E1405. how happy are u

Well, after much discussion, we have decided to stick with the Dell. After getting over the inital hype, the MacBook wasn't worth it. 13.3" screen in the same size case and weight as the e1405 is really what broke us of it. Top it off with a higher price and worse specs inside, and we would be paying for the name only.

The question of whether I would buy this book again...probably not. Luckly my wife can look past the little things she doesn't like about it (looks, keyboard).

 

The first time I booted up my 1405 I noticed the light leakage problem - bottom of the screen and at the top right. After a chat with some non-Dell computer people, I decided to ask for a replacement. But(!) the guy at technical support didn't seem aware of this problem, and treated my complaint as a Software problem -ie, something which doesn't show up when the use client software/remote access to check faults. They weren't prepared to acknowledge the fault - so I just phoned customer care and stated very clearly that I was not happy. They agreed to send a new machine. Don't know how the light leakage issue will be on the new machine.
But I'm amazed the 'technical support' people were so adamant that there was no problem with screen....good luck if you follow the same path I took - and just send them digital photos of your screen (a method of 'proving' a fault that they themselves should have been aware of).

 

You will probably be surprised to see me writing this ...but you may want to re-think your decision. After having my e1405 since Friday, and using it daily, my only very minimal light leakage got much worse...in fact the screen/ colors are now washed out across the entire LCD. I called Dell, they are taking it back for a refund with no re-stocking fee. The rep told me - when I asked - that he has heard of many complaints/ returns on the e1405 due to the LCD.

 

I guess I need to check my wife's when I get home...I haven't actually looked at the screen recently to see how it is doing.

What are you doing to replace it with?

 

I have no idea yet. Kind of caught me off guard when it happened this morning. As you probably figured from my posts I was very happy with it. Maybe I'll try again in a few weeks or look at the m1210 when it becomes available. They did not even push a replacement..which was good because I dont want the hassle of return after return if a replacement has the same issue. Most unfortunate.

I looked at the Macbook today while at an Apple store. It had a great screen but seemed very plain/ cheap/ plastic-y compared to the dell. Also the few I used were running very hot.

I just saw this which is a good deal:

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=202314460&adid=17662

I just looked closer at this...with the exception of it not being widescreen and having no dvd writer this is much better than the e1405 I have...better LCD, rock solid build, XP Pro, 667mhz memory, 3945 wireless, 1 gb ethernet, a bit smaller and lighter.

BTW, mea culpa on my comments on your own return scenario.

 

ud think they would be trying to correct this screen problem with the e1405... ;/

 

Its okay. We were totally returning for selfish reasons, so I understand giving me a hard time about it.

I was able to price the Asus Z62F and Lenovo 3000 N100 within $100 either way of our current E1405 ($1229), including very similar specs. Both are 14" books with similar sizes, though battery life does not seem to be as good.

I am also thinking about a Toshiba, or biting the bullet and moving to the Sony SZ.

 

I just got my E1405 last night. This is after I sent back my M140 because I bought it the day before the 1405 came out. So far I would say that I am very satisfied except for the light leakage, viewing angles, and the glare. I think that the glare is actually a bigger problem for me. I really only notice the light leakage when the black screen saver comes on. I think that the screen does have excelent resolution overall and videos are crystal clear. I tried to attach a picture to show the glare in a room with no lights on and no flash. The speed is amazing, 1min 25sec on super pi to 2 million when on full power, and on max battery about 2min 20sec. It is also very quiet. Even running a DVD you can bearly hear it. Also does not get hot on my lap and is very light. Although I have not run both batteries down i expect to get about 4 hours on the 6 cell and 7 hours on the 9 cell. I love the keyboard, some might think that it is soft, but I can type very fast and comfortably on it.
Does anyone know if there is currently a fix for the screen problem? I like the notebook and I don't want to have send another one back. I hope that the leakage does not get worse.
I'll let you know if I get more leakage.
I thought that I would add that I got the CPU for an amazing price with $750 off +12% EPP + 2% DPA + $150 MIR for 4yr warranty.

 

I am really concerned now that others are reporting increased light leakage over time. I wonder if the leakage is a correctable problem (either by getting it repaired, or in future books). Anyone know?

 

Mine got 1:18 super pi to 2 million. But I have to agree with the glare being a problem. I don't think the light leakage to be that bad of a problem though.

 

Do you have the truelife upgrade when u say glare is a problem? I want to get a e1405 but was gonna go for matte since i hear glare is a problem. Also, from that picture it does look a little washout on the bottom start bar..;(

 

I do have the truelife upgrade. I think that the washout on the picture is primarily from the glare, but it is there a little. In a darker environment the task bar is the same color as the top of an unselected window. Still don't know if it is enough to send it back. Just hope that it does not get worse.

