graphic design/digital photography on LG S-1 (?)

I'm wondering if there are any designers and/or digital photographers on this board who use the LG S-1 for these purposes (ie. Adobe CS2 suite, working with RAW files, etc.). If so, what are your thoughts in general on this pc for work use? Do you feel that you made the right choice? Specifically, in terms of accurate color reproduction, contrast, etc., how do you find the screen? I've heard some say that it's too dark, but aside from brightness, do you find the display to be too cool/bluish or muted?

I've been on a quest to find a suitable MATTE screen on a laptop (that is not Sony); I'm also seriously considering an IBM T60 with IPS/flexview, but would prefer the 15.4" widescreen (as opposed to standard 15") and thus wondering if anyone has an opinion on the S-1's screen versus that of the T60.

Finally, while I'm greatly attacted to the S-1 for its styling, features and positive reviews, I'm still a bit weary of buying such an expensive laptop from, uh, shall we say, a less experienced notebook manufacturer. Is there anyone who regrets purchasing their LG notebook?

Feedback on any of these topics is greatly appreciated.

 

I for one dont regret getting my S1. Concerning the lack of experience, actually LG has been around for quite a long time, its just that theyve only recently expanded their notebook market beyond Asia (still not in the U.S, only Canada) so they are taking it a little slow at the moment (the first LG Canada shipment of C2D S1's was only 10-12 units). In Korea though they are very widespread and well-known, and is the biggest competitor to Samsung (whose notebooks are known for their priceyness, but also a lot style and build quality)

In short, I love my S1, no problems with the screen or build quality. Actually NBR should have a review on the C2D S1 soon, itll probably be much more thorough than my little post.

 

Well, Ive also heard the stuff about the screens being to dark and so on, but it seems that they have fixed the problem, because the screen on my LG S1 is superb. Really, its got to be the best screen ive seen on any notebook so far. One thing I wish were different concerning my S1, is enabling of support for powerplay on the Ati X1600. Also im used to a complete silent pc, as my last notebook was a Dell Inspiron 8600. Thats not the case for the S1, as there are a fan on the lower right of the notebook which constantly runs. Its not that bad though, as you can hardly hear it. And the only times it bothers me is under circumstances where you are in an absolutely silent environment. I suspect that the fan is on due to heat from the graphic card, hence maybe a support for powerplay would help. Also I upgraded my S1 to 2 Gigs of ram, and adding a 2.16 core duo, theres practically no limits to what you can do with it, its really fast . So to sum it up, I would recommend it.

 

Bjuste, you probably already know this, but incase you havent tried it, try changing the fan control setting to Quiet (Fn + F11). The fan speed drops considerably, along with the noise.

 

AP27, yes im aware of that feature . When you change the fan control using the fn + F11 key its only for the main fan. The fan im talking about, is the fan on the lower right of the notebook, and I dont think that it changes speed at all, but rather runs at a constant speed regardless of temperature.

 

thanks for the replies; also, thanks to AP27 for clarifying LG's role in the laptop market; I guess I'm just considering LG from a US-centric standpoint;

as far as color reproduction goes...you're all satisfied with the screen? I see that a sticky has been posted with directions on modifying the color balance for ATI cards; do you, in fact, find the screen to have a cool/bluish tint?

if anyone happens to possess another laptop or full-sized monitor against which to compare the color of the LG screen, I would GREATLY appreciate any sort of feedback...perhaps even take a photo of the two side by side to get a very basic sense(?)....I'm coming from an old Thinkpad R32, the screen of which has a pretty horrendous color balance (forcing me to do much of my work on my desktop); so for design and photography, with respect to my next laptop, this aspect is extremely important to me....

thanks for any and all assistance...

**btw, the s-1 comes with a MATTE screen, correct? no glossy for me

 

The S1 comes in two different models and they both have different screens.

The upper model is the M002A9 and comes with a WSXGA+ matte screen at 1680x1050. Also has a 2.16 Core 2 Duo and 2 Gigs of RAM

The lower model is the P402A9 and comes with a WXGA glossy screen at 1280x800. Comes with a 2.0 Core 2 Duo and only 1GB (1x1GB...one memory slot free) of RAM

I managed to take a few pictures (forgive my poor photographing skills ) of my system.

The first picture is of my LG S1 with normal screen settings. I use these and dont really have any problems with it. No eye-strain or anything of the sort. I do notice the bluish tinge but it doesnt bother me (and i sorta prefer it that way)

The second pic is my S1 again with the gamma (color) settings changed so that they match those posted in the 'ATi Color Tips' thread.

The third pic is my LG on normal screen settings next to a friends Acer Aspire 5612. The screen on the acer is brighter than the one on the LG. (LG on the left)

The fourth pic is my LG on the gamma (color) settings described in the 'ATi Color Tips' thread. (LG on the left...you can notice from the difference in resolution )

No changes were made to the Acer Aspire screen at any point. It also has the blue tinge effect.

I did notice a difference in the screen brightness and color settings, but i dont really have any problems with the screen settings of mine. You would probably be able to tweak them to your likeness using the Tips post and messing around with color settings a little until it suits you.

Hope this helps ya

 

thanks so much AP27 for taking the time to post those images, I really appreciate it; it certainly seems that the Acer screen is significantly brighter than the LG's; is your system at full brightness? also, I can definitely see the difference with the color adjustments, namely the overall increase in red with the reduction of blue.......thanks again;

 

In those pics the LG is one notch below max brightness (forgot to put it up to max ), although the Acer still has a noticably brighter screen.
Personally i find that the increased blue looks better than the increased reddishness, but thats probably just me

 

Hello guys, how's it going??

Well i have a teeny tiny question i wanna know how to enable the Bluetooth on the machine (LG S1 Express Dual) thanx in advanc

 

Hey Zouzy,
You will need to get the Bluetooth software (it should be installed on your LG system or one of the driver cds that came with it...or you can download it from LG's support website) IVT BlueSoleil. Once you install it, your bluetooth adapter should be detected and enabled. Then just run the software. Alternatively. i think there is an option in LG's On-Screen display software about disabling/enabling bluetooth. Try that, maybe itll do the trick