Remember those old laptops that weighed a ton?
They’re ba-ack!
Who says smaller is better in the on-the-go world of laptop computing?
The trend is being driven as much by technology as demand, fueled by 19- and 20-inch liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors now starting to enter the market, upping the ante on the previous biggest models at 17 inches.
But in a mobility-driven segment where smaller and lighter are generally considered better, the question of who might want to buy such big models remains to be seen.
The new super-sized laptops are most likely to find an audience with high-performance buffs like gamers, as well as people who want large screens and limited mobility allowing them, for example, to move computer around the office or home, said Kitty Fok, an analyst at International Data Corp.
“There’s a market for this, but as to actual response, we don’t have any data for it yet,” she said.
This is just what you want to hear as an investor. Translation: we think we can probably sell a few. The article continues:
Dell Inc., the world’s top PC maker, along with Taiwan’s Acer Inc. and South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, have all announced plans for or begun selling mega-laptops with screens of 19- and 20-inches.
Acer was displaying its 20-inch mega-model this week in Taipei at COMPUTEX TAIPEI, the world’s second largest computer show.
The model, Acer’s biggest laptop ever, is meant to function less as an on-the-go device and more for use within the home as a portable entertainment center in conjunction with other devices like game consoles and TVs, said Trisha Pan of Acer’s product marketing division.
“We’re building this as a desktop alternative,” she said, adding that the model retails for about US$2,700.
We bought one of the desktop alternative laptops once. Once. The idea was that you had a big full-featured PC at home, and you could always take it somewhere if you needed to. After a week commuting with the thing the shoulder pain seemed permanent and we gave up that idea.
Our advice: buy a cheap desktop and a light laptop for about the same total money. Or just put your system files on a USB keychain drive and use whatever is available.
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