12" PB - Why is the screen so poor?

[jjd]

I have a 15" 1.25GHz PowerBook. I am about to buy a G5 Tower. I will still need a laptop but since it will now only be for travelling (and I travel all the time), I was very keen to sell my PBook and pick up a 12". That is, until I went to the SoHo store today and saw the lousy res and brightness on the 12". I was really disappointed. I can get my head around losing the 3" of screen real estate, but that display! Prosumer it ain't. And I had read that a lot of photojournalists use it. When I compare it to my girlfriend's 12" Dell... Is there any prospect of Apple releasing a 12" with a proper screen? Am I missing something?

 

[Eniregnat]

I can't read Job's or Apple's mind. I though my screen was pretty good. Are you sure you weren't looking at a 12" iBook.
Real estate is nice, but it's hard to lug Texas around the world. Loosing 5 inches of screen is hard to deal with, but the gain in mobility is nice.

 

[csubear]

I can't read Job's or Apple's mind. I though my screen was pretty good. Are you sure you weren't looking at a 12" iBook.
Real estate is nice, but it's hard to lug Texas around the world. Loosing 5 inches of screen is hard to deal with, but the gain in mobility is nice.

Put your 12" pb next to a ACD. The pb looks like total crap. When I'm not near my ACD the 12" pb looks okay, but I can't stand to keep my pb open when its next to my ACD.

 

[nightdweller25]

No offense but your pretty much just whining, Keep in mind that the Apple Stores have huge bright lights everywhere and everything is white in there, that really, really, REALLY, affects the quality of the screen when you look at it at the store. If display quality is that important to you, then I don't think u should be owning any laptop.

 

[brap]

Many are hoping for a 13.3" widescreen for the next major revision, somewhere reasonably close. I'd have to agree the display on my Rev. c is passable at best... but what can you do.

 

[jjd]

No offense but your pretty much just whining, Keep in mind that the Apple Stores have huge bright lights everywhere and everything is white in there, that really, really, REALLY, affects the quality of the screen when you look at it at the store. If display quality is that important to you, then I don't think u should be owning any laptop.

Um, I'm not sure how I could help but take offense to being told "Your (sic) just whining"... At any rate, I understand that a desktop monitor will be better. As to your comment that if display quality is important I shouldn't own a laptop, first of all that's absurd, but moreover, I was comparing laptop displays - ie. the 15" to a 12".

 

[ham_man]

Brighter=more battery life. I would take an extra hour of battery over a few bars of brightness anyday...

BTW, the screen on my 12 incher is bright, clean, and crisp. Also, everything looks different when you have the computer on your desk and not next to a 800$ desktop monitor...

 

[crap freakboy]

why? because Apple are cheapskates.

 

[Eniregnat]

I really don't think that it looks so bad. I'd hate to think what people think of my QuickPad Pro. It's not the super big rotatable Planar I have for editing work (at work), but heck it's good enough for me.

I now understand where you’re coming from. I don’t think that 2 more inches, and 1lb lighter really makes a difference in your world. You need resolution, and if so, stick with the 15”. If I could afford a 15” I might make the jump. The real-estate is always nice.

Do note, that if you walked up to somebody that worked hard for afford the car they have and said, “That vehicle is crap”, they might take offence. Not all of us have the wherewithal to afford a desktop and a notebook. I understand the wank. I'm with you. Apple, I wan't a better screen.

I really have no idea why I am so complacent with what I have.

 

[gwimby]

I was really realy disapointed the first time I saw the ibook in person.
The second time, some friends had told me to adjust the display properties
in the control panel. What a world of diference! After adjusting it to my tastes
the screen really looked pretty good. And making profiles for hte enviroment
you are in is sure to be a big plus. I reccomend you read up on the laptop
display properties, and go back and give it a second chance.

PS- first time poster, long time reader!
I'm usually over at http://www.sudhian.com , but thought I'd share since I used to
think the same darn thing.

 

[csubear]

I was really realy disapointed the first time I saw the ibook in person.
The second time, some friends had told me to adjust the display properties
in the control panel. What a world of diference! After adjusting it to my tastes
the screen really looked pretty good. And making profiles for hte enviroment
you are in is sure to be a big plus. I reccomend you read up on the laptop
display properties, and go back and give it a second chance.

PS- first time poster, long time reader!
I'm usually over at http://www.sudhian.com , but thought I'd share since I used to
think the same darn thing.

I'll put my 2cents in on this one.

I did notice that under different kinds of light I need to use different color profiles. One for home, school, and outside. It makes a big diff.

 

[ldburroughs]

I can't read Job's or Apple's mind. I though my screen was pretty good. Are you sure you weren't looking at a 12" iBook.
Real estate is nice, but it's hard to lug Texas around the world. Loosing 5 inches of screen is hard to deal with, but the gain in mobility is nice.

News Flash! They share the same screen. There is no difference in the actual screen or brightness. The difference is in the video card on each but that does not have an impact on brightness or the display itself. Either way, it is very decent considering the size and form factor. I can't image what the original poster is looking for in a screen if the 12" is horrible.

