T400 with 680-nit screen option soon available

Fresh off the press

" The ThinkPad T400 laptop with the high brightness screen is available through Lenovo business partners beginning immediately. Pricing starts at approximately $1,350."

 

Good heavens -- at its highest intensity, the screen can also be used to repel vampires...!

 

The release is dated February 24. This officially makes you a fortune teller, Andrew.

"...available through business partners immediately." Does that mean it won't be available for CTO right away?

 

That makes it brighter than the screen found in the E6400 ATG?

 

Even the police is using them.

 

The LED screen was already bright enough. The only use I can imagine this would have is in direct sunlight.

 

Oooh I hope the high-nit option becomes available in WSGA+ resolution. Seems like a long shot but I'd love to be able to work outside this summer.

 

I thought the ATG was 700 nits. I don't need more brightness. My R60's brightness is fine, but what I want is better viewing angles. The technology is there, but I don't know why they keep increasing the brightness without improving the image quality.

 

Yeah I remember that the ATG got a step up to the 700-something range at some point recently. Crazy!

The press release says "optional high brightness, wide angle screen", maybe there is a chance the viewing angles are improved somehow. I don't know if it is just the same screen with brighter lights behind it, or is different in some other way. I guess time will tell...

 

Ah, true. I almost forgot about the ATG's uber bright screen.

 

... Seems they aren't even going to bother with IPS anymore, instead merely refining LED; such pitty.

 

I like how this press release is also a bit of a stab at the competition and Panasonic Toughbooks...

Thinkpads are tough, but they are not the end all be all of business options anymore. HP and Dell are pretty competitive and the Panasonic Toughbooks can't be touch in regards to ruggedness.

I know Thinkpads aren't REALLY aimed at the Toughbook market, but they are making it sound like it is on par...

Oh well, it is marketing.

 

if i have already ordered the led one, can i call the rep and have this screen installed?

 

Doubt it. You'd probably have to just cancel the order and re-order.

 

This seems completely unessary.

My x200 Tablet has a 285nit AFFS+ LED screen, is usable in direct sunlight, and is already too bright for most indoor environments (I tend to dim it to 11/15 bars).

The one interesting line is "wide angle screen". Is it possible that this is actually an IPS or FFS display? Or is Lenovo simply saying that the viewing angles are wider than the very narrow TN panels that most of their models currently have?

 

Do you think that this new display will be better than the one on the W700 (only 400 nits)? Can it be an IPS screen?
Improved brightness, contrast, view angles...Sounds great!

 

Better is subjective. Brightness will likely be a lot better, although color reproduction might not be as good as the W700's screen. Either way, this looks like a nice upgrade. Now if they added something like that to the T500, I would be so mad I didn't get it.

 

This should sell very well for them in the UAE, Saudi and Kuwait where it's quite sunny, bright and hot.

 

Yes, great for desert regions. Living in the NE U.S. I've forgotten what it's like to have sun and warmth.

I'll see if I can get in touch with Lenovo to see what the "wide angle" means exactly.

 

My Fujitsu P8010 is quite bright at 300-nits. I had thought that the X200 Tablet screen was going to be brighter but then found out it was not as bright as my current Fujitsu.

 

that is just insane! You can use this notebook to put the bat sign in the sky!

 

Bat sign? where!?

nah, but 680 nits is overkill. I rarely use my t400 at full brightness.

 

It's only awesome if they make it an option for W700 and W500. Perhaps offer something with better color production also.
This thing, however, is not on par with the toughbook yet (1000 nit).
After having a 17'', I don't care much for smaller laptops anymore.

 

This isn't to be compared with the fully rugged models, but the semi-rugged ones:

http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/23/thinkpads-pass-the-tough-test-but-dont-call-em-rugged/

 

I think 300-350 nits is perfectly fine, i guess this is for those people who use it outdoor very very often.

To the Batmobile danananananannanannananana batman!

 

If there's such a thing as overly bright, this is it. Puts my T60's screen to utter shame...

 

We'll start seeing people wearing sunglasses while using them. Then they'll have some nice tan lines on their face from that screen.

Anyone order one yet?

 

I wish my screen had a 680 nit... I'm studying in a place where the sun is always super bright, even indoors with the window unshaded.

 

You're studying in a greenhouse?

 

Seriously, the LED-screen on the T400 is already bright enough. How about a display with better quality? How about an IPS, MVA, or PVA display? Getting tired of all these low-quality TN displays commonly used in notebooks these days.

P.S. Patiently waiting.

 

Again, they're targeting a specific customer base with the 680-nit displays. If you needed it, you'd be buying it, and it would be a marked improvement over the current T400 LED. It's not like they're selling them hoping the average customer will accept them in lieu of a better quality display.