12" Powerbook vs Viao Screen

[macperson]

I went to the store with the intention of buying a 12" powerbook, but upon seeing it I was really disapointed by the screen: it was very dull!
Compared to the viaos (the fs series that is,) the powerbook's screen looked terrible. They viaos had wide screen displays, x-brite technolgoy and by far the best screens in the store. I love the powerbook, but I can't justify spending that much money and looking at that screen over and over again.

What would you do?

 

[kgarner]

While I agree that the screen is not as nice as the X-Brites I just can't justify paying that much for a Sony (they are pretty spendy in their own right) and having to look at XP over and over again.

 

[40167]

Personaly, id go vaio... and I'm planning to get one (actualy in the same debate as you are pretty much) T350 is my choice, but I won't be running windows on the machine, i'll have freebsd on it. So then the os doesnt bug me much; and for what I do honestly OSX and FreeBSD work fine, so it all came down to hardware.

Now for most, it comes down to hardware and software, as they dont have two os's on different platforms that can do all the work... admitingly, OSX would do it easyer; but once it's setup I don't really find freebsd to be any harder.

So for you, you also probibly need to put into perspective, OSX or Windows... in that case, you should get the powerbook.

 

[Lloyd1994]

and having to look at XP over and over again.

I concur.
PB 12" + LCD at home and utilization of Expose on the move is perfect for my usage, however your usage might differ.

 

[mkrishnan]

Just want to add... some people seem to have strong opinions against X-Brite, because of glare, I think? So you might want to see them both in different scenarios. And the "best display in the store" thing is kind of disturbing... If Sony's 12" or 13" notebook has a better display than any of their 20+" desktop LCDs, it says more about their inability to make desktop LCDs than the quality of their notebook. I don't think there's any way with the current state of technology that a low power LCD could be better than ones with more available electrical power. Same deal for Apple. I don't think the expectation that the brightness of the PB12" match an ACD is a reasonable one.

I'm actually using a Dell 2001FP again with my iBook today... the Dell is brighter, of course. I think it's angle viewing is better too (that OTOH is something that doesn't have so much, AFAIK, to do with power). But I dunno...the color is better on my notebook. I've calibrated the Dell twice now and I haven't been completely satisfied with it. Maybe I just have to keep trying. The second calibration was substantially better than the first, because the first time, I didn't bother to use the expert mode.

Anyway, my point is, you need to A/B the two screens in question in the same room, on the same table, under the same circumstances. And preferably to repeat that in several different lightings. It is really dangerous to judge them based on seeing them in two different stores.

Anyway, good luck. With all that rant being said, in the limited time I've interacted with them, I liked X-brite screens. But I haven't used them in detail. And this has been a major FAQ here recently, with attendant flame wars in every thread about the merits of X-brite.

 

[blodwyn]

I went to the store with the intention of buying a 12" powerbook, but upon seeing it I was really disapointed by the screen: it was very dull!
Compared to the viaos (the fs series that is,) the powerbook's screen looked terrible. They viaos had wide screen displays, x-brite technolgoy and by far the best screens in the store. I love the powerbook, but I can't justify spending that much money and looking at that screen over and over again.

What would you do?

I have a 12" PB and a Vaio GRX560. The Vaio gathers dust while I use my PB for everything. Granted the Sony screen is bigger and a bit brighter, but I tend to use my PB with an external monitor most of the time, and Windows is just too much hassle to use compared to OS X.

 

[St Soichiro]

I would suggest waiting, saving up some more, and getting a 15" PowerBook. Or getting a 14" iBook instead of a PB.

I used to use a Vaio laptop till two years ago. Had the lightest one they offered with everything maxed out. Then came my first Mac - a 15" Ti PowerBook. God forbid if I have to use a Windows OS ever again.

Mind you I am a heavy duty power user with number crunching, graphics, and the obligatory word processing. I have been extremely happy with a Mac. Kind of explains why I have bought six after the Ti PB! Two for myself, as in the sig below, an iMac G4 for the kids, the Ti PB went to the boss (read wife) and four iMac G5's were bought for my research group. Granted some of these used my research funds, but research funding is very tight in most of academia.

Synopsis: get a Mac, unless all you want to do is play games. Then get a Mac and a console

 

[RubberChicken]

I went to the store with the intention of buying a 12" powerbook, but upon seeing it I was really disapointed by the screen: it was very dull!
Compared to the viaos (the fs series that is,) the powerbook's screen looked terrible. They viaos had wide screen displays, x-brite technolgoy and by far the best screens in the store. I love the powerbook, but I can't justify spending that much money and looking at that screen over and over again.

What would you do?

The apparent difference in quality was one more reason for me to get the 15 inch over the 12. I thought the 12's screen looked pretty much like the iBook. I've owned both. Although calibrating the screen will help enormously. I guess your quest for brightness is relative to your usage - bright room needs a bright screen - ironically as my room is in perpetual gloom I have the brightness well down. Trust me, after you have stopped comparing the 2 screens side by side and used the PowerBook for a couple of days you will have forgotten all about any brightness issues.

 

[ajampam]

I have owned a sony K series for more than a year....now I also have a 12' PB...Le t me summarize my experience...

Display: Sony all the way...but if you compare it to the bigger PBs...they hold their ground well.....

Computer: The sony weighed freakin 8lbs....compared to the other PCs, it looked pretty good though...I would not dare compare it to the macs in this front...

OSX: Now this would have been hammered to dust....but XP is a good platform, when armeggedon happens and the last survivor is a PC....mac osx is THE seamless OS on the planet we call Earth.....

Computing: My research is in the medical sciences...we analyze tens of thousands of genes at a time....that kind of data analysis needs a OS which knows what the end user wants....my favorite pet peeve with the sony aka XP was when I would almost be at the end of a gruelling statistical analysis....and nothing!!!!!! the blue screen of death....and the darn hour glass.....I have fantasized different disposal methods each time it happened....but the same stuff on my mac.....god!!!!!

As a synopsis....you get to choose between a better display....and a REAL computer....not a glorified calculator.....I wish you all the best man!!!!

 

[bm7at81]

You seriously cant judge the PB screen until you do the advanced colour config for the LCD... I thought mine looked dull at first, but after 10 mins of tweaking it looked sooo damn good with lots of rich, deep colours! 400% improvement, and now i dont even have the brightness at full..

Obviouly LCD's arent exactly great for serious colour dependent graphcial work.. but i think all the other advantages of PB seriously outweigh the nicer screen of the VAIO ... I heard terrible things about those laptops from a few distributer mates of mine.. of course, that can be said for any product!

Choose wisely.. and enjoy!