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Gizmodo review: Viewing angle sucks again
- Thread starter mark88
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How about two people sitting at a desk working on something together? Or one person working at the laptop and another person comes over to look at something and is thus looking at the screen from different vertical angle? At least one person won't be looking straight on at the screen at the 'optimal' viewing position so they'll not see things the way the other person would. They could be watching a video, working on a design... ANYTHING really, the point is one person is going to have a worse viewing experience.
That's why I love the screen on my old MacBook Pro, you can sit a few people round it and the image stays true at quite a range of angles (horizontal and vertical). Apple have cheaped out on the MB screens and it shows, especially as the MBP screens don't exhibit the same viewing problems.
It is not unreasonable in the slightest to expect that two people should be able to comfortably sit in front of a modern and comparatively expensive laptop and be able to see the screen perfectly.
Do you owe Apple something? It amazes me how people will defend a corporate giant when they've so obviously simply cheaped out.
Why would I want to sit watching movies with a friend in front of my 13.3" laptop? That's what TVs and Projectors are for. Sure, the viewing angle should be good (haven't seen it yet but this moaning came after the last 1 was released too, and it had great viewing angles). But saying that the main reason for that is watching movies on the screen is just... I dunno
What's the fixation on watching movies as being the reason?Why would I want to sit watching movies with a friend in front of my 13.3" laptop? That's what TVs and Projectors are for. Sure, the viewing angle should be good (haven't seen it yet but this moaning came after the last 1 was released too, and it had great viewing angles). But saying that the main reason for that is watching movies on the screen is just... I dunno
There are so so many frequent occurances where you'd want and expect for someone else to be able to clearly see your screen, that went you can't it's quite unacceptable. This isn't a £399 POS from Dell....Dell's are probably better.What's the fixation on watching movies as being the reason?
Well, as I said. I have not been able to see the screen yet (photo's for obvious reasons can be quite misleading), but I remember the same discussions a while back on the whitebooks. And they had by no means bad viewing angles.
I can tell you for a fact, the £350 laptops the neigbours bought for their kids have better viewing angles than MB's.
There is NO excuse. Apple price MB's at a massive massive premium. They should be the top quality components and nothing else. Crap viewing angle on a laptop that expensive is simply not acceptable.
So what are we forced to do?
Give them another £700 to get the damn MBP, just to have a proper screen.
Apple are really really going down in my opinion. Shafting people for £80+ just to hook their laptops up to a couple of displays. Shafting people for the remote. And now, shafting people for £700 to get a proper screen. Seriously - when are we, as customers, going to say 'enough'. I am very tempted to say it now, and replace my MBP with a Vaio.
Well said
I'm as big an Apple geek as anyone here, but I'm starting to feel a little resentful of the fact there's always something that spoils an otherwise fantastic product - why cheap out on a screen when it's something that's so important and visible on the product? It makes no sense...Bingo.
The USB extension lead for their keyboards - cleverly, intentionally design to ONLY work with the keyboard and no other USB device. Why do that? What possible purpose is there in doing that. I actually swore out loud when I first discovered that.
Those mini-display port adaptors must cost about a buck to make. Ditto the remotes. Seriously - why not chuck them in. We're paying a LOT more than any PC laptop manufacturer would charge as it is.
Not everyone likes Matte screens. Why not give us the option? Why force us down the glossy route when many don't like it. Seriously - why not just have the option?
iPod Touch. LOVE IT. But why not let it play DivX's or Xvids. iPhone. Why not have video recording. White light on front of laptop - why can't we turn it off. It feels like I'm being taken advantage of.
It's like watching your favorite sporting team get all the way to the final, and then to die 7-0. SO close, and yet, somehow, so far - you just wish they'd try a little bit harder.
Because Apple employs people with economic education to calculate when it is no longer a good idea to offer both options. At a threshold it will cost more for them to stop the manufactoring process, make it a matte screen and then continue. Same thing with cars a few years back when CD become standard equipment, why? It was more economical for the company to throw it in all cars then to stop the process when someone didn't want 1.
For people not understanding why they took away the option, I suggest reading atleast some microeconomics, it explains everything quite well.
which pc company is funding gizmode?
they always seem to bash apple products and base their negative reviews on such trivial issues that the normal person would never encounter.
they always seem to bash apple products and base their negative reviews on such trivial issues that the normal person would never encounter.
A threshold that, astonishingly, is reached just as the design changes and at no time before?
I would pay MORE for a Matte screen. Stick that in your microeconomics. I am going to probably buy the last-gen MBP 2nd hand off ebay and deny Apple the premium they charge for new products. Stick that in your microeconomics and smoke it, buzzword man.
You seem determined to deny anyone an opinion. You're lucky - you want what they've made for you. Well done. Congratulations. However - for anyone else it's either like EXACTLY what Apple have done, or go screw yourself. A weird world you live in - a weird weird world.
