david55

I ordered an amazing laptop ( Samsung Ativa Book 9 15.6" 2014 version) at a unbelievable price. ( still not cheap) It will be delivered tomorrow.

I already own the 13.3" version ( best laptop I have ever had!) weighing 3# which I travel with all the time.

I like the idea of a bigger screen but the weight is throwing me off a bit.

So my dilemma.

If I want to return it I have to do so as an unopened box. (B&HPhoto)

Trying to weigh out the bigger screen vs. the weight issue.

Any thoughts?

( This would not be a desk top replacement.)

ScottC

Very simple answer: yes.

gobluetwo

It's basically like the addition of a book or full-size tablet to whatever you normally carry. Throw an extra hardcover book in your bag, along with the smaller notebook, and walk around all day with it. I've been traveling with 4+ lb laptops for years (closer to 5 lbs with the older Dell latitudes) and never had an issue.

EDIT: Then again, I'm still fairly young (not QUITE 40 yet) and athletic (or so I like to think). No back issues or anything, at least. I do find that carrying heavy loads on one shoulder consistently does cause me some pain eventually, which is why I switched from a shoulder bag to a backpack.

pseudoswede

I travel with a 13.3" ultrabook, 14" massive brick of a laptop, and a tablet, and I have no issues.

timfountain

Depends on you. For me absolutely. Anything bigger than 12" is getting up there. My next one will be a <10" tablet like the surface pro 3. It needs to have 8GB memory (minimum) and 512GB SSD. OTOH I have colleagues who travel with 15" monsters and have no complaints.

IsleOfMan

I'm in the camp that's been spoiled by very thin/light devices over the last few years to the point that I've scaled down my entire travel bag to match. The biggest device I'll carry is a Dell Latitude E7240 (12.5", 3 lb ultrabook) but most of the time even the footprint of that is more than I want to lug and I take along an Asus T100TAM (~2.8lb, but charges from micor USB, so minimal additional charger weight). I carry everything I need in a bag meant for 11.6" netbooks and without a shoulder strap.

Thinking back to my old Dell D630 or my wife's 13" Macbook Pro, I have no desire to carry along anything that weighty or with that large of a footprint ever again.

lwildernorva

It's always a tough balance. If you're like me, the increase in size and weight will be noticeable, but unfortunately, mostly on the negative side of the ledger. About three years ago, my employer traded our relatively light laptops for something a little larger, a little heavier--apparently in response to complaints that the keyboards and monitors were a little too small. Probably a valid complaint; however, almost immediately, many of our employees stopped using their laptops as portable machines, leaving them tethered to their docks.

We've finally figured out that the added size and weight was the reason. It's the debate that we see played out across desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones right now. In many places, desktop machines have dropped to HTPC size. Smartphones and, to some degree, tablets have been increasing in size--with the understanding that tablets originally started out at the 10-inch size and got smaller for awhile.

If the added screen size and expanded keyboard serve you well, then by all means, keep the bigger laptop, but my experience suggests that those considerations better considerably outweigh the extra size and weight necessary to make that happen.

cblaisd

+1

u600213

I went from a 3 pound 13.3 inch Samsung X360-34P to a 3.6 pound 15 inch Samsung NP9004XD-A02US a couple years ago. The weight was not bad but the physical size of the laptop makes it less usable in Economy in the air and less comfortable to actually use on my lap when I get one of the bad chairs along the wall in a conference room instead of at the table.

I don't know what Samsung was thinking when they added almost 1 pound to the weight of the newer model you ordered but part of it is the touch screen as the non-touch version of the Ativ Book 9 2014 is .5 lb lighter.

I've been thinking of going back to a 13.3 inch laptop and even took out the old X360 for a recent trip when smaller size mattered. It took a long time to do 2 years of Windows updates but it worked fine.

Anyhow, if you want the 15.6 screen size the Samsung is as light as you can get these days for a touch screen.

freecia

Will the increased screen size improve productivity and usability enough to make you reach for the heavier and larger laptop?

You seem pretty happy with your existing laptop. If you like the features of the larger one and don't like the weight, there's always the option of waiting a year or so for the next model. Weight reduction is a pretty common laptop design/revision goal to shoot for along with battery life improvements. Just because there's a good deal doesn't mean it is a good deal for you.

IceTrojan

I had an awesome 12.1" 3lb Dell, then spilled Coke on it. My extended warranty replacement was a 13.1" 4lb Dell, and though I've gotten used to it, I wish I had never spilled that Coke.

xenole

I normally take my 17" laptop with me (Samsonite bag, laptop, battery, charger, mouse etc.) and it weighs a ton! Nice having it in hotels etc., but from a "carrying it around" point of view, something smaller and lighter is far better.
Bought myself a 10" tablet as that will do some things want and it will be so much easier to get out and about with it (especially with hours between flights and you want to leave the airport but don't want to be lugging a bulky laptop around on your shoulder)

mikel51

I had to give up my macbook air a couple of months ago and started carrying my 15" macbook pro. I definitely want to go back to the air format, but will wait for the new model rumored to come out in a few months.

david55

Great discussion. Thank you.

I am sending the 15.6 back. I sat with my husband yesterday and we listed the pros and cons and the cons was a much longer list.

I do love my 13.3" Samsung and now feel guilty that I was even thinking of replacing it. Maybe that is why it is acting up a little bit this morning.

Cloudship

What else do you carry? I currently have a Macbook Air 13". Really light - but when it comes down to it, all the extra cables and my reading tablet and other assorted junk far outweigh the laptop itself. I have also traveled with a 6 lb laptop - there was a noticeable weight gain, but not so much that it made toting it around impossible. I guess it depends a great deal on the use - if you are just reading emails, do you need the 15in? on the other hand, if you do any kind of design work or work with images, the frustrations of the 13in screen might very well make it so that you cant work effectively.