Is that 11.6" screen starting to 'shrink" yet? :)

Subject says it all...While the m11x is working great for me as the ultimate all round transportable, I have to admit that during a recent road run where I was reviewing legal documents six to 8 hours a day, that 11.6 started doing the "Alice" thing to the point where I'm beginning to wish that Alienware would kick out a 13" based on a similar design philosophy. Bump up the screen rez to 1680x1050 or so MATTE SCREEN option PLEASE!!!, a SOCKETED I5 (or better ) Intel OR a next gen AMD) that can clock up to 2.6 or better when plugged in, and compatible next gen Nvidia. or, how about the new AMD solution with integrated AMD for base graphics WITH a discrete 5700 ish thrown in AND the ability to let em fire up in xfire together when you really want to crank up some fps!

Gimme the latest HDMI 1.4 ish , vga out (for legacy emergencies). 4 USB 3.0s, multi-card reader, esata, a 1gig lan, 2 headphone/line outs, stereo mic array built into screen AND separate stereo and line inputs... HighDef NET camera (HEY ITS ON the damned PHONES!!!!), latest Bluetooth, WiFi N with the biggest antennae they can stuff in there AND working sim slot with cell boost ant. Gimme at least 5.1 sound out (would LOVE S/PDIF out) and minimum 8gig ram capability.

Gimme indestructable hinges, non flexing backlit keyboard, and built in overclocking...AND, UNDERCLOCKING!!! for sweet batt life when NOT playing games (or doing 'real' work) What i want are buttons for Green Mode, Impulse Drive, and Warp Speed!! (hey this IS "Alienware" we're talking about.

Lastly, give some SERIOUS thoughts about air INFLOW vent placement. For someone who actually might put this on their LAP,,, they need to be in the back center so the intake is between the thighs. I'll still trade multiple internal cooling fans for an internal dvd drive, just make a matching external drive available at a reasonable price. AND...drumroll, I want an external docking station that sits at home (and/or in the office) that connects the docking laptop to the HDMI big screen , surround sound, external Tactx keyboard, forced air cooling, external storage HDrive, AND...a 16 lane PCIe slot for a desktop vid card WITH separate integrated powersuppy, all set up . Get me 9.5 k or better 3dmark06 on the lappie, with sky's the limit when docked. Finally give us the choice of an onboard SSD of 80 gig or better (a lot better) and add a matching portable external 7200 rpm 500gig HD or better that can plug into the laptop AND/OR the docking station.

Now for the nay sayers..nothing I've described hasn't already been done or doesn't already exist. What you end up with is ONE in effect modular computer that will replace pretty much every other computer one might need. You have great portability, you have eco low voltage night or dark plane workability on batt.
You have onflight, in transit entertainment for two (dual earphone out). You have cell communications AND cell data internet access for back up. You can get your game on w battery for low intensity fooling around, or you can find a plug and kick some pretty serious pixelated buttocks. When you get home (or to the office) you can dock, slap the warp speed button, fire up the BIG SCREEN, and external SERIOUS vid card and HDrive and game with the big boys..(not recommended in most offices unless you work for Blizzard etc. or even get some pretty decent rendering, coding, or even doc prep work done.

Now, Granted, the 13 isn't going to be exactly a "thin and light" , but given this kind of capability at 4 to 5 lbs, who the hell cares

Oh, last thing? Have Targus or someone else work up two custom bags /cases for this thing, each with designated pockets for the brick and all the 'on road' cables and accessories. One should be backpack-student style with no shyness about proclaiming that you own the most kickass laptop in this galaxy; and the other a sedate but 'elegant' leather business case with only the tastefully embossed alien head logo between the metal combination security locks giving any clue that this "suit" is 'PACKIN"' ....

Now, Dell? Alienware?

'MAKE MY DAY!!!"

LOL

Seer.

Oh, forgot colors...
1. BLACK
2. White metallic Pearl
3. Blood Red Metallic
4. Cobalt/Titanium Metallic

And, Price? well start the base unit configuration off at 1200 to 1300 US, then run up WITHOUT gouging the consumer. With an 'all in price' on the top config with the business case of 17 to 1800 US, (less discounts and coupons etc., ) I think this unit would lay down some serious smack on every other non "entry level) laptop on the market.

Seer

 

Mine caught a little moisture recently and it's down to 10.5" at the moment. I'm hoping that hanging it to dry will bring it back.

