T500: Why no LED-lit 15.4" LCD option shown?

Hi All:

I've been reading everywhere that the T400/T500 BOTH have the LED back lit LCD option, so that it differentiates itself/themselves from the T61 series.

However, I've yet to see the T500 with that option! I've visited the Lenovo configuration page often and it still only shows 2 options and both are CCFL or something like that (cold cathode...).

May I ask if the good folks here might be so kind as to shed some light on this?

PS: oh, and it's been difficult for me to see the differences between the T500 and the T61: i'm interested in the 1680x1050 (WXGA+) screen option only and they both appear to have the identical LCD. I do, however, prefer the P series of processors and only the T500 offers it - i'm hoping for better battery life with the P series and cooler running temperatures. yet, these two "wish list items" hardly justifies the nearly $300 to $500 price difference between the T61 and the T500 with similar configurations. Kindly educated me please on this. Thx!

Thanks in advance!

 

You are right, there's been leaked papers showing that T500 should have LED screen as an option. However, in the current tabook,

ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pcinstitute/psref/tabook.pdf

only CCFL is mentioned, even for the W500. It is possible that Lenovo will add LED as an option later. There is no point in marketing LED screens for the their new Centrino 2 line of notebooks, when they in the end don't offer it. Seems we are stuck with the more power hungry, not so bright CCFL screens. It is clearly disappointing.

 

There is only one problem with LED screens: the only 14.4"/15.4" LED screen available now is a WXGA+ one (1440*900, available at Dell, HP and Apple, maybe others), which is way too far from a workstation's screen estate need (WSXGA+, WUXGA). So until new, higher resolution screens are released we are stuck with the current ones.

 

==================================

hi Mackan: thx for your reply.

may i then follow up with the question as to why the T500 is worth $300 to $500 more than a similarly configured T61? The ONLY significant difference, as far as I can tell even by careful scrutiny, is the T series processors (T61) versus the P series processors for the T500 series.

obviously, the P series being 25 watts, is superior in every way, most notably in terms of battery life and reduced heat output.

then again, is eeking (sp?) out 15 to 20 more minutes more battery running time worth $300 to $500?

have you been able to ascertain what the price differential might be between a T61 and a P500? i'm looking to go for the lower end P8600 (since they don't offer the P8400, which would have been fine for me) AND the INTEGRATED graphics, in my effort to reduce heat as well as increase battery life.

using the lowest end P8600 processor, and the INTEGRATED graphics card options for the T500 configuration, i have trouble keeping it to below $1,500 (BOTH my T61 configuration as well as the T500 configuration have either the 2-yr Accidental coverage or the 3-yr Accidental coverage, I was consistent).

it is rather strange, this T500 pricing. i don't get it. unless, of course, Lenovo is counting on people's excitement to get a new model number and be willing to pay for it? sure, $100 more, maybe, but $300 to $500 more??

thanks in advance!

 

There are some noticeable improvements in the T400 / T500 over the T61. The T400 and T500 both weight less and are smaller than their T61 counterparts. They have DDR3-1066 memory, double the speed of the DDR2-667, which should really help the "snappiness" of the laptop. The 4500HD integrated graphics is quite a bit more powerful than X3100, probably around 20-25%, and has support for hardware accelerated HD decoding.

I think the T400 / T500 are very nice looking laptops. I would really like to see the P9500 and a LED option on the T500 though.

 

Is there an improvement in the T/W500's screen over the T61(p)'s screen though, even without the LED option? A little brighter maybe? I'm hoping so. I wish there were some reviews of the new ones available.

 

Not all of the options are available yet. The full selection should be available in the next couple of weeks. You can call Lenovo too, as the reps seem to get a heads up of what is expected a week or two out.

I must say only Lenovo with its IBM heritage would offer the best graphics card on the system without the LED screen. Of course maybe the LED screen is not as good as the standard screen. Some complete honest specs from Lenovo would be welcome. Failing that I wish these laptop reviews would finaly get around to actually testing screen quality on laptops. Here is an example:

http://www.anandtech.com/displays/showdoc.aspx?i=2994