New HP models are supposed to be widescreens only (rumor)

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Puppy · #1 Post by **Puppy** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 5:53 am

I was told by someone who has an e-shop that HP said all new models will be widescreens only. It seems that general business use notebooks are over due the widescreen epidemy

Would be possible to start a campaing against this idiocy ?

Latest Acer models are WSXGA+ only as well, Toshiba and FSC still offers one SXGA+ model (for how long ?).

#2 Post by **tomh009** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 6:55 am

Alas, it looks like everyone is going that way. T61 and R61 are widescreen only, and I expect the X61 will be, too. Unfortunately the economics of the laptop marker make it impractical for manufacturers to design and manufacture two different form factors (which two different screen types would require) for every model.

pianowizard · #3 Post by **pianowizard** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 12:28 pm

Does anyone know if there'll be a 14" HP with WSXGA+ (1680x1050)? I am somewhat disappointed by the 14" WS T61's weight and am hoping that HP will have a lighter 14" WS model.

BTW, Panasonic doesn't seem to be switching to widescreen.

#4 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 12:54 pm

Hey folks, this is a THINKPAD forum!
I'm sure that you'll find more qualified answers on a HP-forum rather than here.
If you're happy with your current TP in 4:3 format, why not buy a spare LCD for when yours gives up the ghost? It'll prolong the TP's life considerably!
(And I doubt if HPs are as easy to work on as TPs).

#5 Post by **tomh009** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 2:22 pm

pianowizard wrote:BTW, Panasonic doesn't seem to be switching to widescreen.

At least for now, no. But they do have the advantage that they actually make their own LCD panels ...

#6 Post by **ryengineer** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 2:48 pm

Widescreen is today's fashion and trend.

anthean · #7 Post by **anthean** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 4:07 pm

tomh009 wrote:T61 and R61 are widescreen only, and I expect the X61 will be, too.

Gee, Tom, I thought we had established in other threads that there would eventually be a 14.1 standard screen version of the T61.

#8 Post by **tomh009** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 4:52 pm

I have seen claims in both directions ... my current belief (without hard evidence!) is that it'll be all widescreen. But we have to wait for another few weeks before we have the real answers.

#9 Post by **GomJabbar** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 5:07 pm

tomh009 wrote:I have seen claims in both directions ... my current belief (without hard evidence!) is that it'll be all widescreen.

If that is the case, that would be enough for me to leave the ThinkPad line and my beloved TrackPoint the next time I am in the market for a new laptop. ~Assuming at least some other notebook manufacturers will have non-WS, 14.1" models. The 14.1" widescreen I looked at awhile back at Office Depot had no usable palmrest. This is perhaps my biggest complaint, but I would sure miss the loss of vertical real estate as well.

#10 Post by **tomh009** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 6:07 pm

I agree ... but if the current trends hold, in a few years no one will offer laptops with 4:3 screens. At that point we'll have either live with the masses or use older ThinkPads.

P.S. I think that palmrest would probably be at least as big as the one on an X31.

anthean · #11 Post by **anthean** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 6:45 pm

I know we have hashed this over before, but . . .

1. I would pay extra to have a choice of a standard screen. After all, I already did pay extra. I have a Thinkpad. A manufacturer that continues to sell at least one model of standard screen notebook not only may pick up a lot of customers, it will probably find these customers willing to pay more.

2. Life without choices is rather confining. Imagine if there was no choice in CPUs, no choice in graphics cards, no choice in hard drives, no choice in memory, no choice in operating systems . . .

3. I know this discussion gets heated, and while I don't mind the widescreen supporters arguing their point and claiming that widescreen should and will be dominant, I find it offensive that they seem to seek the annihilation of standard screens. That's rather wierd.

EDIT: Just to add a fourth thought . . . I know that some people have objected to Lenovo placing sound jacks on the front side of the notebook in the T61. Well, there are inherently some design consequences (both good and bad) of making a notebook wider but with less depth, and reduced space along the sides is probably one of them.

epbrown · #12 Post by **epbrown** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 7:44 pm

tomh009 wrote:P.S. I think that palmrest would probably be at least as big as the one on an X31.

I was checking out various models in the store this week when I bought my new display, and they look stupid with the current huge widescreens - there's all this wasted space to the side of the keyboard. Why not add a full keyboard with 10-key number pad now they they've got the room?

skitty4gzus · #13 Post by **skitty4gzus** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 7:44 pm

for starters im not slamming anybody who likes 4:3 as my t42p is 4:3. But, the fact of the matter is the whole world is going widescreen. NTSC format will be 16:9 in the next few years. I know they have "set" dates on this but i have my doubts. Anyways, we view the world through our eyes in 16:9 so this is a natural format for video and whatever we view. I hope for those of you who care that they still offer TP's at least in 4:3, but for me i will be glad when all you can get is 16:9. It will make more options for those of us who want TP's in widescreen hopefully more affordable.

anthean · #14 Post by **anthean** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 7:52 pm

skitty4gzus wrote:Anyways, we view the world through our eyes in 16:9 so this is a natural format for video . . .

