R52 viewing angle question

I'm considering buying an R52 at the moment, but the only thing holding me back is that one review of it I read was complaining about the viewing angle sucking. How bad is it? Could I comfortably watch a video on it with a few friends without having to be on top of each other? The campus store has a T43 with a 14inch XGA screen (which I don't think would be flexview), and that seemed good enough. Is the R52's comparable?

 

For the love of god, stay away from any R series ThinkPad. Any Thinkpad with a "T" in front of it should be just fine.

 

the screen is comparable.

 

Not everyone has $1500 to drop on a notebook. ThinkPad screens outside of the FlexView are average.

 

They are not as bad as you think they are . Have you even used an R series ThinkPad?

 

I don't see why he should stay away from the R model as it's a fully functional, better than many other brands out there, laptop. I've had mine for 2 months or so now and is very satisfied with it.

As for the viewingangle. It ain't bad i'd say. It's nothing special, but having a couple of friends next to you watching a movie shouldn't be a problem.

 

The screen is not the problem. You don't really need flexview. Yes, I've used an R51. They are bulky and heavy compared to the T series. I have a T43 with integrated graphics. I paid $1,250. I'm not a big fan of fully loaded T series laptops. However, if you have the bucks for a loaded T series, go for it. I just do not believe they are the best value.

 

The R series are usually better value than the T. The R series are bulkier and heavier, true, but that's their only disadvantage. The extra weight is not that much and some might downright not care about it.

 

I just got my R50p with the 15" UXGA and Flexview screen and have been very pleased with it. Movies look great and it plays World of Warcraft without a hitch with 1.5gb memory. I even stepped down the video output a notch to increase the font size and it lost no sharpness or clarity at all.

The screen brightness may seem a bit muted compared to some but frankly for me that's an advantage. My desktop LCD is so freaking bright I feel like my eyeballs are burning after a while, so the Thinkpad screen actually feels more satisfying rather than less.

Yes, the R series is maybe a pound heavier than the T series, but a fully loaded 15" T series is nearly identical in weight to a 15" R series with identical specs from what I've seen on the Web, and some reviewers think the R series is actually sturdier than the T series making it an overall better value along with it's lower price. I have no trouble carrying mine around, especially in a backpack.

Bottom line, both the T and the R series are fine machines in my opinion and you can't go wrong with either one. With the best keyboard in the business and all the useful goodies that IBM includes in the restore partition, I wouldn't trade it for anything I've ever tried at Best Buy or CompUSA.

 

Only time I've noticed 8 pound A30 was when I had to hike 4.5 miles after my truck broke down on the freeway. Other than that piece of cake. Never had "issues" with weight on a laptop no matter what was it. Even E1705 that I've just ordered for a friend of mine is fine to carry around. Are you all 1 pound complainers that weak?