Uh no. The hi-res screen is 1050 high. Which is not enough for the iPad simulator in portrait mode at 100%. It works because the simulator simply gets scrollbars, but I find that very annoying.
The 17" is 1200 high. Which is is good for any iOS device in the emulator.
And if you don't need the window chrome, you can fit almost all of the iPad simulator onto a 1440x900 display. Enough so that its definitely usable.