Thinkpads Forum

I love the IPS flexview screen, and I'm thinking of grabbing a 15" IPS thinkpad T60 now that they're available again.

But I'm wondering if owners regret the size, weight or extra thickness for carrying around?

I've used the 15" flexview at work and I liked it, but I didn't like the thickness so I got an X instead for myself last year.

(i've never had thinkpad larger than 14.1", and i thought I'd love the X60, and I do love carrying it but the screen is too small for me (eyestrain) except for comparatively short usage)

Thanks for your opinion

I am completely satisfied by my 15" Flexview T60 with respect to mobility. But I must say that I am "trained" to this screen size, since I stick to it since many years (formerly with HP laptops, then with a T43 and now with the T60).

By the way, I am now in trouble with the T61, which will most likely not be offered anymore with that screen size

Regards

I used to like 14.1" form factor. At first I had XGA, then SXGA+ screen.
Then One day I moved to T42p with 1600x1200 IPS screen.
Now, I can't go back, since I got used to the screen quality.

Size won't really matter to me anymore, as long as I have a good quality screen.

For two years i've been biking with a 15" UXGA T42 and now a 15" UXGA T60p 12 km every day in an Ortlieb Office Bag Medium, with an extra sleeve.
This has never been a problem for me, and there's no comfort issues.
The largest problem i think, is the larger 9 cell battery, it's actually heavy.
Buy two power supplies if you transport it every day.

In my opinion the 15" 1600x1200 IPS screen on my T60p is worth every extra ounce. There is a noticeable difference when I carry my T40, but not enough to be a deal-breaker. I think the battery and power adapter you lug around have more of an impact on the overall weight. Definitely get 2 adapters and also think about the bag you'll be using; I made the mistake of buying a cheap bag when I first got my Thinkpad and before finally falling apart it gave me neck and shoulder ache constantly. The only time I regret my 15" is when I'm on a plane and the person in front of me decides to slam is seat back ( grrrrr!).

I've got T60p with 15" FlexView.
I'm carrying it in the Lenovo backpack (the "standard" one from Lenovo.com)
I'm satisfied with the mobilty. After a long walk it gets heavy of course, but hey, if you want perfect mobility, get an X.

The screen is excellent, but I kinda find it heavy.

SkiBunny wrote:But I'm wondering if owners regret the size, weight or extra thickness for carrying around?

I ain't an owner but have played with my boss's 15.0" T60 which has a 9-cell battery. It's obviously heavier than my 14.1" T60 and, because I've gotten used to traveling with superlight laptops like the Toshiba Portege R100 and the X40, I would never ever carry such a heavy laptop around. However, there are two ways to minimize its weight: 1) replace the battery with a 6-cell one, and 2) leave the optical drive at home and plug in a travel bezel instead. By doing both, I think you can shed about 0.7 lbs, a very noticeable improvement after carrying the laptop for a while.

pianowizard wrote:...plug in a travel bezel instead

A T60 travel bezel with a 'flat' bezel is more difficult to find than a flexview .. I've been trying to get one, but all I have seen are the curved bezels for the T4x, and they don't fit in as well (have tried!)

gator wrote:all I have seen are the curved bezels for the T4x, and they don't fit in as well (have tried!)

I have a curved one from my former T43 in my current T60 as we speak. It just doesn't look as nice, but still works perfectly.

pianowizard wrote:I have a curved one from my former T43 in my current T60 as we speak. It just doesn't look as nice, but still works perfectly.

That so? The T4x one I got from a forum member is kinda loose for my 15" ... it is P/N: 62P4331 ... which one do you have? The elusive P/N:13N5108 or the one above?

gator wrote:it is P/N: 62P4331 ... which one do you have?

Yeah, the same one. It's somewhat loose but at least doesn't slide out by itself! You are such a perfectionist!

I have both 15" and 14" T60p machines (4:3), and I've travelled with both. I really like the 14" when in airports or sitting on a plane. Otherwise, when in a hotel room or working in a remote office, I'm glad I brought the 15". I normally have a 6-cell battery in the 15" and bring a 9-cell and a slimbay battery in my carry-on bag. The 15" is my primary machine.

I'm a software developer, so it's very nice to have 1600x1200 resolution because I often need many windows showing simultaneously. But if most of my work involved a single window/single application, then the 14" would probably do just fine, and that's what I would use as my primary machine.

pianowizard wrote: Yeah, the same one. It's somewhat loose but at least doesn't slide out by itself! You are such a perfectionist!

If you want one more of those, let me know ... I'll pass it on.

SkiBunny wrote:I've used the 15" flexview at work and I liked it, but I didn't like the thickness so I got an X instead for myself last year.

I went from an X40 (12" screen, 1024x768) to a T60p (15" FlexView, 1600x1200) and I do not regret it for a second. Yes, the X40 is super tiny and super light, but the screen on the T60p has essentially ruined every other laptop display for me. There's no way I could go back to a lesser display now.

I carry my T60p with the extended 9-cell battery in a Gary Waterfield laptop sleeve. It has the top flap and the piggyback attachment. I can easily carry the AC adapter or two extra 9-cell batteries, plus a second Ultrabay device (I swap between the DVD burner and a 2nd drive). The bag looks great, and is very comfortable on the shoulder.

I used to be able to slip my X40 into a neoprene sleeve and tuck the whole thing under my leather acket, but that doesn't work so well in the summer months...

