessions/etc. and about 20% of the time as my mobile desktop/entertainment center for the rare occassions where I need to travel for work or am on vacation.

I don't think I would ever spend more than $1500 on a laptop so I will never own one unless work gets extremely generous.

Specialized Uses

[Nameis]

I can see this model being a success for those who:

1 - Are graphics folks and want the extra screen room. I work with some hardcore architecture faculty and students who can use all the display they can get.

2 - Power users who prioritize power and features above design and weight.
If you want something light and pretty, go get a Etch-A-Sketch, wuss. :P

Now, if I only had enough in the budget to get one...

Stop complaining about the size

[howlinmonkey]

For the sake of all that is held dear by geekdom, please stop complaining about how large it is. If it is too large for you, don't use it. For many people the size is just right. It slides right into place, and gets the job done better than a smaller one would. For some people, bigger is better.

If you can't accomodate the size, don't buy it. If it looks like handling it would be uncomfortable, don't try to force it to fit. You won't be happy with the results.

Some of us NEED something bigger to satisfy our needs. Those small 15 inchers just don't pass muster. Of course, it may not be appropriate to haul around out in public, but we don't care. It may not fit on the plane, so what. Somebody talked about not being able to use something this large in the hull of a tanker. That isn't the first place that comes to mind when I think of this gorgeous 19 inches of bliss. I think the office or home is more appropriate. I need 19" to meet my needs, so I would buy one. ;-)

Seriously, though, this is not meant as a traditional portable laptop. It is meant to take advantage of the burgeoning laptop market, by taking the relative advantages of a laptop on to the desktop. Think of people living in smaller homes, or people who move, by car, between a couple of locations, but need the screen real estate. I believe there is a market for this, and I will buy one, if the $$$$ is right.

Choice is good

[Jarlsberg]

At the time of writing this, there are about 150 comments to this article, and most of them are composed of people who complains about the big size, the lack of portability, the weight etc... But hey, some people want a laptop with a big monitor, and this fits the ticket. Other people want a feather weight laptop with a 12" screen, and there are laptops for those guys too. Why complain about the size of the new Dell when there is ample choice in the market place?

Made for Urban Homes

[tabdelgawad]

I think there's a big market for these 'desktop replacement' machines in cities where the majority of people live in small apartments. Don't underestimate the clutter of connections, cables, powerstrips, and peripherals necessary for a desktop pc.

Also, you may not want to tote a 19 inch laptop on a plane, but you might drag it around the apartment or to the neighborhood starbucks.

Re:f(x) = wit / 2

[Excelsior]

On a side not who the hell needs a 19" laptop. why not buy a seguay(spelling) and just pack a desktop around?

I can think of applications for portable computers that are larger than a laptop.

For instance, imagine an artist with a portable canvas-sized touch-screen computer that he can paint or draw directly onto. He can take this to the park and paint his masterwork landscape. Or imagine a military commander with a portable table-top computer that can display maps with units, and allow commands to be relayed through screen taps. He takes it into the field, pulls out the legs, and begins commanding his troops.

Far-fetched? Perhaps. But, it's time to stop thinking of computers in the limited ways we have thought so far. We would've never made the original laptop or the PDA with such limited thinking. I hope there is more to the future of computers than the mid-towers and laptops we see today.