Do these carry a non-reasonable price premium over smaller laptop screens? As in, is the price jump between 15 inch and 17 inch "justified" or are they all super high-end expensive laptops?
you can find a 17" for not too much more than a comparably equipped 15"...but the 17" gives you
a numberpad
a higher resolution (1440x900 instead of 1280x800 by default; you can configure both to go up to 1920x1200 depending on the model)
the potential for a 2nd harddrive (the DV9000 series I know for a fact supports 2 hdds)
better graphics card if you so choose.
Personally, I prefer my 15, and wouldn't mind going smaller.
A pound or so heavier. Battery life can't be compared directly as they have different size batteries, but my old 9300 w/ an X300 had about 3 hours of battery life, where my E1705 had 1.5; my DV9500 usually gets around 2...
I got a swissgear backpack from BestBuy when I bought my gateway 17". It fits nicely and protects it well. However 2 hours on a crotch rocket with that on your back can be a bit fatiguing. I probably look like Quasimodo too but I can still go fast.
Depends what you use it for. Generally if you have a table and juice, 17inch is nice. But if you don't then get something smaller. I have a 17 inch with about 2 hour life, and a tablet with 5 hour life, i take both with me.
I got terrible battery life on my 17 inch dell, About 2 hours or less depending on what I was doing. But I gamed all the time on mine and I was always willing to carry the extra pound and heft for the screen real estate.