15.4 vs 17

[plutnicki]

A buddy of mine is planning to buy a new MacBook Pro, either the 15" or the 17". The price difference means nothing to him. The 17" having a slightly better battery life does, a little. What he's worried about is whether the 17" is too big to be a portable. Primary use is back and forth to work (from desk at home to desk at work) and some occaisional travel (hotel use, maybe try to watch a movie on an airplane).

I feel, that with price not being the object, the difference in size between the 15 and 17 does not make the 17" less portable or too big, and more battery life is persuasive (in real use, it seems like it could amount to 2 movies vs 1 on the plane...) BUT, I own a 15, so can't really say...

He'll probably read this thread, and I won't get any work done until he buys a computer, so please. Is the 17" too big to be portable, within the confines of how he'll use it?

Thanks!

 

[mad jew]

Has he gone to an Apple Store to check them out side-by-side?

 

[plutnicki]

Yes

He's looked at them in the store. Didn't really help though. Hard to really picture it on your own desk, or in an airplane seat. You can see that the 17 is bigger than the 15, but is it too big?

He's a little mental, what can I say...

 

[njmac]

Looking at the 15 and 17 side by side at the apple store, I was surprised that the 17 didn't look that much bigger than the 15.

They both made my 12" PB look tiny though.