T400 High-Nit vs X200t LED

Hi there--

I'm on a mission to get a Thinkpad I can use well outdoors on sunny days for many hours at a time.

The obvious choices, I think, are the non-touch LED version of the X200 Tablet, or the High-Nit option on the T400. Those are 285 nits and 680 nits respectively. (I think there is a 400-nit version of the W700 but that's just too large of a machine for me.)

Clearly the T400 will be more viewable outdoors, but I'm wondering if anyone has any personal experience with both and can say by how much. If the 285 nits is good enough for extended use outdoors, then I may prefer that because I might as well get some increased portability if I'm only going to have 1280x800 pixels.

If there was a High Nit WXGA+ for the T400 that would be a no-brainer and I'd pay just about anything for the privilege.

I'd consider the T400 LED WXGA+ but it seems that the displays going out recently are not as bright as the LG's that originally shipped in that resolution. It would totally rock if the forthcoming T400s had a high nit option, but that just seems unlikely.

I'm not aware of any other options from other brands, other than the ATG version of the Dell E6400, but since that would be heavier than the High Nit T400 with the same resolution, I don't think I would choose it.

Thanks for any input anyone has!

 

Could also look at toughbooks which are specifically tailored to have more offerings for your more demanding outdoor uses.

 

Check this thread out:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=363941&page=3

Scroll down a little bit and you can see the T400's High-nit screen in action outside in sunlight.

I'm not sure about the X200t LED though. Somebody can help you with that.

 

I'd vote for the T400 just cause brightness in my experience is the main factor in how viewable a screen is outdoors, but I've never seen one of the outdoor tablet screens. Maybe jon can chime in here for outdoor usage. He's got the outdoor screen me thinks.

 

Here I am.

The x200 Tablet 285nit LED screen is quite bright. It's more than bright enough for any indoor usage and generally holds up well even with direct sunlight.

However, sunlight will wash out the tablet screen a fair amount and if you are dealing with very low contrast content (i.e. lots of dark colors [movies for example]) you will have trouble. I have no issue doing web browsing or document work outside due to the dominant black on white contrasts. However, I prefer to work in the shade when possible as sunlight on the screen is not ideal.

The T400 high-nit display is certainly brighter and if your only concern is sunlight usability it is probably a better choice. However, the overall quality of the T400 display (contrast ratio, black levels, viewing angles, color stability, etc.) is far lower than that of the Tablet (which is superb).

If you think you might appreciate some of the other advantages of the Tablet I would recommend it as I think it is adequate for outdoor use. However, if your main concern is sunlight usability the T400 high-nit LED is probably a better choice.

I'm not sure how well pictures would show the usability of the tablet outside, but if you would like some I can take a few and post them.

 

37 minutes, you're getting old.

 

Hi Jon--

Wow, that is really nice of you to offer photos. I would of course love to see them, but that's a lot to ask of someone so please don't feel any pressure to do so. You clearly have a lot of experience with your tablet and your descriptions are quite helpful, so I can certainly make do with words alone.

I've never really considered a tablet before, and honestly am doing so only because of the brightness/quality of the screen, but perhaps I would find myself using its tablet-ness sometimes for reading, web browsing, email, and design mockups etc.

 

Hello pavlova,
the nit dates you give us here at all seem to be very very interesting vor me. Can you please let me know, where you got them?

 

The brightness data (and much more) is located in the ThinkPad Tabook. The Tablet display is rated at 285 nits. For some reason there isn't a pre-configured topseller model with the WXGA high-nit and it tus is not listed; however, it's rated at 678 nit in this review.