How to tell if Flexview?

[bugmn]

Hi, I'm shopping for T43s on eBay and wondering how to tell if it's Flexview or not? Can you tell by the model? Resolution? Is there no way to know for sure until you see for yourself?

[RealBlackStuff]

Usually Flexview is limited to the T43p.
Look/ask in our Marketforum first, before you loose your shirt on eBay.

[bugmn]

I found a conflicting piece of information:

Flexview on any
15" SXGA+ (1400x1050) or UXGA (1600x1200) that comes on any of the
following models: T42,T42p,T43,T43p,T60,T60p. And only on them.

[rkawakami]

From looking at the tabook and T43 HMM, T43 systems with 15.0" SXGA+ and UXGA are Flexview. Any T43 with a 14.1" panel is not Flexview; this includes T43p 14.1" systems. If you get the TYPE number of the system, you can check the HMM or submit it to the Support site:

http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/?&sitestyle=lenovo (Click the "Use Quick Path" link and enter the TYPE; this will report the size and resolution)

Of course this all assumes that somebody beforehand did not swap out the panel.

[kstuart]

Once you get the actual laptop, you can check for sure by looking in Device Manager - there should be an entry under Monitor that uses the word Flexview.

That said, while there is a difference, it is not a massive one, and the 2005 T43 IPS screens are not as clear and bright as 2011 IPS screens (such as an iPad or a Nook Color).

[ajkula66]

kstuart wrote:

Once you get the actual laptop, you can check for sure by looking in Device Manager - there should be an entry under Monitor that uses the word Flexview.

This is correct presuming that the correct monitor driver is installed, which just isn't the case on most generic installs.

That said, while there is a difference, it is not a massive one, and the 2005 T43 IPS screens are not as clear and bright as 2011 IPS screens (such as an iPad or a Nook Color).

I'd beg to partially differ with the statement above.

No, the old school FlexViews are not as bright as the modern ones - my wife has an iPad 2 and it's extremely bright, due to its LED backlight. No argument there.

However, when compared to *any* TN panel, viewing angles of an IPS screen - even an aging one - are downright stunning and there is really no comparison. The same holds true for their colour reproduction.

[mark-ibmtp]

All of the Thinkpads I've bought (quite a stack of them, now that I think of it) have been Flexview, so I can't compare to Thinkpad non-Flexview displays. But the viewing angle is terrific, and was quite a big thing for its day.

If you can easily read the screen from 45 degrees to either side, then you can be sure that it's Flexview. Around the time these T4x machines were new products, a colleague of mine was using a Sony notebook -- its LCD was as directional as a laser beam. We would try to look a source code together, but with the machine in line with my friend, the display was simply dark to me sitting right next to him.

[dr_st]

If you can easily read the screen from 45 degrees to either side, then you can be sure that it's Flexview.

I wouldn't say that. Most modern TN screens are easily viewable side-to-side. It's the top-to-bottom viewing angles that are so much better in Flexview (IPS) screens.