The display, I should also mention, has a 4:3 aspect ratio, and while it is generally accepted today that widescreen displays are preferable, I’m unconvinced that 16:9 is the ideal screen ratio for sub 13-inch notebooks. Look no further than the 11-inch MacBook Air. The high screen resolution, I suspect, is in part to make the small and deceptively wide display more useful with content that benefit from vertical height: webpages, text documents and images for example. Getting acclimated to the 11-inch Air is simple enough if it is your only computer, but there’s an unmistakable “squished” effect to the screen that can leave some wanting more, especially those who can’t get used to the way the Air’s screen reduces the size of text and UI elements. By comparison, the 12-inch PowerBook sacrifices width for extra height with a 4:3 ratio, more suitable for vertical tasks like, for instance, writing this review in WriteRoom’s fullscreen mode. The compressed ratio does makes it harder to use a desktop with multiple windows open, but feels spacious when using just one at a time. Both 16:9 and 4:3 displays have their own advantages, depending on whether your particular needs are more “horizontal” or “vertical”.
This line stood out the most. The review is interesting if you have time to read (I did it from the elliptical machine). I think this note is why I ditched the 11″ screen. The thing wasn’t high enough. The low altitude of the 11 inch screen had me leaning over too much and bending my neck down. I’m 6’3″ and the 11″ MacBook Air was simply too damn small. With a 4:3 aspect ratio, I may have used it more often.