Ad: Manage updates with the Download App
  • CNET
  • All 14-inch posts

14-inch

LG Blade: A thin-bezel laptop available everywhere but the U.S.

The LG P430 and P530 are 14- and 15.6-inch laptops, respectively, with something that we hope becomes a trend: smaller screen bezels that reduce the effective size of the chassis. The P430, in particular, promises a "14-inch screen in a 13.3-inch body," with an upper lid design that looks like a return to the thin-bezel laptops that used to exist not so long ago. (We actually already admitted to pining for small bezels...guess we're not alone.)

As far as we can tell, there's not much differentiating the Blade series from similar laptop designs by Samsung, Sony, Acer, and others, but a metallic 13-inch laptop with a slightly bigger screen? Sure, who wouldn't go for that? A second-gen Intel Core i3/i5/i7 CPU and optional Nvidia GeForce GT 520M graphics sound like a solid package.

Of course, there's a catch: these laptops will be available starting in May in Europe, the Middle East, South America, and Asia...but not in North America. LG, may we humbly suggest an addendum?… Read more

Why you should consider a 14-inch laptop

Despite all the (virtual) ink we spend on hip 11- and 13-inch laptops, the bulk of laptops sold are still in the midsize category. For most consumers, that means a 15.6-inch display, but we consider any laptop with a 14-, 15-, or 16-inch screen to be part of that midsize category. These are the laptops you're most likely going to find sitting on an office desk, in a den, or in a dorm room. We've even seen our fair share of them wedged into airplane seats and in coffee shops, as awkward as that always looks.

If you're set on a midsize laptop, one piece of advice we've offered for the past couple of years is to consider a 14-inch system rather than a more common 15-inch one. While you're trading away a little bit of screen size (but not any screen resolution), we've consistently found that 14-inch midsize laptops offer better overall industrial design, specifically because the standard laptop keyboard fits much better in a 14-inch chassis than a 15-inch one, leaving much less dead space on either side. And, by shaving off a little size and weight, these 14-inch models are easier to carry around--which is important, as we've seen many commuters struggling under the weight of oversize laptops. … Read more