T43 SXGA+: 14.1" vs. 15"

Trying to decide between the T43 with 14.1" SXGA+ and T43 with 15" SXGA+ FlexView. I've seen other threads touching on this topic but I would appreciate a comparison (preferably photos, otherwise written) from someone who has viewed both side-by-side.

I figure both should show the same amount of content (1400 x 1050), but everything on the 14.1" will be a bit smaller. I think I can live with that to save weight, size and battery life.

My main concern is about screen brightness, vividness, and viewing angles. It doesn't appear that the 14.1" is available with Flexview. I have seen the 15" Flexview and it seems quite bright with good viewing angles. I suspect the 14.1" SXGA+ isn't as good on either, but I want to have an idea of how much better the FlexView might be. If the FlexView advantage is dramatic, that would sway my purchase.

Thanks.

PS For anyone interested, I have been able to compare the T43 15" SXGA+ FlexView to the T43 15" XGA and the Z60t 14" WXGA (1280 x 768), as displayed at Office Depot. Below is my perception of how these displays rank.

At maximum brightness:
Brightness:
1. 15" FlexView
2. 15" XGA
3. Z60t

"Vividness" - my subjective assessment of the richness/saturation of colors
1. 15" FlexView
Tie: 15" XGA, Z60t

Viewing Angle - horizontal
Tie - all 3 seemed pretty similar

Viewing Angle - vertical
1. 15" FlexView
2. 15" XGA
3. Z60t

At mimimum brightness setting:
Brightness:
Tie: 15" FlexView, 15" XGA
3. Z60t

Vividness
1. 15" FlexView
2. 15" XGA
3. Z60t

Viewing angle - horizontal
Tie: 15" FlexView, 15" XGA
3. Z60t

Viewing angle - vertical
1. 15" FlexView
2. 15" XGA
3. Z60t

 

So, what's your problem? You have the results, plus watching DVD or some makes better experience on bigger screen.

 

The FlexView screen is better in terms of brightness and viewing anlges, but it is heavier. Guess you'll have to decide what is more important.

 

I have a 42 14.1 SXGA. The viewing is perfect whether i'm looking at it from either sides. Unless you type and read with your PC on your sides. That's weird, though.

 

Side to side usually isn't as bad as up and down angles. If you are giving a presesntation where people are viewing what is on the scree, angles are obviously important.

 

I've had my T43 14.1" for 2 days now, and I've used a T42 15" on occasion. The T42 didn't have flexview, but I can comment on size.
The non flexview screen is VERY nice, extremely crisp and sharp, very high end display. The viewing angles, vertically and horizontally are pretty good. Next to my Sony desktop LCD, the colors arent as vivid and the contrast isn't as high, but that's expected, the desktop LCD is a beautiful display.
I haven't seen a flexview display, but if what I've read is true, its got better viewing angles and a higher contrast ratio.
The extra inch in width/depth, the extra fraction of an inch in thickness, and the fraction of a pound in weight isn't really going to make a noticible difference in carrying the system around. So I think you should look at where you'l be using your laptop.
Although the 15" is still thin as a rail and decently sized, I think its better fitted to a desk than on your lap. If you are using your laptop for work, bringing it from your office desk to a conference room to your home office, I'd say go with the 15" flexview.
But if you're like me and are planning on using the laptop on your lap a lot, I think the 14.1" display is a better fit. You won't notice the viewing angle difference, and will just take a small hit in color and save a little in cash.

 

Thanks to Sparta, Zazonz and all of the contributors for educating me, as I prepare to make the plunge on a laptop. I had originally narrowed it down to either a Thinkpad T43 or Z60m or an Asus Z70va. I have read too many recent emails in the Asus forum about the "red ghosting" phenomenon on the Z70va, so I'm probably limiting it to a Thinkpad. Besides, I like the pointing stick on Thinkpads.

I've been comparing the T43 15 inch SXGA Flex View, which is currently about $1800 on the Lenovo website, with the Z60m with MaxBright and titanium lid, which is going for a very reasonable $1350. I still haven't seen a review of the MaxBright, however, so I'm biding my time. The Z60m is bulkier than the T43, but look at the price difference! I am not a heavy traveler, so the extra bulk of the 15 inch screen doesn't trouble me too much.

By the way, I am typing this on my daughter's HP zv5000 15.4 on my lap, and it really doesn't seem too big for the lap. Makes a pretty good lapwarmer, too. Terrible battery life with the big screen and AMD Athlon processor (1.5 hours on surfing the Web?), otherwise a pretty decent machine.