 

[Sutekidane]

The only real problem is the brightness, the viewing angle is pretty good. the brightness is low because of battery life, not because of an inferior screen. Most PC notebooks don't aim towards good battery life, thus they have brighter screens. Also, that xbrite stuff (which I cannot stand), makes things look shinier than they really are.

 

[Capt Underpants]

Well I thought that my Powerbook had an awesome screen... Until I got a 2005FPW. Now I just can't look at my crappy (and yes, it is crappy) PB LCD screen.

 

[jsw]

Most PC notebooks don't aim towards good battery life....

There you have it. PC screens - like the beautiful 1920x1200 one on my 2+-year-old Dell - are gorgeous. But they devour battery power. A good iBook charge will net you 4-5 hours (or more) of usability. My Dell (work's, actually, not mine) lasts a bit over an hour on a good day.

 

[slipper]

calibrating the 12" pb display makes a HUGE difference.

 

[Celsior]

I agree on the possibility of a 13" widescreen PB at Steve's keynote in early June. It makes sense to have all PBs, and perhaps the iBooks, to go widescreen in this "Year of HD". We've also read rumors about a new pro 17" PB w/HD screen. Is it possible to have a 17" widescreen with the resolution to do 720p? I would get a 13" widescreen PB if it were made. But I'd really like the PC card slot (to keep alive my (yes, it's expensive) option of broadband access on a PC card), and FireWire 800. Apple, please offer all this to us. You can leave the PC Card slot and FW 800 out in order to create a widescreen iBook. So far this year all Apple hardware's been evolutionary. Let's see something (desktop or laptop) revolutionary!

 

[Balin64]

I would agree that the rev A 12" PowerBook's screen was lacking: but the current line has a wonderful screen. I agree with the poster above: calibrating the screen can make a huge difference.

Do not let the screen affect your decision.

 

[powerbook911]

When I took my 12-inch Pbook and iBook out of the box, the screens were very disappointing. However, after some time, and some adjusting, I find it to be acceptable.

 

[Jon'sLightBulbs]

No offense but your pretty much just whining, Keep in mind that the Apple Stores have huge bright lights everywhere and everything is white in there, that really, really, REALLY, affects the quality of the screen when you look at it at the store. If display quality is that important to you, then I don't think u should be owning any laptop.

The 12 in displays are known brightness lackies. They just appear very dull next to a good LCD. Sony X-brite is much brighter and more clear.

 

[Lacero]

Let's put it this way. I wouldn't do color correction on the screen of the PB 12". The viewing angle and brightness level are just to narrow to be an effective way to gauge luminance of your images.

 

[Demon Hunter]

I agree on the possibility of a 13" widescreen PB at Steve's keynote in early June. It makes sense to have all PBs, and perhaps the iBooks, to go widescreen in this "Year of HD". We've also read rumors about a new pro 17" PB w/HD screen. Is it possible to have a 17" widescreen with the resolution to do 720p? I would get a 13" widescreen PB if it were made. But I'd really like the PC card slot (to keep alive my (yes, it's expensive) option of broadband access on a PC card), and FireWire 800. Apple, please offer all this to us. You can leave the PC Card slot and FW 800 out in order to create a widescreen iBook. So far this year all Apple hardware's been evolutionary. Let's see something (desktop or laptop) revolutionary!

iBooks won't become widescreen because that would hurt PowerBook sales.

I can't imagine there would be any room for a PC card slot on a 13-inch machine... maybe I'm wrong. Also, the current 15" and 17" PowerBooks can already handle 720p just fine.

 

[shidoshi]

The only real problem is the brightness, the viewing angle is pretty good. the brightness is low because of battery life, not because of an inferior screen. Most PC notebooks don't aim towards good battery life, thus they have brighter screens. Also, that xbrite stuff (which I cannot stand), makes things look shinier than they really are.

And if this is the case, then what sense does this make? More and more people are purchasing laptops as their home computers. Why in the world would there not be an option to have a higher screen brightness when using AC power? Hell, my PSP can even do that - the highest brightness setting is there when it is plugged into a wall, it's unavailable when running on battery power. If I WANT to have a higher brigtness to my screen, and less battery life, that should be my choice.

When you compare Apple's laptop screens to some of the better PC laptops, it really is sad how bad Apple's screens look. (IMHO.) Brightness wise, Apple laptop screens don't seem as sharp as the better PC laptop screens, and viewing angle wise.

 

[beatle888]

No offense but your pretty much just whining, Keep in mind that the Apple Stores have huge bright lights everywhere and everything is white in there, that really, really, REALLY, affects the quality of the screen when you look at it at the store. If display quality is that important to you, then I don't think u should be owning any laptop.

your just looking for a fight arent you?









anyway, before you make your final decision make sure you open the system preferences and try calibrating the monitor. this can make WORLDS of difference. i hate the way i have to calibrate my monitor at work but i need to use settings to match output. in your case you can calibrate to your personal preference. give it a try.

someone might of tweaked with the settings or they could be factory set. i do have to say though. i saw a lady using a PC laptop at work and i thought WOW that looks clean, sharp and bright. so you could be right.

 

[5300cs]

I have a rev A 12" PowerBook (867Mhz model) and I think the screen is fabulous. It's really bright and has good color saturation.

Heck, my G3 iBook (800Mhz) has a nice screen, too.