Very poor screen quality on X41T!

[brainpicker]

After over 2 months of waiting and all the customs issues I finally received one of my Tablets as we are about to be leaving on our trip. The other is still lost in Alaska. Absolutely horrible screen!!! Not only does it have bad pixels, but the left side has areas that have large amounts of light coming through and this is not acceptable on a $2500 retail product. It's as if flashlights are shining in from the left, and since this light protrudes in about an inch it's very bothersome. Naturally I have e-mails off to my sales rep and I tried waiting on the phone but after 45-minutes I'm giving up. And ol' Phil thinks it unacceptable to say things like Len-Oh-No! can't do anything right? Phil, they are worse that anything I could have expected from this buyout. Now I'm waiting to be told that this is not a legit reason for an exchange (but they will be glad to accept my return and have me re-order for $900 more than what I paid for this one!). That's 4 laptops in a row that had horrible quality. Maybe I'll have one of you place an order for me as they must really hate me to send off such crap time after time after time. Unacceptable!!!

Yak

[pphilipko]

Yikes! You must be the unluckiest person I have ever met!?! You're the first person I know who's complained about the screen. I guess your indignation is justified, however, considering all the inconveniences you must have gone through...

To me at least, their support is still as great as ever, and most people have positive experiences with their Lenovo purchases. Anyone here have a positive Lenovo purchase..?

[brainpicker]

To me at least, their support is still as great as ever

Support is still being provide by IBM, the same company that USED to supply wonderful quality products and somehow be able to ship them to the customer without much issue. Since I switched to Thinkpads back with the T2x series I never had an issue until the big sale was in the final stages. Now the last 4 have been absolute crap. If this was Avertech or some other "entry level" brand I'd say you get what you pay for. But this is a Thinkpad, and we all know we pay a HUGE premium for a Thinkpad. We gladly pay it because we are the type who feel it's better to pay more now then later, and our time in valueable. Also, as you pointed out, the support is top notch.

As it is now a Thinkpad buyer can no longer count on saving time buy receiving quality on the 1st try, on time, within a reasonable period of time, and having that quality lessen the severity and number of adverse events (thus saving more time). All they have is the support. So any prospective Thinkpad buyer now can't possibly feel the huge premium is worth just the support. Toshiba has vastly improved since I left them as a customer to buy T2x's, and Dell's business line is also a solid machine. There is now serious competition. This really didn't exist before. Even Fujitsu has some realy nice machines I will be looking into further.

These experiences have greatly changed the way I will buy a computer from here on. I am no longer going to be a "Thinkpad no matter what" customer and blindly just buy a Thinkpad. I will wait to see a product fully developed and when I'm able to hold one in my hands. No acceptions. If they are not available retail or a friend, or coworker don't have one for me to see I won't consider it. I will NEVER buy direct from Len-Oh-No! even if I decide on a Thinkpad. Someone like Bill will get my business so that the Thinkpad can be checked out before it's in my hands. Len-Oh-No! direct sales is horrible. I'm sure this process will morph as time goes on but I'll start there.

Yak

[Rhuobhe]

My T43 came with what I consider an unacceptable screen. I'm calling Lenovo tomorrow to get a return authorization slip and shipping it back. Going to get a Sony S460. Very Sweet compared to the screen on the IBM.

[pphilipko]

My T43 came with what I consider an unacceptable screen. I'm calling Lenovo tomorrow to get a return authorization slip and shipping it back. Going to get a Sony S460. Very Sweet compared to the screen on the IBM.

Doesn't the Sony have that glossy screen?

