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6475

Use only the best and brightest LCDs for all laptops! No sub-par manufacturers need apply!

6475 points posted to Laptops by astudios 02/17/07

From what I understand, today's Dell LCDs on laptops are made by Toshiba, LG, Samsung, etc.. why make it an anticipating "waiting game" for the customer to see which quality of LCD they get when their laptop comes in? The LCD display is THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT part of any laptop. Dell.. please, use ONLY the best and brightest LCDs on all of your laptops.

Quick story of my experience.. I'm a huge Dell-fan and buy lots of PCs and laptops from them for myself, my business, and for my friends and family. The LCD on their 700m laptops were the *absolute best* .. After that, I purchased the XPS1210. The LCD was "duller" and I was disappointed. But then I ordered the XPS1410 for a friend and when it came in, I was horrified with poor viewing angles of the LCD. The only way you could comfortably view the screen was when it was PERFECTLY square with your eyes! I was almost ashamed to give it to my friend. Finally, recently, I ordered the Inspiron 6000 (SXUGA?) and was relieved that is was much better. But still nothing like the 700m I used to own.

What happened to Dell's LCDs? Please make this top priority and bring the "wow" back into your laptops! (And oh, another thing, if you could somehow make your laptops thinner and lighter, that'd be great too!).

Thank you for allowing us this forum.

harborsparrow
02/17/07		 Macbook has a software brightness adjustor that is very VERY awesome--no knobs on the outside, just a system tray icon.
astudios
02/17/07		 And by the way, to add to my original post, needless to say, I've boosted the brightness setting on the LCD to maximum. It's not really about the brightness as it is about the contrast and viewing angles. Use only the best manufacturer. We're willing to pay a bit more!
analyst
02/18/07		 What we need are LEDs, absolute not LCDs, or customers will turn to buy sony laptops. A LED Screen can make laptop lighter and thiner. However, donot forget to reinforce the screen, because the LEDs are too thin.
dsmolin
02/19/07		 And it would be nice if the LCD's didn't lose pixels left and right. My screen is barely usable now...giant inch wide strips of pixel loss.
jervis961
02/19/07		 I agree about the LED screens as they save energy also.
lamshoeft
02/20/07		 I agree with that. I own an Inspiron 8200 and an Inspiron 8600, both with high resolution UltraSharp displays (TOP QUALITY!!!). Three month ago, I bought a Latitude D820 and I gave it back because of the poor quality of the display. I can't unterstand why it is not possible to provide a notebook with a display quality comparable at least to middle class desktop monitors. That would be a really outstanding feature among all notebook vendors ...
tebheag
02/23/07		 You guys should consider buying a Macbook... :-)
x-stars
02/26/07		 100% Agree with this idea: Get a better 'WXGA+'-Panel for the d620 NOW :(
ronycyks
02/26/07		 I can increase the brightness and contrast of my inspiron 6400 from the intel's media accelerator.click properties from desktop>settings> advanced>Intel graphics media accelerator driver> graphics properties> color correction. Hope this is new info! (I have an Intel 945 chipset).
pelazem
02/27/07		 I used to buy, and recommend, many Dell laptops (both Inspiron and Latitude). For about 2-3 years I have been steering people away from them. The single main reason: Dell screens were consistently far worse than others.

Reading many laptop forums online, I'm not the only one; Dell laptops are renowned for screens other manufacturers seem to avoid. Dull, low or inconsistent brightness, very poor color uniformity (gray "speckle"), and so on; "True Life" doesn't really help. It can be better; look at Apple or Sony or others that consistently get screens right.

I bought for myself an Inspiron 9300 a while back. The screen was so bad, I couldn't believe anyone would put it into a laptop. I had owned older Dells as well as Thinkpads, Toshibas, Compaqs, HPs, Gateways, Acers, and others, and the new Dell I bought as well as new Dells I saw with others, regardless of the resolution, were far inferior to other brands. And yes, they were at native resolution etc. etc.

In all fairness, I returned the 9300 because of the screen (it was otherwise a great laptop) and Dell made no trouble about taking it back and issuing a refund.

