Thinkpads Forum

hi all,

i've been trying to search the net for an answer, has anyone in this forum ever looked into this? would this be possible?

i know that the 15" MBP is WXGA+ already, but for a notebook this size, a 1680x1050 screen is better.
the 13" MB is perfect for mobility though the 1280x800 screen really puts me off and is the reason i havent bought one yet, an x301 is also not an option because of the price and i'd like to try OS X, and what better way to run windows than thru a macbook

hope somebody can shed some light on this topic, thanks in advance.

I don't know about modding the MacBook but it would probably be difficult: the thinness of the unibody leaves little room for tinkering.

My guess is you would be better off buying a X300 and installing OSX on it. It is compatible (the WLAN card only has limited support, but you can always change it).

Seldom are screen interchangable if ever.

You are running into the same problem that everyone comparing models has found and that is all the things you like bundled into one unit.

Pulling a screen out of one device and putting into another involves alot more that you would think.

I am like alot of others and would gladly pay more for a decent screen but there are few choices. Laptop makers are trying to keep the prices down as low as possible and still having trouble moving them at a profit.

There is a company who will swap the screen in the unibody MB for a non-glossy one, but it is apparently one of the most difficult designs to take apart. In other words you may find it hard to do yourself or may find small tool marks left behind even after aprofessional job. Then again of course this might not bother you.

I have the 13" unibody MB - needed OSX and a real Apple for software development. Glossy screen = awful. Sharp and colorful, but lack of true black (contrast) and color accuracy drag it down, although it's the glossyness that bothers me the most. Keyboard = awful. Keys are slippery. Even the Sony's who have this type of keyboard have less slippery keys that feel better, never mind the properly shaped keys of a Thinkpad. Trackpad = outstanding. Love the two finger scroll, which works more consistently in Mac OS, compared to the middle button of my T30 which IBM grafted retroactively unto Windows.

Weight-wise the MB is more in the (newer) T-series class at almost 2.1kg. There is a real enough noticeable difference between it and a 1.5kg machine, like the X30x and some of the Sonys.

TechRestore is the company that replaces the glossy glass cover over the display of MacBooks & MacBook Pros with matte glass. It adds another $300 to the price of the computer, so by then you're within less than $150 difference between it and the superior X301. In addition, if one actually does a close side by side comparison between a MB and a MBP you will see that the MBP's display is far better than the somewhat washed out MB. It's actually quite noticeable.

Despite Apples insistence that the "users" only want glossy, their sales have plummeted. The first sign that a matte "option" is soon to appear, shows up when one configures a new MBP, only to find that it's currently a choice on the 17" MBP. I would guess that it will soon be a choice on the 15" as well. After all, those are the ones whose sales have suffered the most.

Since I touched on price you might be fascinated to know that when I configured a Unibody MacBook Pro as close as possible (same hdd, processor, and memory, but little else) to my new W500, the Mac was over $3,000 whereas my ThinkPad was half of that. Not to mention all the extras like wwan and other options included in my W500, that are not available from the company that _used to call itself Apple Computer_...heh!

Cheers...

source: http://www.techrestore.com/xcart/produc ... 67&cat=273

thanks for the replies..

i guess at this moment, the screen swap is a long shot.

i am one that does not give up, i hope someone in the very near future decides to try this, if only i could gamble away my finances on doing it right away without any success story on the internet..

i'll try to keep searching and hope to find a away..

thanks again guys..

p.s. i hope someone who has done this (still crossing my fingers) already and was successful could read and update this thread..