 

With Dell... dream on.

 

I will disagree on the keyboard. I love it. It is far, far better than most laptop keyboards I've used.

 

M11x gpu is decent because of its low resolution

 

Just play, or browse on psp/iphone/droid for a while. 11.7'' m11x will start growing again.

The screen still looks normal to me Though when the girlfriend busts out her 15'' Toshiba, it looks monstrous, like she had it custom made to be huge or something.

It seems my brain has adjusted to look at 11.7'' as the average size laptop, and anything over that is freaking huge.

That said though... m13x sounds like it would be a perfect combination of size+portability+performance With the m11x being a close second.

But since an m13x is just a figment of our imaginations at the moment... the m11x is the size/portability/performance ratio king, hands down.

 

lol, I've had a long line of small laptops. A 15" D820 was the strangest derivation for me, and that didn't last long before my M1210 replaced it (another 12.1").

 

This is how I felt when I had an M11x as well. At first it felt really small (I was coming from an XPS M1530), and after a few months it felt normal. Then my M15x arrived in the mail and I couldn't get over how huge it was compared to what I had become accustomed to.

At this point though, the M15x is now what feels normal.

 

The only problem I have is with the tiny fonts in certain applications where the font size cannot be changed.
I've adjusted the dpi to my liking and have gone into the Advanced Settings for the desktop fonts and windows menu fonts, etc., etc., and adjusted all those to a large size so all that is fine, but some applications do not get font size from Windows settings.
Oh, and sometimes a window is too large in some apps and you can't see the bottom of the window to click "okay" or "next"...I tried using MoveMe which works on my EEEPC but it does not work on the m11xr2 for some reason.

 

I'm pretty happy with my screen size. I have been toting around a Fujitsu T4215 12.1" convertible tablet for 3 years 11 months. It had 1024x768 resolution. I dropped a half inch in size, but gained wide screen resolution. I'm loving this resolution for this size of laptop. The size and resolution fits the 335m well too. If they went to 1680, we'd need bigger screens to read the text well and more powerful video cards at that res. Those would both cut battery life. This is still the perfect, notetaker/gamer for me. I did two hours of notes and a solid hour of mw2 online, with plenty of battery to spare. I couldn't ever dare leave home without the charger for my Fujitsu

 

I honestly could never own a 15.6 or bigger. I could go 13.3 or even 14. I hvae checked out a few 14" with thin bezels that weren't more than an inch wider than my m11x. I even had a Fujitsu U 820 5.6" two years ago. I've always been into the small form factor.At least in another two years, more lappies will have ultra thin bezels, everything will be led, and more powerful gpu's will draw less power, then we can have our 13.3" 1680x1050 alienware lappies in the same form factor/dimensions as our m11x's. Oops, can't forget an i9 ulv quad, or amd equivalent and cheap SSD's for everyone! The future will never come soon enough

 

I actually had a 19" Toshiba previous to this laptop, so needless to see when I opened the box and took out my M11X I was a little amazed at how small it was. Ironically I've adapted so quickly to this laptop that my friends 15" think pad looks like some gargantuan beast. Truly I don't think that I'd be able to go my larger then a 13" now without feeling consumed by the screen.

 

Sounds like there's a building consensus that tho the 11.6 *works* for most of us, a sweet 13" would hit the spot

Seer

 

yeah, for me, 11.6 isn't too far off of the 12.1 I am used to.

 

Yeah, I agree with this statement. I am happy with the 11.6" but it looks like a 13" would fit in the same dimensions the M11x has right now.

My concern is the additional drain on battery life. The extra size may not be worth it.

Also, I need it to open comfortably on a plane in the cheap seats. The M11x does this great and a 13" that fits in the same form factor would as well. My 14" Dell laptop I have from work cannot open comfortably when the bozo in front of me puts their seat all the way back.

Cheers,
Stain

 

I hate those guys. Is it that hard to at least tell the person behind you will be lowering your seat... seriously...

Also I'd be wary of hinges in that case.

 

I went from a 17.3” Asus to this. It helped that for a few weeks in between I used a 10” netbook so actually it was a step up in screen size I have been back and forth between utraportables and large SLI laptops so screen size means less to me than purpose. I actually stay away from the 14”-16” lappies because I feel like to are too much of a compromise for me. They are neither really portable nor really powerful, just kinda stuck in between. When I buy something I want it excel at one thing at least.