zenit wrote:Just curious if not for the gloss, how does the screen quality on your macbook compared to the one on W500? In a sort of way if you put them side by side in a dark room. I had a T400 for a week with an LG LED panel which had to go back to the place where i bought it from due to being defective. During the time i had it, i compared it side by side with my wife's aluminium macbook (13") with a CMO (Chi Mei) LED panel. The T400 LG panel looked like total rubbish if compared with the macbook. Colors were not nearly as accurate (to my eyes), and viewing angles (especially vertical) were a ton better on the CMO panel. I just ordered myself a new T400 with WXGA+ LED screen (it's available through purchasing contracts), so i am hoping i might get a better example maybe with a different panel manufacturer this time.
Currently I have both the Unibody MacBook & MacBook Pro. Having a certain fondness for both the ThinkPad line and PowerBooks then, and MacBook Pros now, I've been on a rather parallel track using ThinkPads as my primary laptop of choice over the last ten years, while at the same time using PowerBooks / MacBook Pros just for fun and bit of variety. My home office is in the center of the house, therefore there are no windows and it's setup as my office / library. With indirect focused or diffused lighting, there is no source of glare or anything to cause reflections on an computer screen. A rather ideal environment especially for the highly reflective Unibody Macs. This is virtually the only place that I can truly enjoy either of the Macs as they have such intense glare and reflectivity off the new glass covered displays. Even with 20/20 vision the moment I take the MBP out to my work office, or a clients, or Starbucks the glare and reflection becomes too much to deal with. I cannot stand looking at whatever is behind me as it's reflected back into my eyes, not too much unlike a rear view mirror in ones car. Those that claim to enjoy this display must be simply willing to live with it. I travel constantly, meeting clients or friends at Starbucks and the one thing I've noticed is of the many laptops I see each day, I rarely see either a MB or MBP. This is very telling as I used to see many Macs especially in the University City that I live in, which has a large MacStore as well as the Apple Store in the mall. Since the release of the Unibody models I've only seen two out in "real world use".
There is a distinct difference between the MacBook & MacBook Pro displays with the MBP being the better of the two. Viewing angles while similar are the only thing they seem to share in common, as the MBP display has much better color accuracy, balance, depth, and contrast. Fonts & Icons are clear and crisp. How much of that is due to the glass cover over the display is hard to say. Placed side by side on the desk with my W500 and my (like new) 15" 4:3 IPS T60p, we have three strikingly different looks. Particularly since I purchased two T60p's new upon learning that the widescreen was about to take over, thus I bought one to use for work and one as a spare, so this comparison model is virtually new out of the box with full brightness.
Taking the IPS model out of the comparison leaves us with the MacBook Pro and the WSGA+ W500. I must say that I am quite amazed and pleased at how nice the regular CCFL back lit TN display of the W500 is. Rated at 200 nits, it is very bright, clear, and fairly crisp. Colors are fairly accurate, however it must be noted that I'm particularly picky as I have practiced amateur photography for years and thus I'm more judgmental of a display than most. Color balance, depth, and contrast are all quite good.
While no match for the MBP display the W500 is nonetheless a solid 7.5 on a scale of 10, with the Mac being a 9. If the Mac had a matte display it would be far easier to make a fair comparison. That said, I hope that I have been helpful and have answered some of your questions regarding these displays.
Cheers...
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