 

Had mine for almsot a week now.

The glare on the screen with the Truelife is really bad. Very hard to watch Dvd's from an angle. I really only notice the light leakage on the screen when its really dark. I figure if its bad and eventually they fix it I'll just tell Dell it looks bad and have them replace it under warranty and hope they give me the new one.

As for the battery life, I have the 9 cell and I haven't tried to completely drain it yet, but I watched 1 almost 2 hr movie and the battery meter still listed 6 hrs left.

I plan on ordering the bluetooth adapter sometime next week also.

 

I saw that dell now has the bluetooth adapter as an option. Can it be installed aftermarket?

 

the battery life seems amazing on this laptop

 

The battery life is definitely a strong selling point. Assuming you can deal with some light leakage, and assuming that the leakage does not get worse over time. 6-7 hours is easy to hit with brightness still at a very reasonable level, wireless on basic web browsing and such.

 

Yes you can add bluetooth aftermarket, I did it with my E1405.

 

Can you take a clearer picture? Although the light leakage doesn't seems to be a big problem.
Thanks

 

Got some pics of my wife's e1405. Yes, I took these in our guest bathroom. No, I was not using it at the time.

Lens where your face would be, black screen
Lights on
Lights dim
Lights off

Lens where your face would be, desktop
Lights on
Lights dim
Lights off

A bit closer, black screen
Lights on
Lights dim
Lights off

A bit lower, black screen
Lights on
Lights dim
Lights off

The camera actually helps a bit in terms of not making it look that bad. I think the reason it looks like more in person is the glossy screen. The gloss really amplifies it at certain angles. If this was a matte screen, I don't think the leakage would be nearly that bad at all.

Anyway, enjoy.

 

More Dell woes... UPS was supposed to pickup my e1405 today at Dell's expense to return for a refund. When UPS didnt show, I called Dell customer service tonight, they verify the approved return is in my record and I get put on hold and transferred to supervisior almost immediately. Supervisior tells me that UPS has not picked up most if not all of the machines being returned at Dell's expense since this past Monday and that Dell executives are trying to resolve the problem. Are they not paying their UPS bills now?

 

onedeep your screen doesnt look that bad at all in my opinion for casual use. maybe even a bit more. Its just when the lights are off and ur on a black screen that its the worst. Other then that it seems very easy to deal with. imo at least ;D

 

"Not that bad" is the problem here in my opinion. Why after spending good $$$ should folks have to resign themselves and settle. I was in Apple, Compusa and Best Buy stores this week. Not a one of the various vendors notebooks had light leakage and the majority had sharper/ brighter/ better contrast LCD's...on gloss and matte (even those that are considered budget...with the exception of 1 real low end Gateway book).

The gloss vs matte situation aside (probably somewhat of a personal preference maybe?) no machine should have light leakage and a top of line Ultrasharp WXGA+ LCD should blow the competition away in sharpness and contrast.

There is clearly a consistent manufacturing/ quality problem with the e1405.

 

It isn't bad, but it isn't good. What the camera doesn't show is how the gloss screen amplifies the leakage across the screen.

I have a matte screen book, and I have probably a little less leakage at the bottom. Unnoticeable, because its matte. But as soon as you put the gloss on it, it burns up the screen. It is really hard to explain.

Needless to say, we are still debating on whether we are sending it back or not. I haven't looked to see when my invoice was, but I bought it on the 3rd, so I am assuming I have until the 24th at the least. I go back and forth on the issue, especially now that I finally noticed the MSI 1057, which can be had for about $1350 with reasonable specs, and seems to be much more the form factor that my wife wanted. If Dell would hurry up with the M1210, I might consider it.

 

ive been hearing the dell later models arent as bad as some of the ones first off theline. maybe try an exchange...

 

The light leakage doesn't look too bad, looking back to 630m review in this site, it had similar leakage too.
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2671&review=Dell+Inspiron+630m

I guess such a low price you paid compare to other laptop brand, its still a bargain good performance machine.

 

Interesting. When I returned my e1405, DHL picked it up.

 

so is any 1 happy and keeping their E1405?? lol...

 

Mine should be arriving tomorrow. Maybe I'll get lucky cause I'm not thrilled about going through the trouble of returning it.

 

Me!

I received mine on Friday and quite happy for now... maybe because it's my first laptop, I don't know..

 

keep us posted cause i hear it just gets worse as time goes on. Screen wise that is

 

i like mine a lot and am keeping it. the only thing i don't like is the glare when there is direct light on it but i am going to buy one of those screen covers that should take away the glare.

 

How is the MediaDirect software? Easy to setup and use? Would love to play my MP3s without booting up as long as its not too cumbersome.

