How does the screen quality of the T42p compare to others?

[sbc]

I have heard good things about the build quality of the T42p, but not much about the screen? I suspect the viewing angles to be pretty good since it's consider a business machine. Can anyone else add any opinions concerning screen quality, possibly in a comparison to a Dell D600, Sony VAIOs, or HP business line notebooks.

thanks

[mattfromomaha]

The viewing angles on the standard screen are a little more limited than the FlexView, but I've heard many good things about both.

One thing to keep in mind, though, is that for a frequent traveler you may not want great viewing angles, in case you're working on a plane, in a restaraunt, etc and don't want prying eyes...

[MrBeta]

Regular ThinkPad LCDs are about on par with other laptop LCDs you'll see on Toshiba, Sony, Dell, HP, etc. The FlexView screen, however, which is available on 15" UXGA models (and I believe on 15" SXGA as well??) is definitely a step above - wider angle of view, more resistant to direct sunlight, and feels like it has better color reproduction - mainly because of the angle of view - colors don't shift like they do on most other laptop LCDs, which depend on the perfect viewing angle to give you the color you think things should be.

On the other hand, ThinkPads with FiexView screens last only abut half as long on the same batteries as non-Flexview models, and they are almost half an inch thicker and over a pound heavier as well, which puts them in still portable, but not as compact category as other ThinkPad models.

[Elhabash]

I can only talk about the T40p display, and there the viewing angles were clearly a disappointment. No comparison to the Powerbook, for instance, or many other, also cheaper laptops.
If you are in the right angle range, though, it's just excellent.

[zzyss]

ThinkPads tend to look "dimmer" in side-by-side comparisons with other laptops. But that is by no means to say that it's worse. In fact, in terms of battery life, glare, and strain on your eyes, it works out to be better for some people, including me.

[MrBeta]

ThinkPads tend to look "dimmer" in side-by-side comparisons with other laptops.

That may have been the case with T40 that you have (several people mentioned the brightness issue in the past). However, on the new T42p models I find the screens to be much brighter. My 14.1" SXGA T42p is so bright I have to turn it down a notch or two to what I would consider comfortable levels, otherwise it feels awfully bright and hard to look at. My 15" UXGA T42p on the other hand is "just fine" at the max brightness setting. It gets a little dim on batteries, but you can change the max brightness in BIOS to the same levels as on AC which I'm going to try next to make it better for my use.