Laptops: Now The Big Picture

If you have cruised the laptop aisle of an electronics store lately, you've

probably noticed that nearly all the models on display sport wide screens like

those on large-screen televisions. But if you work for a corporation or in

government, you're not likely to see a wide-screen model around the office. Do

consumers know something corporations don't?

They sure do. Over the past couple of years wide-screen displays ranging from

14 in to 17 in have come to account for the great majority of laptops sold in

the retail market, which includes consumers and many small businesses. But when

it comes to the enterprise, the three big makers of business laptops, Dell,

Hewlett-Packard, and Lenovo, say that most IT buyers won't even consider

wide-screen designs.

The reasons are murky. Part of it seems to be the resistance to change, and

part seems to be based on the assumption that the only thing wide screens are

good for is playing DVDs.

I was converted to the virtues of wide screens when I began using Apple

PowerBooks. These were among the first popular models with screens whose width

is 1.6 times their height, versus 1.25 times for a conventional display. For the

past couple of weeks I have been using a ThinkPad Z60t-priced at $1,099 and up-a

design that I think should be the future of computing for mobile executives. It's

especially appealing with the optional built-in radio for Verizon Wireless's

speedy, $40-a-month BroadbandAccess service. But because of the corporate

disdain for wide screens, Lenovo is pitching the Z60t to small and midsize

businesses.

LATERAL EXTENSION Adding a sideline lets you see more

The Z60T features a 14-in wide-screen display. Unlike the screens on most

consumer-oriented notebooks, it has a helpful antiglare coating that's

optimized for text and graphics rather than video. The computer weighs 4.6 lb,

about 5 oz less than the corporate workhorse T-series ThinkPad. Its 1-in

thickness is the same as the T's, but it's about an inch wider and an inch

shallower front to back. The wide-screen design provides several advantages. For

one, less depth translates into a lower profile when open. So when you're

flying, the Z60t sits comfortably on a coach tray table, while the taller T (or

a competitor such as a Dell Latitude D610 or an HP Compaq nc6200) barely fits.

The screen offers more than 90% of the viewing area of the 14.1-in standard

display of a T-series. And the Z60t screen is a lot bigger than that of an

airplane-friendly ultralight with a 12.1-in standard display. As a bonus, the

extra width allows for a no-compromises full-size keyboard.

Working with the wide-screen display has convinced me that it's not just

for movies. Compared with a standard screen, less of a typical page is visible

without vertical scrolling. But the width makes it much easier to work with two

windows side by side. I find it convenient, for example, to keep my e-mail open

in one window with a word processor document or a Web page open next to it. A

wide screen also offers room for one of the increasingly popular sidebar

programs, such as Google Desktop. You quickly see the efficiency of a horizontal

layout. And, of course, it's a big advantage for wide spreadsheets.

I expect that the corporate antipathy toward wide screens will eventually

break down. As panel makers crank them out in greater volume, prices will come

down-and price is something corporate IT departments understand.

By the middle of next year I think the workhorse corporate notebook will come

with a 14-in or 15-in wide-screen display. And there will be 12.1-in wide

screens for laptops weighing less than three pounds. You may find the changes a

little odd at first, but once you get used to wide screens, there's no going

back.

In New York in BusinessWeek. Copyright 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies,

Inc