Computer desktop screen

Desktop Screen in a Portable

How big can a laptop screen get? The Sony PCG-GRX570 PC is the first mainstream portable using a 16.1-inch LCD, with a dazzling 1,600-by-1,200 (UXGA) resolution. That gives it the same screen real estate as a 17-inch desktop CRT monitor. Think of it as a weighty9.6 pounds, including the brick-sized AC adaptermobile graphics workhorse.

For projector-free presentations, the unit is a killer machine. It's all you need to present a high-impact demo before a half-dozen people in a small conference room. Other likely candidates are Web designers, desktop publishing pros, and gamers who want to take their PC with them occasionally.

For everyday Windows tasks, we're a little less sanguine. A UXGA resolution on a 16.1-inch monitor can be hard on the eyes. While it's possible to zoom the size of the system fonts, Windows doesn't manage scaling at all well.

Other performance was top-notch, as you'd expect from a system with a 1.6-GHz Pentium 4 CPU, 512MB of DDR memory, a 40GB hard drive, and an ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 graphics subsystem with 32MB of video DDR SDRAM. The BatteryMark score was 2 hours 14 minutes, and you can double that by replacing the optical drive with a second battery.

We were surprised to see what was missing, starting with wireless Ethernet. The Sony spokesperson said there wasn't enough room in the chassis. Also missing are an internal floppy disk drive, dual pointing devices, and the PS/2 keyboard/mouse ports. Sony did find room for a Memory Stick slot, along with three USB 1.1 ports, an IEEE 1394 (iLINK) port, and a TV-out port.

In an era of little free software, the system is a refreshing contrast, with Microsoft Word 2002 and 13 movie, TV, music, and photo programs, including Adobe Premiere LE for video editing and Photoshop Elements for still-photo editing.

For those who need the biggest screen possible in a portable computer, the Sony PCG-GRX-570 series is the current champion.