It does seem odd, but unfortunately there is a reason for it.
For better or worse the LCD monitor industry has finally shifted stance and decided that they will adhere to proper specifications... hence 16:9 aspect ratios that fall in line with TV and DVD media, etc. From here on out future monitors will
most likely be 16:9 displays.
The notebook in question was the ~5lb 14.1" Latitude E6400. Apparently it can handle a 9-cell main battery + a 12-cell battery that fits in the bay. What I wouldn't give to run my OWN battery tests on that!
Edit: Going off topic, but link to the laptop I found
Link Doing the math, it looks like it CAN offer a full 10 hours battery life during video playback. Unit weighs 4.3lb with a 4-cell battery, so it'd probably be around 8 with all that extra battery capacity in the very least... LED display and LED backlit keyboard though are nice.
I see CNET tested with a NVIDIA GPU. Battery life will be even better with the integrated Intel X4500HD option. And better still with XP instead of Vista, yuck. And that is before I would start undervolting that CPU...