Screen question on new notebook

Researching a new first notebook, and have read up on many reviews and forums. What I have narrowed it down to is the ThinkPad 420/420s/X220 or the Sony new offering of the SB or SA 13 incher with Sandy Bridge coming out.

What I have read from this forum is the notebook screen being Matt and without the IPS panel, many do not like it. Viewing angle is not important to me, I will not play games, no CAD work, nor PhotoShop, so what I would like to know from those that have the T410/410s systems, is if the screen is bright enough, and sharp for normal computer work ? I will probably get the Integrated video chip and not the dedicated one since I do not play games...

If the X220 (Somewhat small for me, but can live with it) with the IPS screen is worth the added cost from those that have had the IPS screen on other notebooks, I will strongly consider it, otherwise the T420/420s will be more to my liking.

Any assistance in this matter would be appreciated.

 

If you don't mind the downside with Lenovo's TN-based panels like washed out colours, limited viewing angles etc.. I would strongly consider the ThinkPad T420s, it's a really nice notebook when it comes to it's size, resolution and capabilities at the same time it's light, thin and easy to deal with.

You have to consider the fact that the ThinkPad X220 provides the same hardware capabilities as the T420s even though it's even lighter, thinner and smaller. But 12.5" isn't for everyone so if you don't see the need or point for the IPS display option on the X220 and you don't need something as tiny as a 12.5" notebook I wouldn't hesitate with getting the T420s with the 1600x900 screen which isn't perfect but you'll get plenty of resolution and space to deal with.

 

I have both the T410 for work, and a T410s for personal and travel. They are very bright.

 

I've seen many a notebook at Best Buy, unknowing what panels they have in the same resolution. These panels seem just fine for me from both Sony/Toshiba and HP (Except they are glossy). So, I'm wondering since the resolution is ABOUT the same for the 13 inchers at the store, then Lenovo's of 1600x900 should be a tad better (I hope) and the way to go on the T420s.

Thank you both for your impute. I understand the limitation of the viewing angle, but I will be the only one looking at it.

 

I am looking at the exact same notebooks as you. The way I see it:

CPU: All about equal
Graphics: Sony SB > T420s > X220
Monitor: Sony SA (presumably) > X220 > Sony SB > T420s
Build quality: T420s > X220 > SA > SB

I think the T420s is the best of the lot, except its screen and gfx is letting it down. Not sure what I want yet. Cant wait to see these laptops in real life.

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I'd say the X220 with the IPS will be better than whatever Sony is offering.

 

Hope others will weigh in on their thoughts on the T410/s screen, if its good to view on a daily basis. Knowing that it will not be as good as some Apple notebook screens, but they pay a premium price for it.

Right now, the X220 looks as if it might do with the IPS panel.

 

I saw the X220 review and very impressed with the battery life and power. My concern is whether 12.5" is too small for coding and web design.

 

Go look at some 12" to see if you like them.

 

Is the resolution fine with you, the physical size isn't too small for web design. I could use visual studio on 12.1 inch laptop just fine.

 

Just like k2001 said, the X220 should be fine for coding and web design, although might be a little bit small if you want to do photoshopping. I also code (Visual Studio) web applications on the X201 (which is almost the same screen size), and have no problems whatsoever.

 

I have to disagree. I own T410 for about one year now and I am disappointed with screen. It's hard to read when you are in bright environment and washed out colours are not particularly exciting either. Apart from screen I am satisfied, but that terrible screen is hard to overlook.

 

I posted a comparison of screens on the T410/T410s/T420/T420s in another thread. The comparison is based on information that is available from the tabook pdf.

Display comparison T410/T410s/T420/T420s

 

Couldn't agree more. It's not the brightness that makes bad, it's the low contrast ratio and washed out colours which is hard to overlook past the first few weeks of use.

 

The T410 screen has a fairly poor contrast ratio. Depending on your preferences, environment, and workload this may or may not bother you.

I use my T410 daily, indoors, under normal lighting conditions for software development (Eclipse, geany, CLI stuff, etc.) and it's perfectly suitable for that.

Honestly, I think whether the T410 screen is OK or "OMG awful" depends entirely on the user and the use. My advice: try one and see if you find it acceptable.

 

That's entirely true, if you don't really care about anything besides brightness for outdoor usage you wouldn't mind the low-contrast.

But fact still remains that these low-contrast TN-panels with washed out colours and limited viewing angles are consider among the lower->mid tier for TN-panels on the market. There are many manufactures offering TN-panels with better colours and higher contrast ratio than Lenovo.


Then again it's up to each individual to measure how important the display quality weights for them.

 

To be fair, though, we need to specify which panel. To me, the T410 1440x900 panel is "better" than the T410 1280x800 panel. (Possibly, they are supplied by different manufacturers having different design/technology/material/production/cost considerations.)

Anyway, as ThinkRob and RamGuy said, try one and decide for yourself.

 

That's true, Lenovo don't use just one supplier for the display panels so the quality may vary and obviously theres a difference between 1280x800, 1440x900, 1600x900 etc panels.

But overall all T-series ThinkPad I've seen the past few years have all suffered from low contrast and bad viewing angels.