Why 13-inch laptops are still the best size
By Dean • Sep 7th, 2010 • Category: Laptops, Mobile Computer News
- Photo: Asus
The 13-inch laptop is a modern relic of times gone by, with seemingly more and more people buying portable computers with larger screens for work, and light users leaning towards mini-laptops and netbooks. For my money, though, a 13-inch laptop computer remains the perfect size for a legitimately portable computer.
Why the love?
One wonders why the glowing endorsement, of course. The first reason is that a 13-inch laptop computer is not so small that it’s an unpleasant, cramped experience – like the experience with netbooks – and not so big that it can’t fit into most bags, which 15-, 17- and especially 19-inch laptops cannot do. In this respect, it retains the moniker of a portable computer that can be used atop your lap. Genius.
What to look for in 13-inch laptops
Outside of the very bleeding edge of mobile technology, laptops are often capable of comparable (and often superior) performance to their larger counterparts. One rarely comes across such performance because manufacturers deliberately tier their products so as to maximise profit but if you search carefully, you can find a 13-inch laptop computer with all the capability of its larger counterparts.
Some notable laptops
- Photo: Apple
The 13-inch Macbook (and it’s slightly beefier Macbook Pro) are Apple’s answer to the ‘perfect-sized’ laptop market. Both computers are engineered to Apple’s supreme aesthetic sensibilities as well as its rather painful premium.
HP’s range of 13-inch computers – there are many of them, so range is used in the broad definition of the term here – are all very functional computers. HP built its reputation by making good computers at smart price points and their Pavilion DV3 range of 13-inch laptops is no different.
In short, the 13-inch laptop computer is great because it does everything you could want from a laptop while also retaining the portability that made laptops as popular (and likely to be more popular in the near future) as desktop computers.
Tags for this article: 13-inch laptops, 13-inch Macbook, cheap laptops, Pavilion DV3
But 1366×768 resolution can be very limiting for anyone who wants to edit large documents, compare documents side-by-side, etc. ALL laptops are compromises There is no “best size”. It comes down to individual priorities.
I have also opinion that 13” laptops are best sizes at all.
First of all it’s laptop, and I don’t want to use it as a standard computer, which is big and powerfull machine.
Size does matter, and Screen also. I don’t like glare screens, I want to my laptop be usable at outside and with sun, if I’m sitting outside.
People who buy their laptops as one and only computer they have, of course, can choose something bigger.
I prefer smaller, but stronger. My last choice is here
NB HP 4320s, XN869EA, Intel Core i5 480M 2.66GHz, 4GB, 500GB/7200, 13.3″ 1366×768 AG, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5470 (512MB), Bt, eSATA, WL, HDMI, 6-cell