FYI:
Yes, the battery life is shorter than on other laptops. But I still get a good 2 hours out of a full charge (it's a large battery).
You can adjust the setting on the laptop to use less processing power, lower power settings on PCI buss, lower screen brightness, etc. All this can translate into almost 3 hours of battery time (depending on tasks).

iform,
I find having the large screen an absolute plus. I can have multi windows open while programming, to search for codes, copy/paste, and other tasks.

Mac,
The screen is a full 1920x1080. Why would you need (or be able to use) a higher resolution than that on a laptop screen?


[edit]: I bought this last year to upgrade my travel capacity.
[Link: amazon.com]
I keep several different length network cables, rs232 cables, rs232 adapters, extra power brick, extra battery, mouse, surface pad, note pads, pens, markers, switch, small WAP, small router (Tik), and other odds and ends. It all fits easy. And with the backpack form factor, I can put it on and still have both hands free to carry more stuff.