My X300 experience & screen disappointment

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jamess · #1 Post by **jamess** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 3:28 pm

I was fairly impressed by the x300 that i got in my hands a few days back.
everything except the excel 2007 crashes works like a charm: vista loads phenomenally fast, program start-ups are speedy, even photoshop basic work and some illustator and indesign works (much) better than expected [for 1.2 Ghz].

the only "setback" for me is the screen. it is actually much worse than the SXGA+ on my X61 Tablet regarding both color reproduction and viewing angles. It is however almost too bright, which proved nice "working" outdoors... The horizontal viewing angles are somewhat good, but vertical ones aren't. If i just straighten my back a bit sitting in a chair, colors/brightness/contrasts change. I will probably get used to it, although I did expect more from 3K eur laptop.

qviri · #2 Post by **qviri** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 3:34 pm

I'm pretty sure that the SXGA+ tablet screen is a Flexview/IPS screen. The X300 screen isn't, so worse colours and angles are expected, if not exactly appreciated.

omf · #3 Post by **omf** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 11:22 pm

I felt the same way about the screen. It's been several weeks now, and I'm still disappointed...

AIX · #4 Post by **AIX** » Tue Apr 15, 2008 3:08 am

jamess wrote: I will probably get used to it, although I did expect more from 3K eur laptop.

You paid for this laptop 3000 euro?! Quite expensive, here in Bucharest I can buy it for ~2300-2400 euro. Anyway, great laptop, it's on my (2008) Christmas wish list - I hope the price will drop significantly this year

jamess · #5 Post by **jamess** » Tue Apr 15, 2008 3:41 am

2980 EUR. It's more than great though. Pitty for the screen though...

RaysMD · #6 Post by **RaysMD** » Tue Apr 15, 2008 7:56 am

Honestly is the screen that bad?

I have one on order, but may just cancel given Lenovo's restocking fees. BUT what else can I buy in that form factor? MacBook Air is out of the question (limited by ports and lack of optical drive)

jamess · #7 Post by **jamess** » Tue Apr 15, 2008 8:29 am

No, it is not that bad. Maybe I am just disappointed because i was used to Tablet SXGA+ which is really great in regard for colors and contrasts etc. X300 is better compared with 1024x768 normal screen on X60s which i had. Though it's way brighter.

Cheers

Roisin · #8 Post by **Roisin** » Tue Apr 15, 2008 11:41 am

how would you compare the screen to macbook/mb.air?

jamess · #9 Post by **jamess** » Tue Apr 15, 2008 1:30 pm

i've only seen mb.air and wasn't actually working on it... just 10 minutes of test typing. so you'd have to ask someone else for screen comparison between the two. however, even if the screen is better on the mc.air, pretty much everything else was a no-go for me that's why i opted for x300 in the end. you simply have to feel the x300 to see how great it really is!

cheers,
a.

jlingo · #10 Post by **jlingo** » Fri May 02, 2008 2:01 am

Yes, I played around a bit with x300, and indeed the screen was bad. The background was not white but yellowish. It's not acceptable for AUD$3999 though.

But the system felt so snappy when I tried opening MS Word 2007. VERY IMPRESSIVE in terms of responsiveness. Now I'm tempted to upgrade my T60 to Mtron harddrive.

jlingo · #11 Post by **jlingo** » Fri May 02, 2008 2:04 am

Roisin wrote:how would you compare the screen to macbook/mb.air?

Are you kidding? MacAir has got a very BEAUTIFUL SCREEN. It just kills the X300 in display aspect.

Russ-ST24 · #12 Post by **Russ-ST24** » Fri May 02, 2008 5:11 am

I have to agree, I have X61s, X60 Tablet, T61, Macbook and the screens on all of these are far better for colour.
The X300 seems washed out like the contrast is too high, but lowering the brightness does not help.
Shame as I keep jumping back to my macbook as I get frustrated with it.

Russ

Roisin · #13 Post by **Roisin** » Fri May 02, 2008 4:51 pm

so we can expect similar crap screens with all the new gizmodo announced models?

i mean, why cant they just buy the same panels and backlit as apple uses

akao · #14 Post by **akao** » Sat May 03, 2008 9:49 pm

Apple uses screens that have lower DPI's. PC's, in general, use screens with higher DPI's. (Though, 12.1 at 1024x768 is even lower).

The 13.3 X300 has the same resolution as the 15.4 MBP.

richarddd · #15 Post by **richarddd** » Sun May 04, 2008 7:59 am

Contrast, angle of view, color fidelity, etc. may be more important than a bit of DPI

qviri · #16 Post by **qviri** » Sun May 04, 2008 9:52 am

richarddd wrote:Contrast, angle of view, color fidelity, etc. may be more important than a bit of DPI

For a lot of business use, it isn't.

