Daylight viewing

Looking at purchasing a new dell Inspiron 6000 or 6400? Which is the best screen for Daylight viewing, I want to use it on my boat in bright sunlight, Is the truelife WSXGA good enough or should I opt up for the WUXGA?? Thanks I'm new to this board.

 

i've used both the glossy (compaq v2000) and non-glossy (dell 6000) screens in direct daylight. in my opinion, neither are usable in direct sunlight. the minor differences between glossy, matte, low-res/high-res, etc. are not enough to keep direct sunlight from washing out colors or just plain making things unviewable. sorry.

 

It's very hard to find a LCD that can be viewed in direct sunlight. You might want to consider a cowling of some sort, otherwise your probably looking at an expensive specialized screen.

 

Hey thanks guys, so it probably doesn't pay to upgrade to the top of the line monitor.
Thanks Again Tonysr

 

Its hard to find an LCD that works in sunlight. Granted if you're willing to squint it can be dealt with. Maybe you should try Portable One. I think they use screens made for outdoor use, etc.

 

The only one I have found so far is the NEC Versa Daylite. This has a transflective screen (like some PDAs), so the more light the better it works (incoming light goes through the display, is reflected off the back of the film). The main downside is that it is almost unusable indoors (even though it has a backlight). No problem for me since I only use this on my deck during the summer (working outdoors is a blast). Another drawback is that the screen is only 10 inches diagonal. When doing VisualStudio with a lot of toolbars and docked windows there is not a lot of real estate for code - but for word processing, internet, etc, it is fine. Another drawback - the one I have is only a P3. But I love this thing because I can work outdoors!!!

That said, I read a review recently where the guy said he uses his new HP Brightview screen laptop to work outdoors. I would love to hear from someone who has one. If this is true, I would like to upgrade to the core duo... For those who say the brightview screen has too much glare from the sun, is that while you are indoors near a window, or actually outdoors?

 

Just found another option for daylight viewing in a search here - PortableOne has a few laptops with optional transflective screens, larger than the NEC - 12 and 14". I will be getting one of these babies.