12" ibook vs 12" powerbook displays

[gravityplan]

Sorry for the crossposting but I'm not getting any bites on this in "Buying Advice".

Are the displays of the 12" ibook and 12" powerbook different? I visited them in the store and thought colors on the ibook looked "washed out" compared to the powerbook. Salesman said that the pb had a higher resolution, but upon checking specs I see they are both listed as 1024x768. (I don't think a resolution difference would've accounted for washed out colors, anyway).

Any thoughts on the relative qualities of these displays?

 

[jxyama]

i've never done a detailed comparison, but they look the same to me... (resolution is definitely the same.)

i'd think it's cheaper for apple to use the same parts too...

 

[QCassidy352]

they were the same until today (new models). They still have the same resolution but the new PB screen will be sharper and brighter than the old PB screen or the ibook screen.

 

[mateybob]

they were the same until today (new models). They still have the same resolution but the new PB screen will be sharper and brighter than the old PB screen or the ibook screen.

what are you basing this on?
i dont see any mention of the 12" pb displays being changed..

 

[jon_010101]

I have a 12" 867 and now a 12" 1.33...

To my eyes, the 1.33ghz 12" display looks more like an ibook display than the 867 12" display; but I suspect this has much to do with the color balance. The the old PB12 display seems smoother and crisper, but the color balance is shifted to the red side of things. The whites on the new PB12 display seem more accurate in tone, but there is a bit of a "dispersive haze" that seems to limit sharpness. Despite that, the contrast and anti-reflective properties of the new display are better than the old... just a bit of grain added. Compared to the *old* ibooks I've seen, though, both powerbooks are FAR better, NO contest. I can't comment on the new ibooks though.

 

[Rod Rod]

powerbook screens

I've owned the following laptops since last January, all with 12" displays: a 700MHz G3 cd-rom iBook, 2 900MHz G3 combo iBooks, an 867MHz PB G4 and now a 1.33GHz PB G4.

The screen quality of all the iBooks seemed identical. The 867MHz PB didn't seem any different than the iBooks.

The new 1.33GHz PB is definitely a bit brighter, and as has been noted the default color balance ("Color LCD" profile) appears to have shifted. Whites seem truer on the new PB. The 867's screen, like most LCDs, had bluish whites.

As for the new iBooks, and all Apple computers: looking at them in the stores only gives you a sense of how they look at default settings. Color settings can be modified to suit you. For example, Apple stores usually have several computers set up in dual-display arrangements. Whether it's a 17" and 23" on a dual G5, or a 15" PowerBook connected to a 20" cinema display, you can almost always count on the "Aqua Blue" desktop image to be greenish and/or lighter (as opposed to brighter) on one screen, and a richer blue on the other. If only an Apple store employee would care to notice, and adjust the screens to match.

 

[BlueDjinn]

12" iBook vs. 12" PBook Shootout

I've put together a special System Shootout pitting the two against each other in full detail:

http://www.systemshootouts.org/shootouts/special/2004/0427_12ibook_12pbook.html