Of course, it'd be great to have both.

Roisin · #17 Post by **Roisin** » Sun May 04, 2008 10:23 am

i understand it has higher resolution/DPI....

i havent seen an x300 yet, but quotes like:

Russ-ST24 wrote:The X300 seems washed out like the contrast is too high, but lowering the brightness does not help.

suggest, the LED backlit isnt the holy grail, and thinkpads still come with crap displays, i got rid of my 14" t43, 2 weeks after i got it, as the display was bloody horrible

i was thinking about a 15" t500, preferably with a 1920x1200 panel, wonder how much difference is the led backlit going to make there

Mack · #18 Post by **Mack** » Sun May 04, 2008 10:39 am

Roisin wrote:i understand it has higher resolution/DPI....

i havent seen an x300 yet, but quotes like:

Russ-ST24 wrote:The X300 seems washed out like the contrast is too high, but lowering the brightness does not help.
suggest, the LED backlit isnt the holy grail, and thinkpads still come with crap displays, i got rid of my 14" t43, 2 weeks after i got it, as the display was bloody horrible

i was thinking about a 15" t500, preferably with a 1920x1200 panel, wonder how much difference is the led backlit going to make there

At least the LED screen should be brighter and have a longer lifetime?

Thecla · #19 Post by **Thecla** » Mon May 05, 2008 2:34 am

Just to add a word in the opposite direction: I like the X300 screen a lot and am very happy with mine. YMMV

jflamm · #20 Post by **jflamm** » Mon May 05, 2008 7:41 am

Another X300 owner: high resolution is nice, brightness is good, and overall it is not bad - but not great. For me not a deal breaker since this seems to be the best machine for my needs.

In comparision with others - Apple (I had a MacBook Air), Sony - the screen is subpar. Both Apple and Sony are brighter, have better viewing angles, and just simply a nicer viewing experience in all respects. I can't understand why Lenovo can't get it's game on with decent screens.

duffy · #21 Post by **duffy** » Mon May 05, 2008 7:26 pm

Sorry, but I feel the display is quite dismal. It is fairly bright (in comparision to other Thinkpad displays), and the resolution is perfect for the display size. Those are about the only positive aspects of the display. In comparison to other LED backlit displays (Sony TZ, Macbook Air, m1330, Asus U1, Macbook Pro) the X300 display is not as bright, grainy, has poor viewing angles, and poor color accuracy/contrast, basically it looks like Lenovo spent about $5 on the display. OK, I'm slightly exaggerating ... they probably spent $6. Im typing this on my T60, and I would glady give Lenovo a few bucks to upgrade my X300 display to match the quality of this 14" SXGA+. That's saying a lot.

XIII · #22 Post by **XIII** » Tue May 06, 2008 12:46 am

Thanks for your comments, guys. I planned on geting the X300 but really worries about the display quality, coming from an owner of X61t.

Look like my X61t will be serving me for a very long time.

#23 Post by **gator** » Tue May 06, 2008 1:04 am

duffy wrote: Im typing this on my T60, and I would glady give Lenovo a few bucks to upgrade my X300 display to match the quality of this 14" SXGA+. That's saying a lot.

That is quite a statement. I have seen so many complaints about the 14" T60 panels and when I saw one I thought they weren't so bad (remember, I am IPS fan). But to hear that the one on X300 is worse than the T60 panel is bad ... From what I read online, I thought they were similar. Are you positive about this?

duffy · #24 Post by **duffy** » Tue May 06, 2008 7:38 am

gator wrote: That is quite a statement. I have seen so many complaints about the 14" T60 panels and when I saw one I thought they weren't so bad (remember, I am IPS fan). But to hear that the one on X300 is worse than the T60 panel is bad ... From what I read online, I thought they were similar. Are you positive about this?

Sorry for the doom and gloom but I was really expecting more from the X300. Overall I do like the display on my T60 better. It is a bit dim but overall it is a nice display. The X300 just looked aweful. I have the TMD display so it is supposed to the be better of the two FRUs available on the X300. In addition to what I mentioned earlier the display backlit was very uneven and had pink blotches when displaying a white background.

I did have to send my X300 in for repair (the backlit went out). Most likely the display was replaced so I'll report back if the replacement is any better than the original.

SHoTTa35 · #25 Post by **SHoTTa35** » Tue May 06, 2008 10:17 am

i saw a x300 for the first time at MicroCenter. Who knew they even carried those

I loved the texture and all that of the machine, i was molesting it for a while there

Anyways, i checked out the LCD and it wasn't that bad. I couldn't get the SN or anything since it was strapped down to the table (hmm, now that i remember you can get it via the software right?) The LCD wasn't that bad but i'm not huge IPS lover or anything.

