A while ago I wrote an article about How to Select a laptop.  Read that if you have not already.  By far it is the most popular blog I ever wrote.

I have noticed a major change in the last month in the laptop market, and that change is about monitor size.  For at least 2 years the 15.4″ wide screen size was the cheapest and the most common.  Before that it was the 15″ screen.  Before 2003 or so the 14″ screen was the best value.   Usually an upgrade to a 17″ screen cost hundreds more, most of this was due to the lack of economy of scale.  In desktop screens a 15″ screen has cost more than a 17″ for at least 2 years.  But now this is quickly becomming the case with laptops also.  It makes sence, when you have a larger screen the computer part of your laptop is also larger, and with less minituration the cost is lower.  I have already seen laptops with 17″ screens only $50 more than the same specs with a 15.4″ screen.   Though this 17″ laptop was a full 3 lbs heavier.  17″ laptops are more popular as more and more people no longer have desktop computers.  I would predict that by christmas there will be no price differenct between these two laptop monitor sizes for computers with the same specs.

Comment on this, and when christmas comes I will look for two laptops with the same specs that are the same price.