I am now really struggling with the 12" vs 15" decision. My current laptop is a Dell Latitude w/o drives and is compact and light. I have loved the fact that as a relatively small woman I can haul it around airports without getting back pain. I have already decided on DVD/CD drive this time (the lack of weight was nice, but the lack of drive got to be a pain at times...) but am balking at the difference in weight with the 15" (although I must admit that when it comes to the screen size matters!)

Any input from anyone on the "under the hood differences" btw the two? I know there are some, but am just not sure how much they matter.

MTIA