There are many factors to consider in a laptop screen. It’s often easy to overlook laptop screens when you buy a new laptop, thinking they are “standard” components. But if you look carefully, you will realize there are some subtle differences between different laptop screens. Make sure you pick a suitable one for yourself.

The starting point for a laptop screen is usually the screen size. Laptops have screen sizes that are about 12.1 inches, 13.3 inches, 14.1 inches, 15.4 inches and 17-inches. There is now an industry trend towards widescreen laptops – often with screens 18-inches and higher. You need to decide which size you want – I feel that 12.1 to 14.1 inches is perfect for business use. For gaming and multimedia, you might want to consider 15.4 inch screens and beyond.

The laptop screen is also specified in terms of its aspect ratio. Traditionally, laptop screens have had a 4:3 aspect ratio. With widescreens coming out, 16:9 aspect ratios are becoming the new standard. Be careful when you shop for laptops – make sure you get the aspect ratio you want.

The screen resolution of a laptop specifies the number of physical pixels on the screen. By convention, the specifications are given in terms of horizontal pixels against vertical pixels. A 1280 x 1024 resolution means that there are 1280 horizontal pixels and 1024 vertical pixels. Obviously, the more pixels there are on screen, the clearer your screen elements. However, at higher resolutions, screen elements also can appear smaller – although you can play with the DPI (dots per inch) settings in your operating system to get around this.

Another important aspect of laptop screens is the glossy versus anti-glare issue. A glossy screen is very common nowadays, although they are still more limited to mainstream laptops rather than business laptops. A glossy screen is brighter and looks more cool, but do remember that you get a lot of glare if you it outdoors. An anti-glare screen is better for outdoor usage.