[X4U] Slightly Off Topic Question - Screen Resolution

[eleventhvolume]

I'm wondering if anybody can help me with this one. I've been a Mac user for
more than a decade. My job currently provides me with a 15" Powerbook with
which I'm very happy. For my sins I've also just been issued with a fairly
high-end Dell portable behemoth with a screen resolution of something like
1920 x 1200 (I can't remember the exact dimensions, but it's a Dell
Precision with the high spec).

On booting the Dell up for the first time, I commented disparagingly to my
boss about the way the screen makes everything - particularly web pages -
look tiny, to which he took great exception. I think he's blessed with
better eyesight than me, but he also owns the 17" Powerbook which has a
somewhat lower resolution than the Dell. I commented that I believed that
the lower Apple resolution was an active design decision rather than being
anything to do with money-saving. He argued in return that he was sure that
Apple would install a 1920x1200 screen if one was available.

Is my boss right or can anybody point me to any evidence that Apple
deliberately maintain a lower screen resolution than is possible for
usability purposes? Thanks in advance for any help anybody can give.

All the best, Colin.