Finally received z60m 2529E7U - LCD viewing angle

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willgriam · #1 Post by **willgriam** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 9:47 pm

ok, finally received my z60M - model 2529E7U. Does anyone else have one of these and can tell me if it is the maxbright screen or not? I did not think that it was, due to the narrow vertical viewing angle, but I wanted to ask to confirm.

So if it is the regular screen, can anyone comment on the viewing angle? This is almost as bad as the R52 I passed on to get this thing!

Should I look to a T43 Flexview?

all opinions welcome and thanks.

own6volvos · #2 Post by **own6volvos** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 10:22 pm

In the IBM spec book, it is not listed as a maxbright screen. The maxbright models also don't really have a wider viewing angle, but more of a really bright backlight.

dr_st · #3 Post by **dr_st** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 7:26 am

willgriam wrote:Should I look to a T43 Flexview?

If viewing angle is important to you, yes. Although I've heard that the MaxBright, while being a TN panel, offers relatively good viewing angles.

willgriam · #4 Post by **willgriam** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 8:43 am

While I'm not under the expectation that a laptop should look like a desktop LCD panel in terms of brightness, there is a wide gulf between what I'm looking for and this LCD.

I'm not even sure that "viewing angle" is an accurate description. Whatever part of the screen is in direct, straight-on view is bright, but it seems to be darker around it - almost like a reverse halo effect. Should I really have to move my head around a lot on a screen this size to see everything I'm reading in decent quality?

Overall, the quality appears to be very poor compared to previous models of any make.

I'm interested to hear others comments on this.

a31pguy · #5 Post by **a31pguy** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 11:11 am

Resolution wise - it's a good screen. However compared to my old a31p - the amount of reflection is a bit more like 10-20% more. But otherwise the viewing angle is similar.

willgriam · #6 Post by **willgriam** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 7:47 pm

Yes, I finally determined it must be me. I made the rounds of all of the local stores today and they all look similar.

Anyway, decided that I should have gotten the T43 anyway so check the for sale forum.

My finger is getting itchy on the "order" button...

a31pguy · #7 Post by **a31pguy** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 8:23 pm

Really? I think if you look at the spec in depth - you'd find it slightly better on the z60m. Even the mighty T43p is slightly behind the spec. If your going to made a trade up - you should wait for the T60p.

http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/thinkpad/tseri ... eries.html

Well - also that depends on your submodel. I got a 2529-EAU.

willgriam · #8 Post by **willgriam** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 9:51 pm

That's why I geqared my choice towards the z60m to begin with. I've waited years to buy my own thinkpad after having them at work and this is really aggravating, but screen quality is of paramount importance to me.

dr_st · #9 Post by **dr_st** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 6:44 am

The T60p will feature the UXGA Flexview, and will be, spec-wise, the best Thinkpad so far. Might as well wait for it. But I don't think that the T43p is behind the Z60m. It lacks some minor features, but nothing major. And it's lighter, which could be an advantage.

asiafish · #10 Post by **asiafish** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 12:19 pm

Maxbrite screens don't have brighter backlights, they have a reflective finish that makes them look bright, but suffer more from glare. Depending on where you use your laptop, it is much brighter and has better color, or, can be almost unuseable depending entirely on the lighting of your location.

willgriam · #11 Post by **willgriam** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 12:32 pm

Thanks, asiafish. I'm pretty confident this is not a maxbrite screen, but it does seem to have more glare than I'm used to. I've also discovered in the interim that the luminance measurement on this screen is about 60% of any other laptop I could get my hands on to measure - including a 4 year old Dell that rated 130 against the high 60's for the Z60M (which I thought was supposed to have a stellar screen) so maybe mine is just broken.

asiafish · #12 Post by **asiafish** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 12:51 pm

I saw a Z60m at Office Depot and thought the screen brightness was about the same as the T43 sitting right next to it.

willgriam · #13 Post by **willgriam** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 6:51 pm

No offense, but that was most likely the z60t, as they do not carry the m model.

Only matters to this conversation as the z60t is noted to have only 1 backlight and uneven, dim lighting. The t43 on display is not the flexview, so your comparison is the same as mine when looking at the retail models at the ODepot.

Of more concern to me is that my z60M is even darker than the ones on retail display that are well known to have darker (dimmer) LCDs.

a31pguy · #14 Post by **a31pguy** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 7:22 pm

I have an a31p with the 15" IPS Flexview screen and a z60m with the UXGA+ screen. The IPS flexview screen is very nice. But I have to say the z60m is quite nice too. 10-1 IBM retained rights to the patent and licensed IPS technology for the current lineup of thinkpads at the time of the deal. speculation though.

asiafish · #15 Post by **asiafish** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 7:26 pm

Since the T43 they carry is the 15" and the Z60 (whichever model) has integrated graphics, I wasn't all that interested in either for my own use.

I did play with the keyboard on the Z60 and despite the addition of the Windows key I was very pleased to note that it still feels like a real ThinkPad.

dr_st · #16 Post by **dr_st** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 7:22 am

asiafish wrote:Maxbrite screens don't have brighter backlights, they have a reflective finish that makes them look bright, but suffer more from glare. Depending on where you use your laptop, it is much brighter and has better color, or, can be almost unuseable depending entirely on the lighting of your location.

So what you're saying is that there is now a Thinkpad with a glossy display?

Finally received z60m 2529E7U - LCD viewing angle

Finally received z60m 2529E7U - LCD viewing angle

Re: Finally received z60m 2529E7U - LCD viewing angle

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