Ultraportable Laptop and Economy-Plus Airline Seat is Work Travel Nirvana

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This is the second time my new Dell XPS M1210 has gone on a flight with me, and since the flight was half full, I had a chance to compare the difference between United's Economy, and Economy Plus cabin.

The flight was United 1131 from Chicago to Calgary, on a (pretty old) Boeing 737-300, in what is called the &quot;US 1&quot; configuration according to SeatGuru.

The United Boeing 737-300 the writer took for this trip (view large image)

The main differences are:

• Economy Seat: 32&quot; Pitch, 17&quot; Width
• Economy Plus Seat: 35&quot; Pitch, 17&quot; Width

Pitch is defined as the distance between the two rows of seats, therefore it affects the avaliable legroom directly.

According to United, Economy Plus offers up to 5 extra inches of legroom. You can usually choose to upgrade for a nominal fee during check-in. On my flight, it was a US$44 extra. I didn't upgrade it on this flight, but since the plane was only half full, I moved from my original seat in dead last row with NO recline (21E) up to the Economy Plus section (10B) after everyone had boarded (we were in fact told by the flight attendants to move to a better seat). Below is an image to illustrate my original seat location, and where I ended up:

Now let's look at how this extra space translates to being able to use a laptop more easily, see the images below:

Economy Seat (21E):

(view large image)

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Economy Plus Seat on an exit row (9E):

(view large image)

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In both instances the tray table was extended as far forward as possible, with the screen on the XPS M1210 tilted back to a normal usable angle for comfortable viewing.

Notice how the front of the tray table overlaps the armrest in the standard Economy seat (top row of pictures) by a fair margin, while there is a comfortable gap in the Economy Plus seat.

While you can technically &quot;open up&quot; the M1210 (or any similar sized 12.1&quot; form factor notebooks) without needing to extend the tray table forward, it is simply, in my opinion, not usable as the opening angle will only be 90 degrees, and you'll have to look down at the screen at an odd angle. Try this at home: put the system in your lap, sit upright, and then open up the screen at a right angle (90 degrees). Not very comfortable, ergonomic or easy to see the screen is it?

Walking up and down the aisle, I noticed a fair few notebook touting passengers as well, mostly having mainstream 14&quot;-15.4&quot; form factor screen sizes. I saw that most (in the standard Economy section) had to resort to using their system tucked close against their body on their lap, so that they could open the screen to a useful degree. The Economy 32&quot; of pitch doesn't give a lot of room to play around with, and when the person in front reclines their seat, that just makes things worse.

Since I was seated in the Economy Plus section, using the 12.1&quot; screen M1210 on the tray table was comfortable and pleasant. I didn't feel like I was trapped inside a closet due to the extra pitch and legroom, and I didn't have to resort to tiliting my head at an odd angle to enjoy a movie from my system (for reference, I'm 5'11&quot.

I can't imagine how I was able to use my old 15&quot; form factor systems in the past (Toshiba Tecra S2, Dell Inspiron 8200) on a flight. In fact, I mostly didn't even bother to pull them out from the overhead bin and open them up, knowing it would be a futile attempt. Plus the 2-3 hours of actual usable battery life on those larger systems meant by the time I settled into a comfortable position (or that I've tried to tune out the discomfort of having the system on my lap) the system will have died.

Below are pictures of the 12.1&quot; Dell XPS M1210 next to the Dell Inspiron e1505 15.4&quot; notebook -- see the size difference and imagine using that in the tight quarters of the economy seat instead of the XPS M1210.

Side by side top view (view large image)

Side profile view (view large image)

Conclusion

If you frequent the skies a lot and need a notebook with you, then I'd look no further beyond the 12.1&quot;/13.3&quot; screen form factor. Honestly, you'll have a difficult and uncomfortable time using a system 14.1&quot;/15.4&quot; or larger... unless of course you only fly in Business or First class in which case you could go all out with the 20&quot; screen Dell XPS M2010 even! But then again, I would guess if you're in First class you'd rather be enjoying that glass of wine and chatting with your beautiful travelling companion than using a notebook.

 

Wow! Nice comparison you have here. Very useful for road warriors.

Did people look at you weird when you were taking pics on the plane?

 

Great! Its about time some one finally made something like this!

I also like to point out that some 13.3" and 14." with a rear hinge (like the Macbook).. or those that are super thin.. could get the same height as the XPS M1210 as they will have a lower height than their more conventional counterparts.. if that makes sense.