 

It's kinda laughable since it still boots into XP, but a stripped down version. I'm not really sure how this feature saves battery. Everything still powers up, including the HDD. Maybe it runs on 1 core, or at a deminished speed, who knows.

 

If its still boot into XP, then you this notebook doesn't really have Linux verion of MediaDirect. It only has the windows version.

 

I'm thinking about getting E1405. The only question I have - in terms of weight: should I go with DVD-burner option, or just stick to the standard CDRW/DVD combo. How much extra weight a DVD-burner will get me?

 

I just got my Dell E1405 today and I'm very pleased with it. I'm no tech expert, but I do try to buy better than average computers. My laptop has the matte screen because after reading all of the negative comments about the glare, I decided against the glossy screen despite hearing how wonderful it is for graphics. I like my sisters Sony Vaio laptop screen, but I know that Sony is known for their screens and DELL produces crappy ones...As far as leakage goes, my screen barely has any leakage. It's not noticeable except when the screen is blank (screen saver). Other than that, it's fine. Do you think there's any difference between the matte and glossy screens in terms of leakage?

Should I send my matte screen back and trade it in for the glossy?


I will attach some photos when I get the chance...

 

the truelife screen is sooooooooooo bad. i think im gonna return it =(

 

why do u say the truelife screen is so bad?

 

I would bet that the leakage on the matte screen is the same as it is on the glossy. The problem is that the glossy amplifies the leakage so that it soaks much farther up the screen.

 

hence it being better on the matte ;D

 

I'm posting from my E1405 that arrived tonight, the only thing I don't like about it is this awful high pitched squeak that eminates from the notebook whenever the cpu is idle. Incredibly weird that it stops when the cpu is doing any work. I'll be calling dell tomorrow to try and get one that won't make me go crazy.

Now about the screen. I think the TrueLife is beautiful. I haven't had glare or reflection problems at all, and it looks amazing right now. The light leakage was noticeable when I was watching some '24' earlier, a show that uses a pretty dark palatte. It was by no means unwatchable, but the leakage was there, and it seemed to wash out some of the colors higher on the screen.

Bottom line, I really like it, and the only reason I'll be calling dell tomorrow is because of the inexplicable high pitched squeak noise.

 

The leakage she could have probably lived with. It was the streaking that finally set her off.

 

I ordered my E1405 on May 3, and received it on May 15. While I was waiting for it, I was worried about my order because of increasing complaint about the screen. I was not sure whether I should open the box or just send it back to Dell directly.

Finally, I decided to give it a try. It turns out to be my favorite pet. As soon as I turn it on, I immediately love the screen. With the true life, the screen looks so good, and everything on the screen are just as crystal as I want.

I checked my screen in the darkroom, and I could not see any light leakage in the whole screen, not even a strip of light along the bottom.

I also brought it to outside. Under direct sunshine, it is really hard to see anything in the screen, but so does my previous Sony Vaio. Anyway, how much time do we relly need a notbook under direct sunshine. And itt worked perfectly well in a sunny coffee shop.

I had a Sony Vaio notebook before, and it was really good. But for me, who's doing a lot of work with Photoshop, the screen with 12.1'' is just too small. That's the main reason I choose the notebook with 14.1''screen, a balance between portable and bigger screen. So far, after playing around about a week, I am very happy with most of this quiet E1405, the screen, the speed, the cool engine, the long battery. If I have to say anything I don't like, that's the DVD drive, which makes sort of noise when it start up.

 

Mish.. That's great to hear. Its a great machine if you happen to get a good LCD like you apparently did. I am sorry to part with mine (that is if UPS ever comes to pick it up...4 calls to Dell and still no pickup!!)

Do you know who the manufacturer of the LCD is?

 

AUO1247

Since there were light leakage reports from several different manufacturer, I would think it depends on individual machine rather than the manufacturer.

 

I agree...mine was the same make/ model LCD. This seems to validate that those that have light leakage do indeed have defective LCD's.

 

I've had my E1405 for nealy two weeks and while the light leakage is noticeable on the screen, it is confined to the taskbar durring normal use. Mine looks like the pics onedeep took, noticeble but not terrible. The other thing with my screen is the small dark patch near the lower left corner of the LCD, right where the start button is so I don't notice unless I'm looking at a totally white screen. Also from what I can tell it doesn't seem to be getting any worse, if anything the light leakage actually lessened some but the dark patch is still there.

 

which screen do you have.. the truelife?

 

I have been considering the E1405, but I have a few questions. First, how much better is the truelife screen compared to the normal one. And also, how does the graphics card compare to say a geForece FX 5700 or something similar with 128 memory of the same generation.

 

Mine was ultrasharp wxga+ truelife