<p>im thinking about getting the 12"xps laptop for school, and wonder what others think about advantages/disadvantages that come with less weight and a smaller screen. anyone have experiences with a 12"?</p>
<p>I have a 19"screeen available that i can take to my dorm if needed.</p>
<p>The 12" XPS weighs 4.4 pounds.
That's only a pound lighter than the 15" Macbook Pro.</p>
<p>i dont want a mac tho, and the dell e1505 (15") comes in at 6 something lbs</p>
<p>i own and love the XPS; it definately stands out on campus...I've only seen like 3 here including mine</p>
<p>do u think weight outweighs the smaller screen? I guess i should jus go into best buy and try one out</p>
<p>The small ones are really good for portability, and if you have a larger screen to use with it in your dorm, I don't really see a problem in going with the 12" screen. </p>
<p>Though I do have to admit I love my 17" screen on my laptop and wouldn't want a smaller one, myself.</p>
<p>::edit::</p>
<p>Definitely go to Best Buy or Circuit City to see the screen sizes in person before you order online. I didn't think of that before, but that's a really good thing to go do.</p>
<p>Are the smaller laptops less expensive?</p>
<p>with the bundles that my school gives me, it comes out to about the same price as the 15"</p>
<p>^
not necessarily.</p>
<p>elaborate please? i didnt say that they are necessarily the same price, i just said thats how it worked out with my school's bundles. are there any xps coupons?</p>
<p>If you want the XPS, you might luck out in the outlet section of the website.</p>
<p>I own a 12.1" tablet from HP, and I definitely like the size & weight better than my former 15.4" (it was a couple years old so the size was more like a 17")
It's not too small. The keyboard is slightly more compact (like smaller shift & enter buttons) to fit the smaller size. Once you get used to it, you won't have problems.</p>
<p>The bottomline-- 12" is great for portability and worth if you're moving around a ton with your laptop and don't require hte most powerful computers.</p>
<p>However, I'd want a keyboard, mouse, and screen for my desk because looking at and typing on a 12" is not the most comfortable and when using it at a desk there is no reason to not use a larger screen and keyboard and be comfortable.</p>
<p>What course of study are you purchasing this for? If you wouldn't mind straining your eyes for the next four years, go ahead and get the 12". I would suggest not going smaller than 13". MacBook is a solid buy, however, if you plan on going with a PC, IBM makes a great 14"- the T61. Its just over 5 lbs. and is one of the most portable laptops in the industry. In the end, you need to think about what you'll be doing with your machine. The XPS is designed for gaming, not the typical daily usage required by a college student. For how much you'd pay for a tricked out XPS, spend the money elsewhere and get more for your buck (i.e. larger screen, faster processor, more memory, etc.)</p>
<p>My sister got a T61 for college yesterday, and I'm on a T43 right now.</p>
<p>I do also have a desktop I built, however...</p>
<p>Like I said, I'd go 12" only if you're moving a ton. 14" is nearly as portable if not the same (1lbs in a backpack is nothing) and the keyboard and screen will be less cramped. Since I use 2x17" monitors on my desktop though, when sitting down at a desk, if I had the choice, I'd always use a wireless keyboard and mouse and plug in a monitor, just throw the laptop in the drawer.</p>
<p>modestmelody-what does your sister think of the T61?</p>
<p>She wouldn't know the difference between one computer and the next. I liked it quite a bit, and the things that they redesigned from the 43 are definitely improvements (wide screen allows for an even more comfortable keyboard and speakers moved to the top of the laptop alongside the keyboard rather than along the front, added usb port on the right side next to the optical drive presumably with USB mouse in mind, better screen, etc).</p>
<p>I was pretty happy using it, though the first thing I did was whipe the drive of Vista and throw on Ubuntu.</p>
<p>Well, if you can wait until July 10, you can buy the new xps m1330, which is replacing the 12 inch model. It's got a bigger screen, it looks better, and it's even lighter. It starts ar $1299, though. Here's some more info:</p>
<p>^^^Wow, its actually already on the dell site. (Estimated ship date: 7/27)</p>
<p>If you can afford it, i'd suggest upgrading the processor on the cheapest configuration to a T7300 or at least a T7100 and upgrade the battery to at least a 6 cell (a 9 cell would be nice too, but it sticks out the bottom, while the 4 and 6 cell stay flush). </p>
<p>That'd run you close to $1500, but you can try looking for educational discounts or dell coupon codes to get it cheaper.</p>
<p>I have a 12" and love it (Fijitsu tablet), and was highly suprised when I finally learned to like it. All my life I've been graced with a huge moniter (or 19" widescreen these days) and never thought I could settle with a 12", much less on a laptop. Then, on the first day of classes, I realized how much trouble the other students were having with their huge, heavy, clunky 14.5"+ screens as they attempted to pull their heavy, huge, bulky backpack off their sore backs. I laughed as I whipped mine out with one hand out of my tote bag and leaned back in the chair with no back pain. Trust me, this is worth it. But unless you're not going to be toting it around a bunch, I suppose it's not really worth it. But I had the 12", then I also bought a 19" LCD screen ($100 at Costco, it was awesome), a keyboard/mouse, and docking station (not needed though) and just turned it into a "desktop" when I was in my room. The convience of the small size carrying around plus the big setup in my room is the best situation I think.</p>
<p>I have a 15.4" widescreen computer, but also have a 19" LCD screen that I can connect along with a wireless mouse/keyboard combo so I too can make the "desktop" configuration. My 19" LCD is also a TV screen so it costs quite a bit more than shoebox's. Mine's a Polaroid and it was just under $300. I'm going to buy another wireless mouse to throw into my briefcase. I was originally going to get a 14" but the sale I was planning to purchase it with expired or something so I sacrificed RAM for screen size.</p>