3 ms·

Uh, they still haven't added decent screens to the classic X/T thinkpad models. A 16:9 screen is bad enough, but looks even worse when the laptop's frame is 16

by wooger 11y ago

Uh, they still haven't added decent screens to the classic X/T thinkpad models. A 16:9 screen is bad enough, but looks even worse when the laptop's frame is 16:10. Also, still offering 1366x768 TN screens is really embarrassing, especially on expensive machines like these.

snuxoll 11y ago
This is a frequent problem I have with Lenovo, outside of the Thinkpad name and the TrackPoint they rarely have anything that makes me want to consider dishing out that kind of money for their hardware. My work provides me with a Lenovo W540 which is a beast of a machine and is certainly nice for software development, but for my personal use I feel I got a much better deal on purchasing my Dell XPS13 than I would have a Thinkpad X1.
- tertius 11y ago
  I don't know if the X1 is a direct competitor to the XPS13. Probably more the Yoga 900.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
Someone1234 11y ago
> Also, still offering 1366x768 TN screens is really embarrassing, especially on expensive machines like these. Why is it "embarrassing" to offer a cheaper option? Nobody is forcing you to buy their lowest end machine. You can stick to the top end display (2560×1440). A $700 1366x768 Thinkpad is a little more expensive than consumer laptops, but the build is still better than a consumer laptop, the uEFI offers more features, it has the TrackPoint, a better keyboard, and replaceable batteries.
- cbhl 11y ago
  Sometimes an employer is forced to go to a lowest cost option that meets requirements, so you want to come up with some contrived set of reasonable-sounding requirements that actually translate in practice to buying a higher-end machine. It used to be that this requirement was "power windows" on a car rental, which only showed up on cars with all the bells and whistles.
  - Someone1234 11y ago
    The closest thing to "power windows" would likely be "needs an SSD." Since they don't normally put SSDs into their cheapest i3 machines, only the i5s with the 1080p displays (or better). Also an SSD is a valid requirement if you actually need to get stuff done, in particular development/SysAdmin-like stuff.
    - PaulHoule 11y ago
      If you are running Windows it makes a huge difference to have an SSD and even if what you are doing is writing Word documents and sending emails and stuff like that the difference is night and day. I have an old netbook with a single core Atom processor and an SSD that I put in to make it shockproof and it feels incredibly fast compared to an i7 machine I have that seems to take 15 minutes to completely boot.
      - masklinn 11y ago
        > If you are running Windows it makes a huge difference to have an SSD SSDs make a huge difference on pretty much any system which can't live solely in RAM, no matter the OS.
        PaulHoule 11y ago
        I think it is worse on Windows because Windows uses locking very heavily -- i.e. Windows tries harder to protect system integrity than Unix does, even if that means giving up and showing the blue screen.
  - grkvlt 11y ago
    So, you want to defraud your employer? Why not just be straight-up and give the actual requirements, and then you know you'll be happy with whatever is purchased, since it'll meet them?
manaskarekar 11y ago
As important as the resolution is the PWM induced flickering (perceptible to some) that may cause eye fatigue, headache, nausea etc. Hope the displays are better than their past models. T450s is supposed to have a good display in terms of PWM flicker.
creshal 11y ago
It seems that shitty screens is the one IBM tradition Lenovo will defend adamantly.
- ginko 11y ago
  Some thinkpad models had stellar screens. Especially for the time. You can get T40s with 1600x1200 IPS panels.
  - creshal 11y ago
    That was, I think, AFFS and not IPS. Much, much worse ghosting and latency problems compared to IPS.
iamthepieman 11y ago
I use the mobility feature of my laptop for meetings where I connect it to a projector and for attending conferences. The rest of the time my laptop sits in its docking station connected to a couple of external monitors and input devices. The only reason I even leave my laptop open is because I think it helps with cooling. I don't even know what the resolution is on my laptop and I don't really care.

by wooger 11y ago

snuxoll 11y ago

This is a frequent problem I have with Lenovo, outside of the Thinkpad name and the TrackPoint they rarely have anything that makes me want to consider dishing out that kind of money for their hardware. My work provides me with a Lenovo W540 which is a beast of a machine and is certainly nice for software development, but for my personal use I feel I got a much better deal on purchasing my Dell XPS13 than I would have a Thinkpad X1.

tertius 11y ago
I don't know if the X1 is a direct competitor to the XPS13. Probably more the Yoga 900.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

Someone1234 11y ago

> Also, still offering 1366x768 TN screens is really embarrassing, especially on expensive machines like these. Why is it "embarrassing" to offer a cheaper option? Nobody is forcing you to buy their lowest end machine. You can stick to the top end display (2560×1440). A $700 1366x768 Thinkpad is a little more expensive than consumer laptops, but the build is still better than a consumer laptop, the uEFI offers more features, it has the TrackPoint, a better keyboard, and replaceable batteries.

cbhl 11y ago
Sometimes an employer is forced to go to a lowest cost option that meets requirements, so you want to come up with some contrived set of reasonable-sounding requirements that actually translate in practice to buying a higher-end machine. It used to be that this requirement was "power windows" on a car rental, which only showed up on cars with all the bells and whistles.
- Someone1234 11y ago
  The closest thing to "power windows" would likely be "needs an SSD." Since they don't normally put SSDs into their cheapest i3 machines, only the i5s with the 1080p displays (or better). Also an SSD is a valid requirement if you actually need to get stuff done, in particular development/SysAdmin-like stuff.
  - PaulHoule 11y ago
    If you are running Windows it makes a huge difference to have an SSD and even if what you are doing is writing Word documents and sending emails and stuff like that the difference is night and day. I have an old netbook with a single core Atom processor and an SSD that I put in to make it shockproof and it feels incredibly fast compared to an i7 machine I have that seems to take 15 minutes to completely boot.
    - masklinn 11y ago
      > If you are running Windows it makes a huge difference to have an SSD SSDs make a huge difference on pretty much any system which can't live solely in RAM, no matter the OS.
      - PaulHoule 11y ago
        I think it is worse on Windows because Windows uses locking very heavily -- i.e. Windows tries harder to protect system integrity than Unix does, even if that means giving up and showing the blue screen.
- grkvlt 11y ago
  So, you want to defraud your employer? Why not just be straight-up and give the actual requirements, and then you know you'll be happy with whatever is purchased, since it'll meet them?

manaskarekar 11y ago

As important as the resolution is the PWM induced flickering (perceptible to some) that may cause eye fatigue, headache, nausea etc. Hope the displays are better than their past models. T450s is supposed to have a good display in terms of PWM flicker.

creshal 11y ago

It seems that shitty screens is the one IBM tradition Lenovo will defend adamantly.

ginko 11y ago
Some thinkpad models had stellar screens. Especially for the time. You can get T40s with 1600x1200 IPS panels.
- creshal 11y ago
  That was, I think, AFFS and not IPS. Much, much worse ghosting and latency problems compared to IPS.

iamthepieman 11y ago

I use the mobility feature of my laptop for meetings where I connect it to a projector and for attending conferences. The rest of the time my laptop sits in its docking station connected to a couple of external monitors and input devices. The only reason I even leave my laptop open is because I think it helps with cooling. I don't even know what the resolution is on my laptop and I don't really care.