Offset Lcd ?

Does anyone know why the screen on many of the Thinkpad units are offset? I have noticed that one hinge is larger than the other, but has the LCD manufacturer made their screens to fit Lenovo's spec, or has Lenovo made their frame to accomodate the LCD manufacturer? I don't like the look of it myself. Others probably don't notice, but it's a matter of opinion.

PS, if you know the answer to this, are there any plans to make the Thinkpad's LCD symmetrical in the future?

 

Thinkpads has always been like that...screens off centred.
Even when IBM owned the company, the T40s were some what off centred as well.
It's just a umm 'stylish design' for thinkpads i guess.

 

The screen is off-center to accomodate all the antennas. Previous models would have it stick out so in order to make the notebook more sleek, the offset was necessary.

I'm not positive about future plans but in my opinion, I'm sure they will center the screen in the future.

 

Most of the thinkpads are, just like how the X61's left bezel is slightly wider than the left. I don't think they will change it's design since it's more for room for antenna's and other misc stuff they locate in/behind the screen, and also LCD makers don't need to make any change to fit the frame.

 

thanks everyone !!! I'm considering buying one. So far, it's between the T61 (I wish the T61P was available in 14" WXGA+ widescreen) AND the Dell Latitude D630 (Wish it had a better graphics option and express card slot) ..... Still searching though. I would prefer the headphone jack be on the side, as opposed to the front, because at home, I usually have external speakers plugged in.CAN ANYONE ATTEST TO THE QUALITY OF THE FOLLOWING graphics card on the 14" widescreen T61 ? nVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M 128MB ???

 

It doesn't look bad overall...and the hinges...tough puppies.

 

The quadro card is designed specifically for business applications, im not sure what you need it for tho. It basically equals a 8400gs, but with more stable drivers and more support for business applications.

 

We were discussing that a lot when the new T61 models were released...

That's not true, the previous generation ThinkPads had normal (centered) screens...

I would call it IDIOCY... sorry, I don't find it stylish.

I don't think it was necessary, and I don't care what Lenovo says, but I believe that if the people who designed the screen had had more than three brain cells, then the screens would have been perfectly centered.

 

ArtKit,

As a member of the antenna club, I don't think antennas are the reason because they don't take up any additional space and thinkpads have always been that way even before wireless and certainly prior to the compex arrays today.

There is another explanation. The left side of a think pad is the HEAVY side. I think the off centering is structural in case anyone should grab a think pad by the top on the left side. That also explains the heavier hinge.

These unexpected differences are the result of good engineering and not bugs.

 

The antennas were the official explanation for the off-centered screen that Lenovo gave...

AGAIN, the previous generation ThinkPads didn't have off-centered screens! I myself have a 15.4" ThinkPad with perfectly centered screen.

Sorry, but that doesn't make sense, and I'm sure that Lenovo hasn't a clue what you are talking about... call them.

Poor engineering (a.k.a. idiocy)

And I hope that if Lenovo off-centered the keyboard tomorrow because they could not fit the speakers for example, then you would not try to advocate them again...

 

This design makes 15% profit!
yeah! even with ccp. oh, sorry am I wrong?

 

If you buy a unit through CPP you can't return it; its in the fine print.

The hinge that is larger is not for sturdiness or because that side is heavier(Stop saying this)...It's larger so all the cables from the LCD to the unit can be hidden. The problem with one hinge being larger is that it puts more fatigue on the other hinge; and yes those hinges can crack in half.

The extra space on the left side of the LCD is for the Antenna. Again, I don't know why they choose to run ALL the cables on that side. They could have placed one antenna on the left and one on the right to even the sides out.

 

From the Lenovo VP of Corporate Identity and Design:

"The display is slightly offset in order to make room for the latest antenna array. Sure we could have put the antenna somewhere else but it would reduce the performance."

http://www.lenovoblogs.com/designmatters/?p=173

 

They could have run the antenna around the whole LCD bezel or simply placed the antenna on the top. That's what happens when a VP tells an engineer how to design a laptop. I wonder if he even knows what a omni-directional antenna is.

 

LOL, it could be.

 

Did you read his biography?

David Hill bio

Article about David Hill

 

I have now and it’s like any other, full of fluff. Have you read Time Magazines Bio on Hitler and Stalin when they were men of the year? How about the bios of former executives from Tyco, WorldCom, and Enron?

I have no doubt that the man is intelligent, but he is no different than any other human on this planet; he is prone to mistakes and does not know everything.

I honesty don't know if this was a mistake or if it was done to save money so they wouldn't have to redesign, but its obvious that his statement about the antenna was meant to save face for Lenovo.

 

"The hinge that is larger is not for sturdiness or because that side is heavier(Stop saying this)...It's larger so all the cables from the LCD to the unit can be hidden."

That's interesting because the LCD cable is not near the hinge.


The problem with one hinge being larger is that it puts more fatigue on the other hinge; and yes those hinges can crack in half.

Really? How?

The extra space on the left side of the LCD is for the Antenna.

It's not required. The antennas don't take up extra space.


" Again, I don't know why they choose to run ALL the cables on that side. "

They didn't. There are other antenna cables three quarters of the way to the right.



They could have placed one antenna on the left and one on the right to even the sides out.

They did.

There are two antennas on the left side. Two antennas left top and one on the right.

 

Anyone got a bigger version of this pic of the naughty bits of a T61's LCD roll cage from Lenovo's site:



Said pic pretty much sums up why the left hinge is wider than the right hinge on the T61. I don't quite spy the right hinge taking part in the antennae cable-running festivities.

 

Primary Attribution error.

The LCD cable go from the top to the bottom without a hinge. The antennas could do that also. Other vendors have antennas in the top and don't have assymetries in the hinges so having antennas doesn't require wider hinges.

 

Can you really without loosing any performance? Don't radio waves oscillate vertically and the antenna should be placed diagonally from a vertical axis so it can capture all its wavelength? Like a normal FM radio, if you place the antenna horizontally it doesn't work as well.

 

Actually, it depends on the polarization of the radiator. Most 2400 mhz signals are vertically polarized. Modern cards have diversity front ends where they have more than one antenna and they take the best signal of the two. That's why the t61 has both an antenna with a vertical orientation on the left and a horizontal orientation on the top.

 

Interesting!! So would you set the polarization by placing the router in a different orientation or is that related to gravity?
I thought the wider hinge was mainly for the WWAN, as the WIFI antennas are just a thin copper wire as far as I know.

 

It's not related to gravity (unless you are immediately adjacent to a black hole). There will be maximal coupling between the devices when their antenna polarizations match. But it you were in an area where there's lots of interference, one thing that would help would be to change your systems polarization (in theory). The worlds is always messier because there are reflections and nulls.

At these frequencies, it also easy to make a circularly polarized antenna.

 

Good to know, I moved my router antenna and it seems I'm getting better signal!!! Thank you very much!

 

Optimos,

You are looking at pictures. I've replaced the antenna assembly in my t61. I have routed those cables.

You and I are both being stubborn. A problem for you though is that syllogistically your thinking is insubstantial.

Larger Hinge and cable goes through it... Is not the same as "the hinge is larger because the the cable goes through it.