T41p to T410s - any disadvantages ?

[AIX]

d) LCD Screen Resolution:
On my T42 I used a 1400x1050 high resolution LCD, which is a 4:3 screen ratio.
On my T410 I used a 1440x900 high resolution LCD, which is a 16:10 screen ratio (one of the last of its kind).
I find that due to the smaller physical height of my LCD screen, the DPI feels about the same for both, and I find it minimally acceptable[..]

~124 DPI (1400x1050/14.1"/4:3) vs. ~120 DPI (1440x900/14.1"/16:10)

f) I believe you can burn your Product Recovery CD/DVD set, remove battery, stick in new hard drive, pop in your recovery CD/DVD's, and it will format your hard drive and set up Windows for you automatically... it does not matter if it's HDD or SSD, they all get treated the same...
You can even buy after-market SSD's which would work on your computer as main hard drive...

That's correct. (@s2kdriver80 - it's not an image, it's more like an install process/routine that will check your hardware before installing, so - don't worry about changing the HDD).

[s2kdriver80]

w0qj - thanks for taking the time to write out a detailed reply. Yep, it looks like the blu-ray is not worth the exorbitant cost of buying one. I'll either get a spare hard drive or get the standard multiburner. I'm going to place my order for the T410s soon (I cancelled my initial order).

AIX - noticed you are from Bucureşti - mulţumesc foarte mult!

[FragrantHead]

I really hope the T410s will have a better quality screen than my outgoing T41p. The contrast is just ok, nothing too great, and the brightness is really borderline acceptable given that every other display I've seen recently beats my T41p in brightness.

I have a T410s multitouch. You will get significantly increased brightness without doubt, but, other than that, the screen is the poorest of the poor. I am writing this on my 7-year old T30, whose screen has faded over the years, and feel no great urge to move over to the T410s. In fact I'm thinking of selling it again, because of the screen (everything else is great). I don't know how long you've been around; remember back in the 90s when TFT was unaffordable and dual-scan screens were all the rage? Contrast and black-level was really poor on them and the T410s screen is taking me back to those days. My old T30 (XGA) screen, despite being quite dim and nothing special to begin with, has noticeably better black-levels, contrast, color saturation and vertical viewing angles. It's not all that subtle. Go over to notebookcheck.net and you will find that the T400s and T410s (even non-multitouch) screens measure worst of all notebooks there, with a contrast below 100:1 and a black level significantly higher than anything else. Blacks are milky white, colors are all pastel shades. In addition, what they don't mention, there is no vertical viewing angle that truly works. There is so much of a color shift, depending on the vertical viewing angle, that the top of my (color-adjusted) display looks slightly purple, while the bottom looks slightly green, even when you hold your head perfectly still at the best angle. Basically the screen is atrocious. If you care about such things, I do not recommend the T410s.

By the way there are at least two different panels used for the T410s, a Samsung and a Toshiba/M a t s u s h i t a. I have the latter. You do not get to choose which you get, but it doesn't matter. From what I've read they have a different color profile, but are both equally bad otherwise. The only mitigating point, if it could be called such, is that there simply are no good 14.1" 16:10 screens on the market right now. The T410s panel, if you care about anything beyond resolution and brightness, has got to be the worst of the worst, but you probably won't get very much better in this form factor elswhere.

[s2kdriver80]

I have a T410s multitouch. You will get significantly increased brightness without doubt, but, other than that, the screen is the poorest of the poor. I am writing this on my 7-year old T30, whose screen has faded over the years, and feel no great urge to move over to the T410s. In fact I'm thinking of selling it again, because of the screen (everything else is great). I don't know how long you've been around; remember back in the 90s when TFT was unaffordable and dual-scan screens were all the rage? Contrast and black-level was really poor on them and the T410s screen is taking me back to those days. My old T30 (XGA) screen, despite being quite dim and nothing special to begin with, has noticeably better black-levels, contrast, color saturation and vertical viewing angles. It's not all that subtle. Go over to notebookcheck.net and you will find that the T400s and T410s (even non-multitouch) screens measure worst of all notebooks there, with a contrast below 100:1 and a black level significantly higher than anything else. Blacks are milky white, colors are all pastel shades. In addition, what they don't mention, there is no vertical viewing angle that truly works. There is so much of a color shift, depending on the vertical viewing angle, that the top of my (color-adjusted) display looks slightly purple, while the bottom looks slightly green, even when you hold your head perfectly still at the best angle. Basically the screen is atrocious. If you care about such things, I do not recommend the T410s.

By the way there are at least two different panels used for the T410s, a Samsung and a Toshiba/M a t s u s h i t a. I have the latter. You do not get to choose which you get, but it doesn't matter. From what I've read they have a different color profile, but are both equally bad otherwise. The only mitigating point, if it could be called such, is that there simply are no good 14.1" 16:10 screens on the market right now. The T410s panel, if you care about anything beyond resolution and brightness, has got to be the worst of the worst, but you probably won't get very much better in this form factor elswhere.

Thanks for the feedback. At home, I plan to port replicate it with an IPS monitor that I have, so it isn't too much of a problem. When I'm on the road, it's probably something I can deal with as I won't be doing any Photoshopping with the built-in screen.

[ptp54487]

I have both a T42 and a T400s. Except for the display, the T400s will be significantly better -- much faster, much smaller. The display is noticeably smaller (because of the 16:10 aspect ratio), and I don't like the screen quality at all. You will be surprised at how light the T410s feels, it really feels more like a "stretched" version of an extra portable than the traditional hefty feel of the T-series. I like the T42 keyboard a little bit better, it feels more solid to me, but that's part and parcel of how small the T400s is and the difference isn't great. I'm not a trackpad guy, but if I was I would like the T410s trackpad much much better than the T42 trackpad.

Regarding the 160GB SSD issue -- probably the best solution is to get the cheapest hard drive option you can get for the T410s, then burn the restore disks and put in a 160GB SSD yourself -- I did it, and everything was fine.

I like the T410s as a travel notebook, but around the house I find myself not using it -- the solid feel + flexview screen of my T42 makes light websurfing a little more enjoyable.

[AIX]

AIX - noticed you are from Bucureşti - mulţumesc foarte mult!

Cu multa plăcere! Sper să faci o alegere bună.