I thought it was useable even if the brightly lit store. I would be more than happy with it.

It was definitely a nice machine though and the WXGA+ resolution is better than i thought it would be (compared to SXGA+). Maybe i will get a T61WS WXGA+ after all.

duffy · #26 Post by **duffy** » Tue May 06, 2008 12:43 pm

Well I just received my X300 back and I must say the replacement display is much better. Still appears to be a TMD, but the backlight appears to be more even and the pink blotches are gone. It still has a grainy appearance and the color/saturation are a bit dull, but it's acceptable now.

pianowizard · #27 Post by **pianowizard** » Tue May 06, 2008 1:13 pm

duffy wrote:It still has a grainy appearance and the color/saturation are a bit dull, but it's acceptable now.

So, is it comparable to your T60's 14.1" SXGA+ screen now?

#28 Post by **gator** » Tue May 06, 2008 1:15 pm

duffy wrote:Well I just received my X300 back and I must say the replacement display is much better. Still appears to be a TMD, but the backlight appears to be more even and the pink blotches are gone. It still has a grainy appearance and the color/saturation are a bit dull, but it's acceptable now.

I am glad to hear that!

I still feel that 14.1" regular is the best form factor for carrying (unless they increase the resolution on the 12" ones to atleast SXGA -1280*1024) ... I specifically bought a T23 for that exact reason and purpose and if I can have a 14" machine with a hi-res screen that doesn't suck like the current TN panels do, I'll be in heaven.

I find it hard to beleive that we can either have the excellent IPS or the crappy TN and nothing else in between. You'd think that someone would make a better 14.1" panel .... alas, that is not to be.

Thecla · #29 Post by **Thecla** » Tue May 06, 2008 1:40 pm

I have to say I'm a bit baffled by this thread. I don't know if I just happened to get a better screen than some other people here, or I'm just less discriminating.

I haven't ever used a notebook with a glossy screen, or a Sony, so it's hard for me to make direct comparisons there. I did put my X300 next to a Macbook air and compare screens for 5 mins. It's not much of a test, but my main impression was that my screen was matte and the air was glossy, not that the X300 screen was vastly inferior in some way. (The MBA did look just as sharp as the X300, so I guess the main advantage of the 1440 x 900 resolution is the greater real estate rather than greater sharpness.)

I do see some issues similar to what people have mentioned here, but either mine are much more minor or they bother me less:

(a) Vertical viewing angle is fairly narrow. This is definitely true, but mine is more than wide enough for single person use to be completely comfortable and keep the screen in full view. It might well be an issue if you were planning to use the notebook to make on-screen presentations to a group of people.

(b) Some light-bleed from the top of the screen. However, I only see it using UDpixel when I set the screen background to black (or dark blue). It's invisible in normal use. (I've seen some reports of similar bleed in Macbook air screens.)

(c) Contrast issues. Raising the screen brightness has a limited effect on increasing the screen contrast --- the whole screen seems to get brighter without a big increase in contrast. I don't know if this is a backlit LCD thing or something specific to the X300 screen. But, again, I find the contrast levels just fine and completely comfortable (I'm typing this message on the X300 outside in partial sun, on battery power, with no visibility problems at all.)

Things I don't see on my machine are a yellowish background or any sort of color splotches. When I run through different colors using UDpixel, the colors look good and uniform (with the noted exception of some light bleed from the top on black and blue), and the white looks white (though maybe you could say it should be a "brighter" white).

Speaking of UDpixel, my lcd, anyway, had no stuck/dead pixels at all. The last thinkpad I owned, an X41, had several (though the number was not enough to replace the lcd) including an annoying stuck blue pixel in the bottom middle of the screen. I also didn't like the low resolution on the X41, and I'd prefer the X300 screen any day.

Anyway, I'm not trying to argue that the X300 screen is the best there is, or is somehow outstanding, but I've found it to be completely satisfactory for my needs.

duffy · #30 Post by **duffy** » Tue May 06, 2008 3:07 pm

pianowizard wrote: So, is it comparable to your T60's 14.1" SXGA+ screen now?

I'm quite happy with the X300 now. With that said the colors are a bit better on the SXGA+ as well as having zero grain. The X300 display is obviously brighter. The viewing angles are about the same maybe a tad better on the X300. The replacement display isnt' half bad, and the grain I mentioned is slight... it is just worth mentioning. This is definitely the display I should have gotten the first time. Now I just need to figure out the the tap issue.

My X300 experience & screen disappointment

My X300 experience & screen disappointment

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