I called Lenovo to request a LG on T400...

So I called Lenovo to ask about a few things in regard to the two panel types, Samsung and LG, for the T400. The guy that I spoke with doesn't know what parts are used, or if they even phased out one part entirely, since he is not privy to the assembly line information. I requested a LG panel in mine, as it seems to be a favored panel here.

Basically he said there's no guarantee since he doesn't even know what panels are being used, but he said he put my request on file.

Has anyone ever successfully called Lenovo for a guaranteed LG panel? Also, has anyone received a Samsung panel lately? It seems, digging around these panel threads, I haven't heard of anyone getting any Samsung panels lately.

 

I asked the same thing and they didn't know what I was talking about, but I haven't heard of anyone getting the Samsung lately. Anyone?

 

If they are getting samsungs then they must be fine because we haven't had a complaint in awhile.

 

I recently received my T400 with Samsung LED backlit display. I had read several threads regarding this topic so was really hoping for the LG but Samsung is what I got. So, they are still shipping Samsungs (mine was delivered about 3 weeks ago)

I thought the display looked a little washed out and the colors weren't "crisp" and "clean" This is the first laptop I have purchased so I can't really say it was any better or worse than any others I have owned. The only thing I could really compare it to is my 7 year old basic Dell desktop LCD monitor. So, I tried several things : color calibration, updating drivers, hardware diagnostics, etc. I contacted Lenovo support to discuss the "problem" and they were very helpful. Ultimately I ended up sending it in to the service center to have them look at it. I requested that they replace the panel with an LG if they decided that was the problem.

After a very quick turnaround of 4 days from the time I called tech support, my T400 was back on my doorstep with a new LG panel. And, there is no earth shattering difference. It is a little better but the Samsung was not bad to begin with. I think all the talk of Samsung being far inferior is not justified (at least in this particular case)

I admit that I am not really experienced with the quality of many laptop displays since I have never owned one previously. I think that I was somewhat prejudiced by what I had read in the forums that LG was far and away better than Samsung. I also think that the biggest disappointment is just in the nature of the difference between laptop and desktop monitors. The LG panel is a little better than the Samsung was but the Samsung is no piece of junk in my opinion. It's nothing to lose sleep over and if you don't like it when you get it, Lenovo is willing to replace it if necessary.

Some added observations to set someone in the purchase process at ease.
Shipping was very quick on my custom configured T400.
Tech support has been very helpful to me.
It's true that the keyboard has a lot of flex especially in the upper left section but it does not hinder my typing at all.
So far I am very happy with my purchase.

 

I wonder if the X200s got LG LED backlit display..

 

Desktop LCDs are much better than notebook LCDs.

For the notebook LCD discussion, it is not a question of which screen is better. It is a question of which screen is less worse?

 

I suspect Lenovo is holding Samsung to higher quality expectations. A company can do it as long as they are willing to pay for what they want their products to have. Mark@Lenovo did handle all of those complaints and factfinding surveys to figure out what was wrong. Frankly they probably told Samsung symptoms X,Y, and Z were wrong so take steps to correct that to bring that into the overwhelming majority of quality control. Sounds like they did because there hasn't been a major outcry against Samsung. I've only seen screen comparisons for the LED's not regular CCFL's so I can only guess there is much of a difference. I do know that the LG screen on my W500 is one of the best screens I've ever had the pleasure of laying eyes on.

Laptop-wise anyway. Most laptop screens really do stink in comparison to most desktop ones.