Opinions - T42 with 14" vs 15" LCD?

[jjfcpa]

There seems to be some who prefer the smaller size of the T42 with the 14" screen vs the larger 15" T42. I thought perhaps the LCD panel was just smaller, but it appears that the case is smaller all around.

I know the 14" does not have Flexview which leads to my question.

Should the T42 be considered an inferior (sorry, bad choice of words) laptop with the 14" LCD vs the T42 with the 15" LCD.

The two laptops we are considering are the following:

T42 - 2373-9XU with 14" screen
T42 - 2373-CXU with 15" screen

Virtually identical except for the size of the LCD.

Thanks for your opinions.

[hacksen]

Having seen them in parallel and now a proud owner of a 15", my advice to you is: get the 15". The sharp and brilliant 15" will make you feel proud among the Tosh*ba and Apple users. And no more eye strains.

[jsmit86]

I preferred the 14" due to being smaller. lighter, and better battery life.

You should research the 14 vs. the 15" by seeing them, and deciding what is more important to you.

[MrBeta]

I own both the 14.1" SXGA and 15" UXGA, and my advice is... unless you spend many hours doing graphics design and/or photo & video editing on your laptop, the 14.1" model is MUCH nicer and more convenient than the 15".

Yes, the 15" has a nice Flexview - I agree with everyone on this one. I like the screen and yes, it is better than on the 14.1" model, no questions about that. But having said that, I would in no way say the 14.1" screen is "inferior" in any way - it's just your standard LCD that you see on most any good quality laptops. Bright, sharp, nice resolution (1400x1050), and very easy on the eyes.

The killer for me is the size difference and battery life. Yes, it's not just the screen that is an inch bigger (diagonally). The 15" model itself is overall noticeably larger and heavier and nowhere near as thin as the 14.1" model. The 14.1" is 1" thick (slightly thicker in the back) which nicely sets it apart from all the other laptops out there. The 15" starts at 1.5" in the front! It's also slightly wider and has what I consider "dead plastic space" on both sides of the keyboard. The 15" is also very top heavy - ie: to open or close the screen, or even to adjust it a touch, you *NEED* to hold down the base as otherwise moving the screen lifts the entire laptop off the desk. The 14.1" model - you can open it with one hand and adjust it all day long with the bottom being heavy enough not to make the whole thing move with the screen. I don't remember the last time I've seen such top heavy laptop that required two hands to adjust the screen, not even from the low end Dell, Toshiba or HP

And my final comment... the battery life. I have 9 cell extended batteries in both laptops. The 14.1" shows ~7.5 hours of battery life in power saving mode with brightness turned down. I got about 6.5 hours of actual, usable time out of it, while surfing the net (wireless) and reading/writing email. The 15" with the same 9 cell battery? 4.5 hours. That's ~3 hours difference between the two Thinkpads - HUGE difference!!

So again - BOTH are very nice laptops, overall. The 15" has unquestionably a better screen (without taking away too many points from the 14.1" models!), but that's the ONLY advantage I can see for this model. The 14.1" is much more compact, thinner, lighter, and lasts ~3 hours longer on the same battery than the 15" model. Overall I would say the 14.1" is a much better choice if you travel a lot or need to carry it with you frequently. The 15" is more of a desktop replacement. Big, heavy, lousy battery life - ie: undistinguishable from the Dells, Toshibas and HPs out there.

Then again, if you do photo/video editing, the 15" Flexview may just be worth getting regardless of the other factors. I'm keeping both my T42p's - one for traveling (14.1"), the other (15") for home as my 4th "desktop" or when I feel like working on the patio or the backyard

[hoodaman]

thanks...u also jus swayed my decsion because I was orignally going to get x series but then decided on gettin a T for more perfomance and battery life is realy important to me as well as size.....so i better stick witht the 14.1 T42...thanks again..

[Kenn]

IMO, the only real reason to get the 15" is if you need UXGA. Other than that, the 14" gets you smaller, less weight, and better battery life. Also, I swear the speakers are a bit louder on the 14" because they're less recessed and the grill holes don't point down

[devilac]

I am buying the T42p but i don have a chance to really look at it since in singapore they only carry the 14" can anyone with both machine take some side by side pictures to compare.

[MrBeta]

can anyone with both machine take some side by side pictures to compare.

I sure could, but why? Search this forum - there have been several comparisons already posted, with pictures and all...

[fschwep]

I think MrBeta summarized most of the pros an cons of 14 vs 15 inch screen quite well.
Personally, I think the large screen war has more to do with keeping up with the Joneses than with practical use of a laptop.
The major problem with any LCD screen is that it has only one resolution, its native one. If your ageing eyes have difficulty reading small print on websites or in a wordprocessor, the only solution apart from wearing reading glasses is to zoom in - which effectively reduces the amount of viewable data on the screen anyway.
I use a 19 inch professional CRT monitor on my desktop, set to 1280 x 1024 pixels, although it can go up to 1600 x 1200 in 32-bit colour... simply because I'll have to keep zooming in all the time otherwise.
On my laptop I have a 14 inch LCT with 1024 x 768 native resolution (this is the T42 with 14 inch screen). I used the same screen on a Thinkpad A22m for almost three years, every day as a full desktop replacement and it was quite satisfactory.
For photo editing etc., nothing beats a good, big CRT for colour fidelity and depth; any graphic designer will tell you that. Some very expensive large destop LCDs get a long way (i.e. the kind you see at designer's offices), but these have nothing to do with laptop LCDs.
Bottom line: if the typical resolution of 1024 x 768 is good enough (and it usually is for most purposes), then a 14 inch screen is also large enough. For 15 inch a resolution of 1280 x 1024 would be nice instead of the fine print of a 1600 x 1200 or similar screen at that size. The advantages of a 14 inch screen (lighter weight, smaller case, greater battery life) will usually outweigh the slight (and often only imaginary) disadvantages of 'not keeping up with the neighbors'. You'll feel the advantages every time you slide your 14 inch T42 in a shoulder bag with room to spare for your paper documents, a handful of CD-RWs, a book to read on the plane, your toothbrush and a set of underwear...