Eighteen-inch laptops compared -- is size everything?

Dan Ackerman, Senior Editor November 14, 2008

We tend to like our laptops either really big or really small. Hence our fascination with both tiny Netbooks and oversize 18-inch laptops. We've reviewed four 18-inch models so far, and we expect to see even more in the future, as PC makers move from 16:10 screens to 16:9 screens. These 1,920x1,080 screens have the same native resolution as a 1080p HDTV, and make for an impressive package for movie watchers when coupled with a Blu-ray drive or other HD content (most current laptop screens are 16:10, which leave you with black bars on the top and bottom of your screen when viewing HDTV programs or Blu-ray movies).

Acer's Aspire 8920-6671 was the first laptop we'd seen with an 18.4-inch display. It was pricey, at $2,499, but included a unique set of touch-sensitive media controls (which we hear are unfortunately being dropped from future models).

The HP HDX18 shows mainstream PC makers getting in on the act, and the added edge-to-edge glass on the display (similar to what's on the new MacBooks), makes for a nice cinematic experience.

Sony is known for high-end, aesthetically pleasing, but expensive, systems. Of the 18-inch laptops we've looked at so far, the fixed-configuration $1,849 Vaio AW125J/H was surprisingly the least expensive Blu-ray-equipped model, beating out the HP HDX18 and the Acer Aspire 8920 by a few hundred dollars. Sony also offers similar models (such as the Vaio AW170) that can be configured with up to 1TB of hard-drive space and cost up to $3,299.

The odd man out in our first batch of 18-inch laptops was the Toshiba Qosmio G55. It has an 18-inch display, but no Blu-ray, and even the resolution was off--a mere 1,680x945. The selling points were some Web-cam gesture controls (which hardly worked), and a second Cell processor (just like the chip powering the PlayStation 3). Toshiba calls this combo "Quad Core HD," and uses the extra horsepower for accelerated video encoding (as long as you're using the included software).