In terms of how the fonts appear, is UXGA on a 15" screen about the same as SXGA+ on a 14"?

pae77 wrote:In terms of how the fonts appear, is UXGA on a 15" screen about the same as SXGA+ on a 14"?

15.0" UXGA: 133.3 DPI ==> smaller text
14.1" SXGA+: 124.1 DPI ==> larger text

These numbers may not seem very different, but trust me, the difference in text size is very obvious.

We probably need to make all these DPI calculation stuff a sticky ... Pianowizard posted some very nice pics for comparing different widescreen resolutions yesterday ... and we can dig up some good pics for regular screens from old posts.

Mods, what do you say about this? Lots of people keep asking about this ...

This might help http://www.prismo.ch/comparisons/notebook.php

Puppy, thats an excellent link. Mods, please add this to the first post of the LCD sticky if you don't want to do a new sticky for this. really helpful link.

Also this one:

http://www.raydreams.com/prog/dpi.aspx

I have a T60 with a 15" SXGA+ Flexview display and a T60p with a 15" UXGA Flexview display

These two displays are simply stunning. After all the ThinkPads I've had over the years I can say that nothing beats Flexview.

As far as portability, as you can see by my signature below I also have an X60s. So I'm in the fortunate position to have a few choices of what I want to carry and use. I travel constantly for work and find the 15" T series easily carried. The minimal weight diff between my 14" T43 & 15" T60 is not enough to stop me from carrying the 15" Flexview. Also, I spend a lot of time in front of the computer and find that Flexview is much easier on the eyes over a long days worth of computing.

As far as the X60s is concerned, It's a very nice, small & light computer. I typically use it if I'm going to be on an airplane flying across country or to the UK. Under those conditions, I take both the X60s and the T60. Reason being that my X60s is just over 2 lbs and I would rather carry that extra weight than to leave the T60 behind.

So, that's my experience.

Cheers....

archer6 wrote:As far as the X60s is concerned, It's a very nice, small & light computer. I typically use it if I'm going to be on an airplane flying across country or to the UK. Under those conditions, I take both the X60s and the T60. Reason being that my X60s is just over 2 lbs and I would rather carry that extra weight than to leave the T60 behind.

So, under what circumstances do you use your Sharp MM20?

Puppy wrote:This might help http://www.prismo.ch/comparisons/notebook.php

great resource.

Previously I did some of those math calculations myself, lol

Thanks everyone for all the great input!

archer6 wrote: I spend a lot of time in front of the computer and find that Flexview is much easier on the eyes over a long days worth of computing.

Even tho text is actually smaller on the 15" SXGA+ Flexview than on the X60s ? Isn't that actually less comfortable to read for long periods of time?

archer6 wrote:I have a T60 with a 15" SXGA+ Flexview display and a T60p with a 15" UXGA Flexview display

These two displays are simply stunning. After all the ThinkPads I've had over the years I can say that nothing beats Flexview.

So archer6, which one do you like better, the SXGA+ or the UXGA?

Do you do any photo editing on them?

thx,
zasquatch

I have a 15" UXGA Flexview, and Like most people here, I'd have to say that there is no comparision--the screen is absolutely amazing. However, I do find that it is far too heavy to carry arround on a daily basis. I picked up an x60s, and aside from the non-flexview screen, I find it to be the ideal size for a portable computer. It is only XGA, but sometimes it is a worthwhile comprimise for the size and weight of the x60s.

like efrant, i have T60P UXGA ips 15". it is great, but it's so big relative to my X41T (which is currently down), that i've stopped bringing it to work with me. i work at small desks and use it as a reference... the 12.1" form is great and quick, but the 15 is too big a footprint for my work environment, and i don't need the real estate on screen at work. i like the computer, but it's not my idea of mobile. battery life is great, happy about all that, but for now i'm waiting for X61T's, then i'll be back in business.

[quote="SkiBunny"]I love the IPS flexview screen, and I'm thinking of grabbing a 15" IPS thinkpad T60 now that they're available again.
[i][/i][/quote]

Where did you find that they were available again? I have one on order at Lenovo (2623 DDU) for a month and I got one from PCMALL that came yesterday.

For me, my T43P with 1400 X 1050 dispaly at 14" is very hard to read. The 15" with ISP screen at 1600 X 1200 is much easier to read. The T60P has the built in Verizon wan and blue tooth which I also wanted and the T43P does not have.

The weight difference between the T43P & T60P is very little (both are heavy) and I travel a lot. I use a mini-role-aboard so the weight is not that big a deal except between the parking lot and office.

As far was weight goes, the old T20 was really great, but I had to put a new fan, MB and other parts to keep it going as it would burn itself up. It is still running after 6 years and does fine as long as I don't ask too much of it application wise.

The T60P is not finished as well as the T43P, they clearly are cutting costs but it is OK.

oh there is 15" on the lenovo site now, in XGA or SXGA+ ... no UXGA tho

jgrobertson wrote: For me, my T43P with 1400 X 1050 dispaly at 14" is very hard to read. The 15" with ISP screen at 1600 X 1200 is much easier to read.

The weight difference between the T43P & T60P is very little (both are heavy) and I travel a lot.

i think the 15" is almost a quarter inch thicker and a pound heavier, so it'd be more of a pain to lug to work each day.

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)