Best Screen For Text

Does anyone have an opinion as to the best T41/T42 14" screen for reading text documents and web sites? I am probably buying another refurbed unit.
I am willing to take a higher res. screen and enlarge the DPI setting, if thats the best way to go for reading text.

The T40 that I already own has a good screen (XGA, IDTech) but I wish it was just a bit brighter and also had more contrast. To add to the challenge, sometimes I have to work in an environment with some ambient outside light.

Its seems there were two T4x 14" screen options:

1) 14" XGA (brightness 150 nits according to Lenovo, contrast ratio = ???)

2) 14" SXGA+ (brightness 150 nits according to Lenovo, contrast ration = 200 or 300:1 according to thinkwiki.org??)

Which of these is the best screen for text? Does the answer also depend on the screen manufacturer?

PS: Where is the best place to find reliable Thinkpad screen contrast specs?
It seems that Lenovo usually publishes brightness in official marketing docs, but I have not seen them publish official contrast numbers except for the 15" Flexview screens.

Is there any one screen manufacturer that made a brighter screen (LG?) for the T4x 14" screen types, or were all truely the same?

In my search for a really good screen for text, I would also be willing to consider a T61 (14W, 14 Std or 15.4W) but only if there is a screen available that is significantly better for text than the T4X 14" screens.

Thanks

 

I would recommend a 4:3 ratio screen (like the 14 std you mention) format for frequent Word processing and PDF reading. Wide screens are less suited for that and better for multimedia uses.

 

I agree you don't need a widescreen the 4:3 screens are much better for word processing

 

My humble opinion: 16:9 together with WUXGA and WSXGA+ is superior when:
- working with a Latex source editor and a previewer windows side-by-side
- arranging tool windows in IDE-like applications (Visual Studio, Eclipse, etc.)
- having open both PDF document and a PDF search window simultaneously

If the size doesn't matter I would therefore strongly recommend 15'4WS with a one of the hi-res LCD for these and similar applications.

 

for reading, writing, word, emails, or just browsing to get the best quality will like to get a bigger ratio screen. i have always refer to site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SXGA+ it has a nice chart which really explains everything. and overall the SXGA will be a better chose. reason begin is that it has a big resolution. so that is a plus.

 

Nice chart apoddar. The thing missing thought is the screen surface area % difference, regardless and/or considering pixel difference. I would expect the wide screen version to have less surface when comparing a similar screen size (i.e., 14" std vs 14" wide for example).

If you use books, these are about 8:11 ratio media. The 16:9 widescreen ratio is at the total opposite of this (unless you read your books sideways )

So wide screen is fine for multimedia material mainly (movie and games) IMO... but some like it to put two book-sized documents side by side. Still, you end up needing a magnifier unless you’re aged under 40 Like it or not, You end up with smaller font than with a format that is closer to 4:3. For text work, the 4:3 format allows to see more vertically while keeping the font size as big. With a wide screen, you either must cut a narrow vertical window on your 8:11 page or reduce font size tremendously.

I like the look of wide screens and they are indeed trendy, but I fear the time we won’t be able to buy 4:3 displays for laptops. Laptops, especially the ThinkPads which are business oriented, are made for work mainly such as word processing and spread sheet. Even for the later, I think the 4:3 format fits better although it may be less of a problem using wide screen.

If I had bought a wide format, I would probably be preaching for wide screen so it is also much of a personal taste thing granted.

 

Don't be so square

Note that you do not read the whole page at once but rather line by line.
Moreover, 2x 8:11 (i.e. an open book) yields 16:11, doesn't it?

Actually, the 16:10 ratio better corresponds to the the fact that we have two eyes (usually not in the same place) with approximately square field of view each.

 

Hehe, you are pushing it. Reading a single page from top to bottom is a great plus IMO. Less scrolling and more natural based on what we do in real life. I don't know about others, but I write large documents and being able to read a full page at a time is a must for me to get a minimal context overview of what I writing about.

Reading two pages side by side? Okay, but there again, you will end up with a smaller font to accommodate this. I could say I can stack 4 pages per screen in a 2 x 2 matrix, would it make it useful? See my point?

If you can justify that you can read two separate documents with each eye, I'll buy your theory For all practically purpose, our high definition vision area is pretty square. It doesn't matter IMO. What matters is the format of the content you work with.

It’s pretty simple in fact. Always match as much as possible the screen format to your document format to get the optimal screen area usage. It’s the same debate as with home theatre screen ratios vs. the film format you plan on watching. It is less efficient to watch a 1:2.35 ratio movie on a 4:3 screen and vice-versa. You end up with vertical or horizontal bars.

Note: If we were talking about a 24” desktop flat screen, I would give you credit that a wide screen is great as it can probably fit two full 8:11 pages side by side. The problem with the 14” screens is that they are relatively small so you want to optimize every inch you get. The goal in the end is readability of the font and maximizing screen real estate usage.

 

Whether one prefers widescreen or not, I think that brightness and contrast are critical for text, more critical than for movies. No one has mentioned that yet. I am disappointed that Lenovo/IBM never made a Flexview screen (bright, high contrast) in 14". Also, I read that Lenovo totally discontinued the Flexview option for the T61 line. I do not know what the contrast is for the T61 screens but the 14" WXGA, and 14" XGA T61 screens I saw had black that was a bit 'milky', ie not a very high contrast, no better than my T40, maybe a bit worse. Same for an R61 UXGA screen that I saw.

 

Thank you for the lesson, really.

PS
Now I clearly see your narrower point of view (Sorry - couldn't resist...)

 

Yeah, agreed.

Dontcha wish though, marcbe'd stop spouting his tall tales, huh?

(Sorry - couldn't resist...)

 

Sure I do! "Four pages good, two pages bad"

I like the reason you re-edited the post for...

 

Menos, I was trying to bring constructive inputs into this discussion. I am sorry if you took it personal...

The points you brought didn't made sense in my opinion. This being said, I respect your different opinion.

 

Actually, I really appreciated your opinion (and still do!). Maybe my intentions weren't sufficiently clearly expressed.

Anyway, I treat all forums with a health grain of salt

I have been working with various editors - from terminal-based, to Word-like, to Latex/PDF processors/viewers and programming environments for more than fifteen years now. So the majority of that time I had been using CRT's with the 4:3 ratio. Then I had a short episode with a 5:4 (1280x1024) desktop LCD. Once I got my first widescreen laptop I immediately found the 16:10 (and 16:9) format the best for my needs.
I still think (and see ) that widescreens with the WUXGA resolution offer (when properly tuned) the best possible combination of readability and overall comfort. Especially now, when a plethora of widgets, gadgets, and toolbars occupies the significant area of the screen.

Regards.

 

Thanks for the clarification... I agree with you that forums (like Emails and other written media) make it difficult to clearly understand the context of things. My apologies for taking your comments the wrong way.

To get back on topic a bit, I actually was initially geared toward buying the 14" WS T61 model. I change side at the last moment seeing the 9 cells battery was only available for the 4:3 model. I wonder how I would have found the wide screen overall comfort while doing heavy Word editing. The picture I posted earlier I think gives a good feel to people wonder which way to go.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=3181430&postcount=26

This thread highlight the fact I think that the personal preference is a big factor in the end. Thus, trying before you buy at a local store may be a wise thing to do.

Regards