Can I persuade you to back that up with evidence--a link perhaps ?

epbrown · #15 Post by **epbrown** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 7:59 pm

I wasn't trying to slam widescreen - I happen to like it for DVD viewing and the like, and my old Sony Picturebook has had it since back in the 90s. But the TrackWrite keyboard on the 701 was dropped when larger screens allowed companies to use larger keyboards, and I was surprised to see some companies have forgotten that lesson.

For me, this will likely never be an issue - I like subnotebooks, and even the widescreen versions don't have room for a 101-keyboard.

Puppy · #16 Post by **Puppy** » Tue May 01, 2007 5:38 am

tomh009 wrote:
pianowizard wrote:BTW, Panasonic doesn't seem to be switching to widescreen.
At least for now, no. But they do have the advantage that they actually make their own LCD panels ...

Asus still offers variety of 15" SXGA+ models (F2Je, F2F, VX1). I don't think they have their own panels. Is the "lack" of 4:3 panels the real reason ?

#17 Post by **tomh009** » Tue May 01, 2007 6:23 pm

epbrown wrote:I was checking out various models in the store this week when I bought my new display, and they look stupid with the current huge widescreens - there's all this wasted space to the side of the keyboard. Why not add a full keyboard with 10-key number pad now they they've got the room?

Now that's good thinking ... at least with the 15" WS models, a small 3x5 numeric keypad would fit very nicely!

pianowizard · #18 Post by **pianowizard** » Tue May 01, 2007 9:47 pm

tomh009 wrote:Now that's good thinking ... at least with the 15" WS models, a small 3x5 numeric keypad would fit very nicely!

That's pushing it. I am looking at my 15.4" Dell Inspiron right now. I think it's just too small for a numeric keypad. A 17" WS laptop, on the other hand, would have enough room for that.

Puppy · #19 Post by **Puppy** » Tue May 08, 2007 7:05 am

It seems to becoming reality http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3683

More HP Santa Rosa laptops leaked:
- 15.4" business notebook
- 14.1" business notebook

snessiram · #20 Post by **snessiram** » Tue May 08, 2007 1:52 pm

epbrown wrote:Why not add a full keyboard with 10-key number pad now they they've got the room?

I actually hope they don't as this would mean the "main" key's would move more to the left so you would be typing at the left side of the machine all the time.

I personally dislike the numpad on external keyboards. If you put yourself right ahead of the main keys, then next to it you see arrows, home, end, etc., next to it a numpad, and then again further away from yourself you need to find the space for a mouse...
I do understand that for people working in excel or so for a long time a numpad is very handy, but for me it's just in the way.
I work on a logitech ultra-flat keyboard at home, which doesn't have the part inbetween the numpad and the main keys and so makes it smaller, but I still find it too large due to the numpad. (note that the keyboard does have dedicated page-up/down, delete, insert, home, end,...)
I know there exist smaller keyboards, but I needed one fast and the only one the store had was a trust wireless, which I didn't like.

epbrown · #21 Post by **epbrown** » Tue May 08, 2007 11:05 pm

snessiram wrote: I actually hope they don't as this would mean the "main" key's would move more to the left so you would be typing at the left side of the machine all the time.

I personally dislike the numpad on external keyboards. If you put yourself right ahead of the main keys, then next to it you see arrows, home, end, etc., next to it a numpad, and then again further away from yourself you need to find the space for a mouse...

I concede the demand wouldn't be huge in the laptop market, but I think with ThinkPads reputation as being more business focused, they would be the ideal product line to try this on. As you guessed, I work in Excel a lot, creating spreadsheets and inputting financial data and performance statistics. Until recently, I used an external number pad that makes for a poor solution when you can do 10-key input at my level.

snessiram wrote:I know there exist smaller keyboards, but I needed one fast and the only one the store had was a trust wireless, which I didn't like.

When shopping for a replacement, consider the IBM SpaceSaver keyboards - excellent, and the Trackpoint models eliminate the mouse placement issue.

I set up my home work-station on impulse, and wound up going with a Logitech cordless keyboard and mouse rather than waiting to trackdown an IBM keyboard. I'll likely make the switch down the line, though.

Puppy · #22 Post by **Puppy** » Wed May 09, 2007 2:53 am

HP Announces Intel Santa Rosa Based Business Notebooks
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3689

Looks good until you open large images and realize they have changed keyboard layout

Only Lenovo and Dell are left now ?

dr_st · #23 Post by **dr_st** » Wed May 09, 2007 5:34 am

Puppy wrote:Looks good until you open large images and realize they have changed keyboard layout Only Lenovo and Dell are left now ?

Worse than that - only Lenovo Thinkpads. The Lenovo 3000 keyboard layout is messed up too.

Puppy · #24 Post by **Puppy** » Wed May 09, 2007 7:59 am

dr_st wrote:Worse than that - only Lenovo Thinkpads. The Lenovo 3000 keyboard layout is messed up too.

I see, you're right. Lenovo 3000 series have typical "acerized" layout (which some people prefers because PgUp/Dn keys are closer to the cursor keys).

New HP models are supposed to be widescreens only (rumor)

New HP models are supposed to be widescreens only (rumor)

Here we go again . . .

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