Is 13" screen big enough?

[HeXen]

I'm considering again the Macbook Air or perhaps similar. The problem I keep coming to is I question how well I could do with browsing the web on a 13" screen.
What about forums like this, do you find it harder to read or see a web page layout on a 13" screen?
Most of the larger ultrabooks either have low res screens, poorer battery life or come off to me as cheap plastic junk.
Basically I want an Air with a larger screen but not a MacPro. Any Windows 8 ultrabooks with larger screen that is comparable?

 

[ggadrian]

I've been using a macbook with a 13'3 screen since almost 4 years ago and I thing that 13 is the perfect size for mobility.

It's big enough to work and surf the web and small enough to carry comfortably.

 

[HeXen]

But what about a lot of browsing and reading? Mobility isn't of much concern.

 

[ninaholic37]

But what about a lot of browsing and reading? Mobility isn't of much concern.

10.1" is my favorite for this. Most Chromebooks are 11.6" so that should say something. I do not like browsing on 7" slates in portrait mode (so far) though.

 

[HeXen]

I hated browsing on the Ipad's 9.7". I dunno, I think 13" is still gonna be too small for me. I may have to opt for a low res screen.

 

[raildogg]

It depends on what you're used to and your situation. I use my 15.6" laptop mostly outside my home. I got a 12" laptop for a week to try it out but I returned it because after an extended period of time, I got tired of looking at the screen. I can't comment about the 13" MBP but the screen should of good quality. That may help but I would assume that a 15" MBP might be more comfortable for extended use.

I sometimes do wamt something smaller and lighter but since I usually use my laptop on a desk, it isn't that important. I just carry it in a sleeve and that's it. I would rather have a laptop I can use for a couple of hours, even if it means it's a bit heavier and bigger. I don't know, maybe I'm mistaken but a bigger screen seems more comfortable. If you're always on the move and need the greatest mobility, then a smaller laptop might be better. If you're only going to move the laptop a couple of times a day, then a bigger screen will be fine. You have to find out yourself though what you're more comfortable with.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I admit, I've gotten rather used to the 11.6" 1366x768 screens for browsing forums. Then again, my eyes get blurry after staring at the small screen for a few hours.

I also had a 14" 1366x768 Asus laptop, that one was slightly more comfortable to view, but it was also bigger and heavier, so I tended not to use it as much.

 

[Zodiark1593]

My own vision is somewhat crap, so I tend to favor a 17" laptop enough so that the mobility tradeoff is worthwhile.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I know most will disagree, but on a 15 inch scree, 760 p is OK to me. I recently got my wife a 15 inch 768 p laptop, and the only thing she doesn't like is win 8. The screen is acceptable. I am sure is you ran a battery of tests it would score terribly, but for surfing the web and E-mail it is OK. My work laptop is 15 inch, 1080p, and while very nice, for my not so great anymore vision, text is a bit small. I really think 900 p would work well, but is not common.

 

[HeXen]

I know most will disagree, but on a 15 inch scree, 760 p is OK to me. I recently got my wife a 15 inch 768 p laptop, and the only thing she doesn't like is win 8. The screen is acceptable. I am sure is you ran a battery of tests it would score terribly, but for surfing the web and E-mail it is OK. My work laptop is 15 inch, 1080p, and while very nice, for my not so great anymore vision, text is a bit small. I really think 900 p would work well, but is not common.

Raise the dpi?

 

[ggadrian]

But what about a lot of browsing and reading? Mobility isn't of much concern.

Why do you want a 13" screen if not for mobility?

I don't have any problem browsing and reading on a 13" screen, OK it's not as comfortable as when I read on my 27" one, but it's not bad at all.

I think that the important factor is the screen resolution, you have the same real state in a 1366x768 13" screen and in a 1366x768 15" so it's about the same, just smaller.

 

[ninaholic37]

Raise the dpi?

I'm surprised you created this topic, based on this response. :awe: You can also change the zoom level to 125% (or higher) on any browser, and/or can change the font size in Windows to 125% (or higher). Most websites still look good on 1366x768 with 125-135% zoom, I think. More screen real estate might be useful for some other things, but for browsing I think 1024 width still works fine for most (all?) well designed sites.

I think monitor size also depends on how far it is from your face. If you lay it on you in bed, something smaller like 10-12" would be probably be ideal, but if you always keep it on a desk, 14-17" would probably be more ideal.

 

[Commodus]

A 13-inch screen is fine. A 15-inch laptop wouldn't be so much bigger that you'd really appreciate the extra screen area, and Apple uses a slightly taller than usual 16:10 aspect ratio (many Windows PCs at this size are using 16:9).

Also, the battery life on the Air is nuts, from what friends (and reviewers) say. You really can get 12-plus hours out of it. Heck, I can squeak 10 hours out of my Retina MBP. We're getting to the point where laptops behave more like tablets.

 

[crashtestdummy]

For browsing the web, a 13" is fine. If you're in the business of multitasking, it depends a lot on the screen resolution and how good your eyes are. On my 3200x1600 screen, I can have multiple windows side-by side just fine, but I wouldn't suggest my father do that.

 

[HeXen]

Why do you want a 13" screen if not for mobility?

I don't have any problem browsing and reading on a 13" screen, OK it's not as comfortable as when I read on my 27" one, but it's not bad at all.

I think that the important factor is the screen resolution, you have the same real state in a 1366x768 13" screen and in a 1366x768 15" so it's about the same, just smaller.

I mean I'm not taking it outside, to the park or whatever. Just using it around the house to replace my desktop. Outside of gaming I never needed a Windows desktop. I want an Air or similar but with larger screen unless 13" is considered just fine for long browsing but I don't think it will be. The only ultra portables I came across that looked to be of similar quality were around $2000 and higher but I don't need an i7 and don't want the thicker ones with optical drives either. I want the air's features and quality in a 15" would be more ideal I think.

I'm surprised you created this topic, based on this response. :awe: You can also change the zoom level to 125% (or higher) on any browser, and/or can change the font size in Windows to 125% (or higher). Most websites still look good on 1366x768 with 125-135% zoom, I think. More screen real estate might be useful for some other things, but for browsing I think 1024 width still works fine for most (all?) well designed sites.

I think monitor size also depends on how far it is from your face. If you lay it on you in bed, something smaller like 10-12" would be probably be ideal, but if you always keep it on a desk, 14-17" would probably be more ideal.

I'm used using a web browser on an HDTV. I'm not sure I could browse for very long on a 13" considering how much crap is always on web sites even with Adblock plus the empty borders..etc. This forum for example has a thick silver border at the top, then a blue empty one below it then a gray border that goes down the sides. Then you have the browser stuff but some do have a full screen mode.

One thing I don't want to do is scroll from side to side to see the whole page or say only beable to view a couple of posts before having to scroll. So enlarging texts might not be a good option. My wifes 15.6" isn't too bad but if I go that route, then that leaves out the AIR which I kinda want and most of the ultra portables in that size start getting up there in price.
There's just too many laptops out there

 

[jaydee]

I'm still not sure why you are only looking at MBA's and ultrabooks if it's an around-the-house desktop replacement. How heavy is "too heavy"? What is your budget?

 

[s44]

Get the Asus Q550 from Best Buy (Haswell + 1080p IPS), replace the HDD with one of the sale SSDs, and you're done.