Does 15 inch screen mean "Flexview"?

[Ham-n-Swiss]

If someone could help me it would be greatly appreciated. I am having trouble deciding between the 14 inch and 15 inch screens and which graphics resolution I need, 1024x768 vs. 1400x1050. First, I see a lot of posts touting the attributes of the Flexview screens. When I go to the Lenovo site I see nothing mentioned about Flexview. How do I know which screens are Flexview. Are all the 15 inch screens Flexview. Second, I have read numerous posts hailing the high 1400x1050graphics resolution. My eyes are not what they used to be and I am concerned that if I lower the resolution, to increase the size of objects, on a high resolution machine that I may induce other display problems. specifically text and web page display issues. My current position is: I like the 14 inch screen due to the smaller footprint and I think the lower resolution is all I need, but I like what I have read about the brightness and view angle of the Flexview, Any suggestions or other comments.

[Rory]

I just went through this exact same issue - I'm in my late 40's so really can't cope with tiny font sizes. I was also worried about messed up web pages, which are a big part of my work.

My understanding is that the higher resolution 15" displays are FlexView but the 1024x768 isn't.

I previously used a 14" 1024x768 display Compaq Evo N610C and it's an all round handy size machine. I found the 14" T43 is exactly the same size.

So I bought the 14" 1024x768 T43 and I'm very pleased with it - the display is brighter and clearer than on my Compaq (which was fairly poor). I also figured that for home or office use I could buy a separate screen if I felt the need to, so I could upsize it. However you can't easily downsize if you choose a screen too big!

Mod edit: Deleted double-post and followup message.

[nirvana0001]

i think on 15" UXGA only.

[t20user]

I recommend going to a store and fooling around with the resolutions of laptops on display. It sounds like a 14" low res will do just fine. I personally use a 20" lcd at 1280 x 1024 all day, so hi res on the laptop is of no use for me.

[lithium726]

i think on 15" UXGA only.

nope, 15" SXGA+ is IPS as well.

[davidspalding]

I just went through this exact same issue - I'm in my late 40's so really can't cope with tiny font sizes. I was also worried about messed up web pages, which are a big part of my work....

Under the Advanced button of Display Properties (DESK.CPL), you can adjust overall font sizes with the DPI setting. I set mine at 110% on my 1400x1050 screen to make fonts a wee bit bigger. When you go up to higher resolutions, icons and buttons get smaller, images gain finer resolution, but fonts get smaller; the DPI setting allows you shift fonts back up to where they'd be at a lower resolution. I'm guessing that fonts at 1024x768 on a 14.1" screen would be the same size at 1400x1050 on the same screen if you set the DPI to 136%. And oh by the way - they are smoother looking and (to me) easier to read.

Also, Firefox (and Opera, I imagine) are better than IE at increasing font sizes on web pages that declare an absolute pt. size (bad web design, but so many people do it, it's epidemic).

CTRL + and CTRL - in Firefox; or CTRL + [mouse SCROLL WHEEL] in Firefox and IE.

[blade12]

If you are going for the 14'' screens, I would recommend the lower res. IMHO at that size, 1400x1050 renders the text too small for comfortable viewing, expecially if you have been bought up on 1024x768 screens. True, you can tweak the DPI to appoximate the 1024 font size on the desktop, but it does nothing for the size of the box that the text is contained in, meaning you might see partial or cut off words. And not the mention all the formating problems that you run into browsing websites ...

I put up with mine for about 2 days before biting the bullet and ramping down the res on my 14'' 1400 down to 1024. Of course, now I have to put up with the scaling, but my eyes are thanking me and my sanity is intact.

[davidspalding]

I've had no such problems. YMMV. In fact, I'm using two 1400 14.1" screens now, and Firefox suits my fortysomething eyesight just dandy.

[Rory]

I put up with mine for about 2 days before biting the bullet and ramping down the res on my 14'' 1400 down to 1024. Of course, now I have to put up with the scaling, but my eyes are thanking me and my sanity is intact.

Everything you read tells you not to run the screens at anything other than their native resolution, as the scaling isn't very good.

My daughter has a 15" Dell with an 1400x1050 and it took a lot of playing around with font and icon sizes to get it look right. MS's Cleartype Tuner made it look quite a bit better.

[blade12]

I felt that with 1400 res I was getting a lot more eyestrain. Whether that was because I have been habituated to 1024 screens, Im not sure.

However, 1024 does seem to be the most compatable res to view web pages at. Take the popular Toms Hardware site. On 1400 the page is squished to the left. Cntl + does almost nothing. Setting a larger default font size completely messes up the formatting. Change to 1024, and you see it as it was intended.

I will prob switch back to 1400 when I do things like photo editing, but for everyday browsing, email and docs, I still prefer 1024 ... despite the scaling (which I know is bad, but its not unbearably so)

[davidspalding]

Geez, I thought web sites that were designed for particular resolutions went out with trackballs on laptops. I guess not....

I see. Tomshardware.com, yet another size that sets an absolute font size (8pt, 10pt) , not relative (80%, 100%). Tables won't budge, but text will size up and down in Firefox (IE 6 doesn't change fonts declared that way), suspect it will in Netscrape, too. But with DPI adjustment, the font is the same size on my 1400 as it is on your 1024. But if you want such fascist-designed sites to fill your screen, then Viva la HVE!

Everybody to their own pecadilloes, of course.

[blade12]

I dont want to seem like im harping on about it, but the webpage thing was a big problem for my head to get around.

If it was only for the Toms hardware site i would have just put up with it. But when every other site is either squished to the left, or centre justified with large empty spaces bordering both sides, then it gets a bit annoying. I mean, even the Leveno site doesnt display properly.

Switch to 1024, and bang, pages fill the screen, things are centred properly and text size is relative to to boxes they are in without needing to adjust.

Might have to agree to disagree on this one.

[Ervin]

But if you want such fascist-designed sites to fill your screen, then Viva la HVE!

What is the HVE?

Regarding resolutions and web page design: I am afraid that, in a few years, people will start switching to designing for widescreens, meaning at least 1280 pixels horizontally. So, right now, I think the best option is buying a screen with at least 1280 points of horizontal estate. For XGA lovers, that would mean a WXGA notebook.

I am afraid that, if I stick with XGA today, I might scroll horizontally tomorrow.

Another question: Has anybody cancelled an order with Lenovo by e-mail? Any problems?

[davidspalding]

What is the HVE?
...

Horizontal Video Expansion (I think). It's the setting that allows a 800x600 (or even 640x480, like the XP bootup screen) resolution to "expand" to fill your 1400x1050 (example) LCD screen. Hence, hte folks who set their 1400 res T43 to a 1024 resolution, and the desktop is "bigger"; otherwise it would be the same size video, with black space around the desktop.

http://www.chromejob.com/thinkpads/hve_setting.jpg