Thanks for all your input. I'm waiting to see what people think of the MaxBright, because the basic Z60m screen sounds pretty nice already.
:buyIBM:

 

Listen to what a T42 w/ Flexview owner has to say...

Now, I must admit that I haven't seen many Ts without Flexview, or better yet, seen them, but haven't worked with them enough to decide. I did however use my neighbors R50e with the 15" XGA non-Flexview, and I do own an older 14" Compaq Evo with a standard screen.

Now, just some terms.

The Flexview uses a certain LCD manufacturing technology known as IPS (In-Plane Switching). The non-Flexview IBM screens, as well as most of the standard, cheaper LCDs on the market use a technology called "TN" (Twisted Neumatic). That's just so that you don't ask me "What is TN?" later on.

Viewing angles:
No comparison. Flexview wins by default and landslide here. Yes, the horizontal viewing angles are very decent on modern TN matrices, but vertical are just poor. When I look at my Evo (or at my neighbor's R50e), I have to constantly adjust the angle of the lid, because either the top is too dark, or the bottom is too bright, or the colors seem wrong. Annoying. And imagine watching videos on it... The Flexview doesn't simply give better viewing angles - it gives FULL viewing angles. Colors don't distort AT ALL, you just lose some contrast if you tilt the screen to far.

Vividness:
Like you said, it's more subjective, but the IPS panels in general are known to be the best LCD technology in terms of color reproduction. I'd say the colors do seem more real, even though the Flexview is still 6-bit, not 8-bit like newer S-IPS panels. Tweaking the color settings might change it, but my Flexview seemed very nice at the default settings.

Brightness:
The Flexview is brighter. Not due to the qualities of the screen itself, it's just that IBM simply installed stronger backlighting.

Readability:
At the same 1400x1050 resolution, the extra 1" might make a difference. All I know is that with my 15" SXGA+ was too small for comfortable work at Windows' default DPI settings, but after I played with them to increase text, icon and menu sizes, it became great. You may be able to get similar results by tweaking the 14" screen appropriately, but you'll have to use more extreme values, thus causing certain things to get out of proportion at times.

Weight:
Negligible difference between the 15" and the 14" I think. A non-factor. Especially since it's a Thin-n-light 15", not a freaking 15-pound DTR.

Size:
That's a possible issue. A 14" laptop is smaller and fits more comfortably into certain environments. But since the lap issue was raised, all I can say on the matter is that I've been using my 15" T42 on my lap on numerous occasions (in fact I'm doing it right now), and it's very comfortable. Sometimes I even lie down on the couch and hold the laptop on my bent legs. Very comfortable. Then again, I'm not particularly slim. If you are, 15" might be too big to fit on your lap.

Battery life:
The Flexview is going to have a considerably reduced battery life (at least on max brightness). Not only it's bigger than the 14" model, but it is also brighter. However you can get around 2 hours out of it during normal work. I once did an experiment and managed to get 1:15 with the screen at max brightness and the CPU crunching at 100% the whole time (wireless was also on, albeit not very active, and neither was the GPU). If you tone down the brightness a bit, you can get around 2.5-3". That's with the standard 6-cell battery.

With all things acoounted for, I say that the Flexview is just too gorgeous to give up, even despite the small size/battery issues.

 

Simple answer, get the 14.1". It will save you some battery life. As far as the other considerations, that's for you to decide.

 

Thanks for the replies. I have ordered a 14.1" SXGA+ T43. Given how many people seem satisfied with that display, I'm hoping that it will be adequate for me - and I really do want the laptop to be as small and light as possible (for a given level of performance) so I'll be more inclined to use it everywhere during my daily work. Not to mention lasting through those back-to-back meeting days. I'll post an update when I get the system.

For others making a similar decision: there are posts at thinkpads.com that link to extensive side by side photos of the two displays. These helped convince me that the 14.1" will be adequate.

 

Just make sure nobody shows you a Flexview...

 

I can usually get around 3 hours with wireless on, with adaptive cpu, and minimum brightness. Probably could squeeze 4-5 hours if you set everything to the minimum level.

 

Your comments here reflect much of what I was thinking before settling on the T43. After ruling out the Asus W3V, I was between the Z60t and the T43. For what I really need a notebook for, smaller and lighter yet with a decent size screen, the T43 (with its reputation) seemed the way to go. Comments on that track stick helped for the Lenovo.

If I want to do something where a bigger and brighter screen is needed, I'll do it at home on the desktop. I'm sure you will be satisfied.

Larry

 

The 14" T is the perfect size to me.