1024x768? 15 inch seems nice. Those 1680 x 1050 would want a 17inch to get the same feeling.
And there are no black bars evident as you note. I have two very similar laptops at the office and the wide screen is very easy to get used to since it has more screen square inches.
Bob
Which notebook computer screen size is better for purposes of word processing, spreadsheets, and general web-surfing? (NOT gaming or viewing DVDs)
I currently have a 15" XGA screen (1024 x 768 pixels). The 17" HP Pavilion ZD8000 has a 17" WXGA+ BrightView screen (1440 x 900). A 15.4" screen could have XGA (1280 x 800) or XGA+ (1680 x 1050). [I know to stay clear of UXGA (1920 x 1200). I'm not clear if there is a true advantage to going to a bigger 17" screen for my purposes. Maybe it's even a disadvantage for me. Can anyone clarify?
Will a wider notebook screen (such as those above)result in smaller text? Will Word documents appear smaller? Will web pages NOT fill the whole screen? Will web pages and Word documents have blank "bars" on right and left sides to fill the rest of the screen? Is a 17" screen really only good for viewing movies and for gaming, but not so good for reading text and web-pages?

Chowhound
Comic Vine
GameFAQs
GameSpot
Giant Bomb
TechRepublic