What can we expect from Dell and HP in laptops this year?

[brxndxn]

My current work laptop (Dell M4400.. pretty much maxed out in specs) is getting old, out of warranty, and starting to show its age in terms of performance. So, I'd like a new one.. the problem is, it looks like nothing is out that would be a better replacement because of the lack of availability of 16:10 resolution.

I develop industrial control screens and the vast majority of them for my clients are 1920x1200 resolution. I can still develop screens for 1920x1200 on a 1920x1080 monitor, but it is a total pain in the ass. Better than 1920x1200, would be nice too.

I pretty much am stuck with either Dell or HP (and my company much prefers Dell).. Is there anything planned that will be better in every way than my M4400? The sad thing is it looks like the best laptop to replace my M4400 would be the M6500 (which is already out of production) purchased from the Dell Outlet.

And, if you suggest a Macbook Pro, I will punch you in the face over the Internet.. unless Mac decided to build a docking port that allows for multiple monitors.

 

[TheStu]

I don't know of any laptops that go higher than 1920*1200. I am not going to suggest the MacBook Pro, the 17" is the only one with that resolution, and although they offer the 27" Thunderbolt Display (2560*1440 resolution, thunderbolt downstream, magsafe connector, USB, FW, gigabit and audio) which can be used as a 'dock' it isn't the same as a proper docking station. So, they have built a solution that allows for multiple monitors, it uses Thunderbolt which is limiting.

I am guessing that you do a fair amount of work unhooked which is why you want that 1920*1200 on the laptop itself?

 

[akugami]

Sadly there doesn't seem to be a modern laptop with 19x12 resolution outside of the Macbook Pro 17".

Also, how the f-bomb can a laptop be sold for $800+ with no option for higher resolutions than 1366x768? On a 15" screen too. You can add a Geforce or Radeon video card, Blu-Ray drive, quad core i7, and SSD. But no hi-res screen? WTF? Seriously, WTF? And it's quite a few laptops that are restrictive in this way. I'm actually looking at picking up a Lenovo T430 next month (depending on price) because they are more sturdily built and have an option for higher res screens.

 

[brxndxn]

I don't know of any laptops that go higher than 1920*1200. I am not going to suggest the MacBook Pro, the 17" is the only one with that resolution, and although they offer the 27" Thunderbolt Display (2560*1440 resolution, thunderbolt downstream, magsafe connector, USB, FW, gigabit and audio) which can be used as a 'dock' it isn't the same as a proper docking station. So, they have built a solution that allows for multiple monitors, it uses Thunderbolt which is limiting.

I am guessing that you do a fair amount of work unhooked which is why you want that 1920*1200 on the laptop itself?

Yes.. sometimes I have to sit in a noisy-ass industrial environment and make screen changes on the fly.. Introducing a bunch of scrollbars and weird graphical changes (ie.. fonts that don't look right because the resolution is different) would create more headaches than there already are..

This is damn frustrating.. It's like there's an industry conspiracy to force 1080p on everyone.

 

[TheStu]

Yes.. sometimes I have to sit in a noisy-ass industrial environment and make screen changes on the fly.. Introducing a bunch of scrollbars and weird graphical changes (ie.. fonts that don't look right because the resolution is different) would create more headaches than there already are..

This is damn frustrating.. It's like there's an industry conspiracy to force 1080p on everyone.

I think that there is in fact some level of industry wide push to move to 1080p instead of 19*12. It might have to do with panel yields? I don't really know.

 

[akugami]

Economics at work. I prefer a 16x10 aspect ratio myself but all panels for consumer televisions are 16x9 due to HDTV resolutions. It makes sense for them to settle on 16x9 for not just consumer TV sets but for consumer monitors as well.

 

[Chapbass]

Yep, being able to have one factory making panels for monitors and TV's means everything can be cheaper.