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Is 15.4 Widescreen laptop too big for Airplane?

post #1 of 17
1/12/06 at 5:12pm
Thread Starter 
I recently flew on a long 10 hour continental airplane trip. I pulled out my Bose Noise Cancelling headphones to watch the movie and the guy next to me smirked and said "Well, I can watch any movie I want". He pulled out his large screen laptop to watch the movie, but he couldn't fit it on the tray table. He was repositioning it for 15 minutes when he found a method. He put the front keyboard edge way up on his chest and only opened the laptop about 45 degrees so he could watch his movie. Unfortunately, the guy in front of him suddenly reclined his seat, caught the top edge of screen and nearly bent the screen in half. He stopped the guy by kicking him on the side, but the laptop made a horrible sound as he popped the screen free.

Anyways, question for you guys - What's the largest screen you have used on an airplane trip without any fuss? Please note if it's 4:3 or widescreen...
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post #2 of 17
1/12/06 at 6:00pm
My old 5205 (15" 4:3) was simply awful on airplanes. It wasn't the width that killed it, rather it was its massive depth (the damn thing was over 12 inches deep), which made it very uncomfortable to position on a tray. Since the screen was also incredibly tall, the front edge of the compy had to be digging into my abdomen to get any kind of decent viewing angle. It only got worse after its battery had half of its cells fail. Still, I do remember playing about an hour's worth of Freelancer once on a shorter flight.

Check back with me in a month, after I fly with my new KN1. Even though it's an inch wider, I think it'll fit a lot better on an airplane tray.
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post #3 of 17
1/12/06 at 6:00pm
nah....i use the Z71V and it is fine..but then again I usually get the exit row or economy plus seat or first class heehhe
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post #4 of 17
1/12/06 at 6:34pm
15.4" widescreen.. it was abit uncomfortable using it in the plane, but it wasn't too bad. I had to lower the screen a bit just because I was scared that the lady in front of me would lower her back rest. But the viewing angles on my notebook are good, so it wasn't much of a hassle. I think a 14" would be perfect though.
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post #5 of 17
1/12/06 at 6:37pm
i used my 15.4" uniwill on planes a few times....wasn't bad at all. however, my 14.1" thinkpad was probably a bit more managable.
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post #6 of 17
1/12/06 at 7:18pm
IN economy its best to get at most a 12.1" widescreen notebook - preferably a 10.6 incher like a fuji p series. Otherwise get a portable dvd player, they are as cheap as chips these days.

A for business and first they are fine, though i usually end up watching movies on the pop-up screens at the side of the seat and rearely ever use my comp.
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post #7 of 17
1/12/06 at 7:23pm
I used my fujitsu for all the trips and it's fine even for a cheap budget flight.... which placed me at the back of the plane...
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post #8 of 17
1/12/06 at 7:25pm
lol...I use my 17" widescreen on airplanes. I put it on my lap since it doesn't fit on most tray tables...But this is the only notebook I have and I travel a lot, so it's my only option. If you travel on airlines often and are planning on using a laptop during flight, get the smallest size you can. Battery life is something to keep in mind as well...
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post #9 of 17
1/12/06 at 8:38pm
fo sho!

screen size, 15.4" and below will give you comfort (aim 13.3" if possible) however its the battery that can make or break you...since i know most planes don't have a place to plug in.
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post #10 of 17
1/13/06 at 3:33pm
Thread Starter 
Seems like a 14.1 Widescreen would be the ideal laptop for travelling coach in an airplane. Are there any 14.1" widescreen laptops that offer a decent video card such as the:

128 MB DDR ATI MOBILITY TM RADEON® X300 PCI ExpressTM x16 Graphics??
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post #11 of 17
1/13/06 at 3:51pm
I have used my 15 a bunch of times. It's a bit tight, but managable. The screen is hard to use when the guy in front of you leans back, but I have done it plenty.

Again, not ideal, but useable.
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post #12 of 17
1/13/06 at 3:57pm
I use my 15 thinkpad all the time and i travel monthly. No problem whatsoever. The guy next to you was an idiot. He should have estimated the distance he had if the guy in front of him lowers the seat and compensated accordingly. But to answer your question: yes a 15 inch laptop is capable of fitting on the table comfortably.
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post #13 of 17
1/13/06 at 4:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jaykallen
Seems like a 14.1 Widescreen would be the ideal laptop for travelling coach in an airplane. Are there any 14.1" widescreen laptops that offer a decent video card such as the:

128 MB DDR ATI MOBILITY TM RADEON® X300 PCI ExpressTM x16 Graphics??
msi ms-1022:
http://www.xmeld.com/html/msi1022.html

also see the asus w3v, more expensive, but ded sexy. most other 14.1's are integrated only.
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post #14 of 17
1/13/06 at 6:51pm
I've used my 17 inch Dell 9300 on several flights. Was it too big? It was a little bigger than it should have been, but I didn't spend any extra time positioning it. And it was very enjoyable watching movies on it, forgot I was on a flight. It is very hard to use the notebook for typing, though. You couldn't use it on the tray, you have to use your lap. I've also used a couple different 15.4 inch screens, you can use these on the trays, but generally you won't be able to get the best screen angle as you would on your lap. I'm still waiting to try the Dell 19 inch notebook on a plane. I'll let you know.
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post #15 of 17
1/17/06 at 11:58am
Thread Starter 
My friend just came back from a trip with his old p4 laptop with a 14" 3:4 screen. He said that it was uncomfortable for him to watch a movie on the plane since the viewing angle wasn't great and he used his lap, not the tray table. He said that he could open it to 90 degrees, but wanted it to more like 115 degrees. I measured his laptop and it was 10" deep, closed.

He said that he even tried opening the laptop completely (to 180 degrees) and putting the keyboard portion into the magazine holder on the back of the seat in front of him, but then he couldn't work the controls.

Note that this guy does have a little belly. He probably wears like size 40 pants...
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post #16 of 17
1/17/06 at 12:27pm
I've traveled with laptop in my sig (15.4in wide screen) and it was manageable.

I noticed some people forget that you can pull tray towards yourself - it slides on rails - thus letting you fully open laptop. Not on all planes but on many.
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post #17 of 17
1/17/06 at 2:43pm
700m (12.1" widescreen) is perfect for movie watching on the plane. I used it on my flight to jamaica last year. I have the phillips noise-cancelling headphones. It did a great job blocking out the plane noise. I can't wait for my next vacation
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