I know Dell's model is direct but at this point I would be very leery about buying a Dell laptop because of the risk of a bad screen and the ensuing hassle. If Dells were available in a retail outlet and I could look at one, and buy exactly the one I saw rather than one that might have a same-resolution but far worse panel (think Samsung vs. LG etc.) due to Dell's "what have we got lying around today" manufacturing model then I'd think about going back to Dell.
onthebleedingedge
02/28/07		 Desktop screens have also gotten worse in quality over the years. My 20" Dell FP which is a few years old has no uneven/bleeding backlight problems, unlike the new 2007WFP monitor I just got. I hope to exchange it for a better one, given I can make the support guy in India understand the problem (no luck yet).
eagletg
03/01/07		 They need to improve for the future, but also need to look back and support their existing D620 customers. I've received the "new" and "improved" screen that they released (under the new part number, found via the Dell Forums), and it's only marginally better. The "non budget" D620 looks terrible compared to my MacBook, and even compared to other "budget" laptops that I own and have seen.

Because of the D620 screen issue, our company is reviewing other manufacturers for future laptop purchases. We've been loyal to Dell for years, and at least for laptops, that loyalty is gone.

I thought the new Dell was trying to be more consumer-centric? Where's the commitment to the customer specifically relating to this issue?
mattr
03/07/07		 I have a Dell Inspiron 7500 (running RedHat 9 linux with windowmaker and openoffice2). It has the best screen I have ever seen. I can work on it all day and night, and my eyes don't hurt compared to the rotten flat panel displays on pcs at work. I even keep using it despite that one of the display's hinges has broken, and the battery is broken, and there is not enough ram or hd space to upgrade really.

I don't know how to get the hinge or battery fixed, but I do know I love the display.

Please institute a grading system for flat panel displays that accurately reflects (ha!) the main characteristics. For a laptop or work PC I am far more interested in being able to dial the brightness down low and be able to work without my eyes getting painful than in viewing angle, color, etc.

Also I think if it is at all possible you should add analog brightness/contrast controls, or allow finer and broader adjustability.

For example the notebook's built-in brightness control does not get it low enough. I use xbrightness to bring it down to a good area (xbrightness 45000 seems to drop it 25%) and then use the keyboard control if I need it.

My nephews are going to buy a computer and their school will start a new department. They have to get windows since the school is getting it, and my folks said how about Dell? I told them they should stay away from Vista and see if they can get service if they get Dell. If I knew they also were going to have a good flat panel display that they can use for a long time I'd be happier.

And similarly I would like to know what model is the display used in my 7.5K and be able to get the same display again.
riddle
03/14/07		 Yes, the screens of dell's laptops can be better, dell's lcd screens for desktops are the best on the market, but in laptops there allmost on the other end of the list. This must be a point of improvement.
pelazem
04/20/07		 Dell's LCD screens for desktops are NOT the best on the market. Read online forums. However, people with a limited budget can probably get more monitor (diagonal size etc.) from Dell than elsewhere... they're saving on the panel. In all fairness, I own a Dell 2405FPW and it is wonderful, but I have seen plenty of 200xFPWs and 190xFPs that are not so great.
premcv
04/20/07		 I have to agree, the 2405s are quality-wise much better than the 200x and the 190x.
thejedimaster
04/24/07		 Another shout for the i8200..AN AMAZING SCREEN! I would also like an option for widescreen UXGA in matte please..not everyone likes glossy..
premcv
04/24/07		 matte finish too is good!
andrewmilnermobile
04/26/07		 I think maybe you mean LED backlit LCDs... and yes I agree. I'll wait to buy my next laptop from Dell until they have LED baclighting.
jervis961
04/26/07		 Yes LED backlit please.
lits
04/27/07		 tebheag could I borrow your mac for a day.... so I can take a dump on its overpriced proprietary case?

LED IS THE NEXT GENERATION, also the gloss on screens should be standard.
jervis961
04/27/07		 Well, that was uncalled for.
jervis961
05/02/07		 Today Apple announced they will be switching to LED back lit monitors. http://www.apple.com/hotnews/agreenerapple/
It just doesn't say when. ;-)
claucookie
Jun 1		 I'm really agree with this idea, because I've recently recerived a vostro laptop, and the lcd display angles are... unconfortable and horrible.
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