Before I became a regular laptop user, i was impartial to the size of the laptop I used. Most of these were company issued, anyway, so I didn’t care a bit whether I brought an IBM Thinkpad, a Toshiba Satellite or a Compaq Armada to meetings. But when I actually purchased my first notebook computer, size was a big consideration. Before netbooks became popular, your laptop sizes usually came in 14-inch, 15-inch, and 12-inch variants. Then there were the odd-sized laptops, like the 17-inch and 19-inch ones with big screens, and 10- or 11-inch ones that were very portable. And the screen size of the laptop you used was usually descriptive of what you did for a living, or at least what you use laptops for.

14-inch: the standard

I considered 14-inch screens as the basic standard for laptop sizes. The first laptop I purchased was actually a 14-incher. It was wide-screen, so it was as wide as a normal 15-inch laptop would be, but it was shorter by a bit, and still diagonally, it measured 14 inches. This size would usually be a perfect fit for most backpacks, and would therefore be ideal for students who need mobile computing power. It’s not too small, though, and you won’t need to strain your eyes too much.

It’s portable and comfortable enough–a good fit for me!

15-inch: desktop replacements

But I know a few people who never buy anything but 15-inch laptops. They probably have weak eyesights or stubby fingers, and so they need something bigger. 15-inch laptops are usually considered desktop replacements, because at their size, they might be too heavy and too big to carry around. But a 15-inch screen is definitely more comfortable for viewing than a 14-inch one, especially if you’re fond of watching videos on your laptop. I’d say 15-inchers are ideal for the office as a desktop replcement, but can still be portable enough when you need mobile computing for presentations or meetings.

12-inch (or smaller): the executive’s choice

At work, I was once assigned an 11-inch Compaq Armada, and it was a thing to behold. Made of magnesium alloy, and weighing only about two pounds, it was as heavy as modern day netbooks. And that was eight years ago! Laptops this small are usually the choice of travelling businessmen and executives. 12-inch (or smaller) latops can easily fit into briefcases, and don’t take too much space on a busy office desk stacked with papers and documents. They’re usually very light, and so you can just stuff them into your briefcase and bring them out during meetings to take notes and read important reports. With small screens, these aren’t too good for viewing multimedia, but hey, it’s for serious work, right?

17-inch and above: gaming and multimedia rigs

And then there are the monstrous rigs that come in 17- 19-inch and even larger. It used to be that only Apple, Alienware and Dell XPS had these sizes. With a big footprint, you would expect these notebooks to be hefty under the hood, too. And so they do. Big laptops usually have big processing power, large hard drive capacity, plenty of RAM and fast graphics chipsets. These are usually the choice of serious gamers and those who are in the multimedia industry. They’re powerful enough for their needs, and yet they can be brought outside of the home or office when you need to work (or play) outside. LAN parties, anyone?

So, which laptop size are you?

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