is this a repairable screen issue?

[Elias]

I've got some lighter spots, pieces of the screen that appear more brightly lit than others. Usually it is not a problem, but they are quite noticeable and I'm just curious if this is something that can be fixed inexpensively.

Here is a photo of a 100% pure white screen to show you what I mean.

[rkawakami]

Inexpensively? I don't believe so.

What you are seeing is typically referred to as a "pressure spot". Usually caused by something being sat on the LCD for a period of time (think: putting a heavy book on top of the closed Thinkpad). The only way I know of getting rid of that problem is getting rid of the entire panel. I suppose you could try to disassemble the panel and figure out what has been damaged and replace just that piece (polarizer, probably), but IMO, you'd be better off simply buying another panel.

Since we seem to be talking about a T22 here, if your existing panel is an XGA (1024 x 768), you could replace it with an SXGA+ (along with the LCD ribbon cable) and get the benefit of the larger 1400 x 1050 resolution. Of course, that type of panel is fairly expensive, which goes against your original question/request .

[Elias]

Thanks, that's what I had expected... there's just so much expertise around these forums that I had to ask. I dont think ripping it apart to look at the polarizer would be a good idea without a replacement screen already in hand.

The extra resolution sure would be nice... 1024x768 hardly fits modern webpages, and really doesnt leave room for docks. However I wouldnt want to force my S3 Savage 8MB videocard to do that kind of work, it gets upset enough with only 800,000 pixels to worry about.