[beerak]

After over 2 months of waiting and all the customs issues I finally received one of my Tablets as we are about to be leaving on our trip. The other is still lost in Alaska. Absolutely horrible screen!!! Not only does it have bad pixels, but the left side has areas that have large amounts of light coming through and this is not acceptable on a $2500 retail product. It's as if flashlights are shining in from the left, and since this light protrudes in about an inch it's very bothersome. Naturally I have e-mails off to my sales rep and I tried waiting on the phone but after 45-minutes I'm giving up. And ol' Phil thinks it unacceptable to say things like Len-Oh-No! can't do anything right? Phil, they are worse that anything I could have expected from this buyout. Now I'm waiting to be told that this is not a legit reason for an exchange (but they will be glad to accept my return and have me re-order for $900 more than what I paid for this one!). That's 4 laptops in a row that had horrible quality. Maybe I'll have one of you place an order for me as they must really hate me to send off such crap time after time after time. Unacceptable!!!

Yak

move your back to the IBM service immediately, the backligth should have the same brightness all over the screen, only the Acer's notebooks have thir problem

[Rhuobhe]

Doesn't the Sony have that glossy screen?

Yeah, I guess you could call it glossy. I like to think of it as "plastic covered". The screen is bright, vibrant and brilliant. If the T43 (14") were half as nice as the Sony, I don't think I would have returned it.

I found out that it wasn't my T43, all the T4x's at my work had the same problem. For business, it would have been great, for multimedia and home use, it just didn't cut it.

[bhtooefr]

OK...

So, you wanted a gloss-coat screen, b/c that's good for multimedia, and IBM couldn't give you a gloss-coat screen. Point taken.

However, the 15" SXGA+ and higher T4s have whatever that marketing name is, but it means IPS. IPS will help the quality on multimedia a LOT.

[Rhuobhe]

However, the 15" SXGA+ and higher T4s have whatever that marketing name is, but it means IPS. IPS will help the quality on multimedia a LOT.

I know, the 15" are better, I've seen them side-by-side.

But this laptop is for my wife, and the 5lb 14" was already a bit too much for her to carry. I think the 15" models are even more cumbersome

[Orbitz]

Just a comment on the glossy screen...I have in front of me a Dell 700m that actually belongs to a friend....and I can definately confirm that for movies the glossy screen is a vast improvement over the screen on the 14" T41p that I had BUT sitting in my office I have to adjust the angle of the screen constantly to avoid a really noticeable glare from the light above as well as one behind me. Also, I tried to use the 700m outside and the reflection from that screen was pretty annoying Mind you this was sitting under an umbrella which sits under a huge Oak tree so it was very much in the shade. There is a lot of debate on this is the Dell forums...some people don't seem to notice the reflection and others can't tolerate it. If movie watching was the main use for the machine I would opt for the gloss screen no question...but even we surfing is affected by the reflections I am getting both inside and outside. I may just be one of the ones that "seem" to notice it more but I don't think I could handle it ona daily basis.

Yak makes a vaild point above imo about other brands being serious competition for the TP's....this Dell I have in front of me is from the Inspiron line and while it surely doesn't have the quality fit and finish that TP's have it really isn't nearly as bad as I was expecting it to be...if it wasn't for the screen reflection issue I would be very tempted at a price point of $725 especially since comments are starting to pop up about TP's quality.

[bhtooefr]

$725? I take it you're looking at either an 1200, a 2200 (basically, a 1200 with a Mini-PCI slot and WiFi antenna), or a 6000.

Probably a 2200.

So, if you can get your hands on an R50e (I'm thinking 1842-SLU), can you compare the two?

[Orbitz]

No $725 is for the 700m...mind you that only has the 1.6 proc in it and 512 ram but with the Dell coupons it is pretty easy to find a 700m for $800 or below for the base unit. Would be more like $1000 for a 2.0 proc and 1gb ram. Keep in mind...there is an entire cottage industry of people thata play the coupon game with dell...$750 off of $1499 is the deal everyone jumps on

[ecsrun]

I have the dismal opportunity here to chime in...

Mine x41T also has the same defective screen.

In multiple irregular spots around the edge of the screen, it looks like a flashlight is beaming onto the screen from the side of the unit.

Did anyone else experience this as well?

I am returning the unit because it is highly distracting every time I have anything with a black background showing... On a light colored background, i do not notice the "flashlight" effect as much.