Thinkpads Forum

but why is the 1400x1050 at 14" so hard to read, and the 15" at 1600x1200 so easy to read?? (the former pixel size is .2047mm, and the latter is smaller size at .1905)

The difference is in the technology of the LCD. The 15" is "Flexview" which is made with S-IPS (in plane switching) and the 14" is made with TFT-LCD (Thin Film Transistor). The S-IPS has much greater clarity, brightness, contrast etc. so it is easier to see.

jgrobertson wrote:The difference is in the technology of the LCD. The 15" is "Flexview" which is made with S-IPS (in plane switching) and the 14" is made with TFT-LCD (Thin Film Transistor). The S-IPS has much greater clarity, brightness, contrast etc. so it is easier to see.

Close but not exactly correct. S-IPS is also a TFT panel (i.e., active matrix). The 14" screen is a TN (Twisted Nematic) panel. Both are TFT displays...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_crystal_display

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TFT_LCD

http://www-304.ibm.com/jct01004c/systems/support/pc/

FYI, my eyes are getting old and the sceen size needs to match my two pairs of verilux whooptedo glasses I had made for use with computers.

This is my first 15" screen, and I prefer the smaller ones for convenience. The 15" does not fit into my Travelpro tote so that add the expense of a new one.

This DDU has the Verizon WAN, bluetooth and 7200 RPM drive all of which I also wanted.

Now to decide whether or not to mess with putting Vista on it or just going with the XP.

gator wrote:We probably need to make all these DPI calculation stuff a sticky ... Pianowizard posted some very nice pics for comparing different widescreen resolutions yesterday.

Thanks. The image at the top of this page gives a nice comparison between some of the most common screen types.