 

I had to fly from London to New York recently and was sooooo happy to have a Fujitsu LifeBook P7230 10.6" screen notebook with me instead of my regular ThinkPad T43 14.1" laptop. It really is true that once you go over 13.3" screen notebook size it's uncomfortable or impossible to use a notebook on a plane.

Unless, as you say, you've ponied up for a business class seat or sneak to a more expensive seat location.

 

Interesting, but what happens when the person in front reclines their seat? Is a 12-13" size machine safe from getting crushed? A potential risk is that the top of the screen is caught in the top of the recess where the tray table folds away. Reclining the seat means the top of the recess moves downwards while the tray table itself does not.

I agree that anything bigger than 13.3" is unusuable in economy class unless you are in a front row. However a potential problem in these seats (and business class) is the strength of the tray tables which fold out of the arm rests.

John

 

I must admit that utra portable laptops became more attractive these days, I was checking the new V5 flybook on their site yesterday.

The V5 business laptop accepts a sim card and you can use it as a cell phone!
The price is not less that 2000$ though...

I hope someday they will make a laptop with a "foldable screen", this will enable 14" laptops to become 7" after folding, now that would be super cool!

 

Well, my 14" VAIO FJ did fine when I took it to New York with me. This may be because of the rear hinge like Goren was saying. It was about the same, if not lower, than the Dell X300 ultraportable that my dad was using.

 

Unique work!

 

Great info. The last flight I was on I used my dad's 12" iBook. Now I have a 17" monster (see sig) and I'm anxious to see how it holds up in the economy class (probably not very well, judging by this review!)

Oh well, I can just zone out with my mp3 player or a book

 

Wow what a great and original review! I still prefer the 8.9" P1510 Tablet PC for on the road

 

What if your beautiful companion is a notebook.

 

Great work...and a nice change of pace for the site! Also good to see you can still do something a bit unorthodox on planes these days without raising eyebrows (or worse).

Just to clarify: you managed to snag an exit row seat, so I would think there would be even more room than with just an upgrade to Economy Plus seating...or am I wrong? If Economy Plus offers as much room as a standard exit row seat, that's a real nice upgrade for the price.

Am I the only one who's curious how you snapped that picture?

 

Lol, that's a stock photo, and not "the" 737-300. It'd take an invisible bungee cord tethered to the plane to have bounced out and taken that picture.

 

Travelers definitely have different considerations than regular notebook users. As a frequent traveler my main considerations are 1) weight 2) battery life 3) CPU speed and only then 4) display quality.

My first notebook was desktop-replacement type. Heavy. Powerful. Completely outdated after 9 months. After that first 9 months, all you have is a slab that weighs like concrete and only keeps you busy for 120 mintues on a long flight. For my second notebook I went with the XPS M1210. With time off for landing, takeoff and meal service, the battery (I have the larger version) will last for the entire SF/LA-NY/Miami flight time. For longer flights, I start introducing sleep time. And for those ultra long flights (SF-Singapore), then there is the ultimate answer: Singapore Air.

 

I completely agree.

Currently I have to travel with a Dell D610 and it seems too big!!

I realy want to change it by a D420, let's see if My emploee agrees.

Regards,

 

I've done a good bit of flying out of a smallish town where I always end up on a CRJ ( http://www.nwa.com/travel/trave/seatm/crj/index.shtml). At 31", the pitch is actually a little shorter than even regular economy in the plane you looked at. I am still able to comfortably use my M1210. If the person in front of me reclines his or her seat, I pull the computer so just the front feet are sitting on the tray and the front edge is off the tray. And since the M1210 is not only shorter, but narrower than a larger laptop, I can slide it to one side and still have room on my tray for a drink . Granted, I'm not as tall as a lot of you guys so I don't get as crowded to begin with.

 

What you have to watch out for is the tray table latch. If the guy in front of you leans back, that can hook onto the top of your screen and crush it. I cracked my hinges this way, but got it fixed under warranty

I always pull my laptop close to my self, even if there's clearance on the tray table.

Also, first class is definitely not worth the money. Don't bother.

 

I managed to use my Vaio SZ easily even on an Easyjet flight. I felt quite smug knowing that anyone with a bigger laptop would have real difficulty using it properly.

 

well when i went on a 747 last year to asia my 17inch worked just fine with some room i was also in economy. hopefully now my macbook pro 15 inch will be easier to use on a plane.