Indeed. The thing that would make me reconsider replacing my white plastic Macbook most would be better resolution and/or a IPS screen.

I was optimistic about IPS, since they seem to have found a supplier for the iPad. I still use a thinkpad T42p for the UXGA IPS 15" screen, although the 2GB RAM, Pentium M is kind of limiting. (it's no longer my primary machine; 15" 2008 MBP being upgraded to 17" MBP)

Built-in IPS would probably cut into their 24" Cinema Display sales. Especially on the 17", considering it has the same resolution as the 24".

I'm not sure how this'll affect your argument, but I'll wager that 24" CD is on its last legs - to be replace most likely by 21" and 27" that match the screens of iMacs introduced in Oct 2009

I think the 30" ACD is even more at risk, since it has been unchanged in ~forever. It was released in June 2004!

The main reason I got upsold to the 17" MBP in 2009 was that I couldn't bear spending a lot of money on the 15.4" with its adequate but thoroughly mediocre 1440x900 resolution. Its rightful resolution is clearly the now available 1680x1050 when you compare the pixel density with the 17".

Would you take the 15 HD now vs. the 17? There is a very small price delta, and the screen is definitely bigger and is even marginally higher dpi still, on the 17. The 17 is slim, if big, and has an ExpressCard slot (which is possibly a 64GB SSD if nothing else).

The fact that the decent-res is a paid option rather than stock is a bit galling so I'm not sure. I will say that I'm very happy with my 2009 17" and will keep it for a long time.

That is annoying; my Acer Aspire has a 1366 x 768 in 11.6" form factor.