Doug
I have a C2D MacBook and just got my early '08 MBP. I could not believe how bad the screen on the MB was all this time! I remember on a flight to Hawaii with my wife we both were watching movies on the MB and one of us was always trying to manipulate the screen someway in order to see it. The screen on the MBP, however, is viewable by 2 people with no issues. Also, using the MB in my lap I had to move the unit constantly to keep from getting that white nastiness that occurs from a bad angle. And it appears the same with the new models. Strange that both are LED backlit - is it just the type of display that is used?
The threshold were probobly reached before, but now that they switched manufacturing process I bet they check their statistics and saw that they would make a bigger profit by supplying only glossy. The benefit didn't outweight the cost.
You might want to pay more, but others might not want to pay more to give you the option, because that is what will happen. A major part of the market wants glossy, that's why Apple only gives you glossy.
I live in a world of reality, not your fantasy world where everything can be supplied at no cost. All companies work like this, unless the benefit is higher then the cost, it will not be supplied.
A matte glass covered LED screen. It's doable, but the glass part does lend itself well to glossy from the start. I think Apple has it right. Seeing as they're going Glossy only through the design of the display, they leave how a user wants to convert it to a matte display up to them. Matte is in the minority, and if you've read threads here, they're a hell of a lot more picky than glossy screen users on the whole. Makes sense to let them sort out exactly how. It's not like you can't hook up your own matte display to the mac anyhow... Do people do glossy-critical work out in the park, on a train, etc? Or do they do it at a stationary desk? If it's at a desk, the efficiencies are in having a big as screen, dual setup or similar, then you can go matte cock-a-hoop.
This is the big reason I sold my first gen WhiteBook at the end of last year. I really couldn't stand constantly adjusting the screen up and down to find the "sweet spot" everytime I sat up or moved my head a little.
I was hopeful that the new LED MacBooks would have vastly improved displays. However, after my visit to the Apple Store yesterday I have to say that I'm disappointed as well.
While they are brighter, the MacBook lacks the contrast, richness and viewing angles of the Pro screens. I even have to say that they appear to be inferior to the MBA LCD's, though I wouldn't mind hearing from others who have made a closer comparison.This is the big reason I sold my first gen WhiteBook at the end of last year. I really couldn't stand constantly adjusting the screen up and down to find the "sweet spot" everytime I sat up or moved my head a little.
I was hopeful that the new LED MacBooks would have vastly improved displays. However, after my visit to the Apple Store yesterday I have to say that I'm disappointed as well.
MBA has a better LCD...the MBA is nearly identical to the MBP both in viewing angles and color richness.
i have a feeling that the MB may still be using the same LCD as before just with an LED backlight.
a good test of a really crappy screen is if when you put it on your lap you have to adjust it more then once to keep it from getting too dark/light at the bottom or top (assuming your not stretching like Dr Reed)
Many of us a have had these type screens and they are very noticeable.
I doubt that these screens are anywhere this bad but the point is,
it can be a real issue.
As far as a bad horizontal angle that's really not a deal breaker for most and could be considered as asset for airline use.
Many of us a have had these type screens and they are very noticeable.
I doubt that these screens are anywhere this bad but the point is,
it can be a real issue.
As far as a bad horizontal angle that's really not a deal breaker for most and could be considered as asset for airline use.
The screen looks awful in those photos, particularly the black levels.
My question is this... Is the screen better than the one on my PB G4 1.5 GHz? If not, I need to change my order. A real shame...
My question is this... Is the screen better than the one on my PB G4 1.5 GHz? If not, I need to change my order. A real shame...
I am really disappointed with the screen. I have just canceled my order and take a look at the screen at some store first. Coming from the Macbook Air (which I have sold on Ebay yesterday) and a sencond generation MBP I really do not want a crappy screen. The late 2007 Macbook screen that my girlfriend has really gives me the creeps... This would have been such a great laptop. Why use a crappy screen?? Why???
I finally had an opportunity to check out a MB at the local BestBuy. The unit that I looked at had a very nice display. Not the best I've seen (that goes to the Sony Z), but about the same class as my former machine (MBA). Some may recall that the MBA has several different display manufacturers some better than others. I went through a few MBA's (non display issues) before I found one that worked. Along the way I also noticed that each manufacturer was uniquely different. Some had better viewing angles than others. One particular display had very saturated colors but the viewing angles weren't so hot. The same probably applies to the new MB. The quality of display may vary depending on the display vendor. Anyways, the display I saw tonight was a 9A8C. I d/l'd and applied a color profile I found in the MBA forum. That helped quite a bit with washed out colors. I also adjusted the font smoothing to Medium to darken text a little. After that the display looked quite good. The viewing angles were good enough that there wasn't much of a contrast difference from the top to the bottom of the display.
The MBP has the best display of Apple portables. This has been true for several years. The MBA has a great display but it is not as good as the MBP in viewing angles. The MBA does have better color saturation than the MBP. The old MB's had horrible displays and I still cringe when I use my wife's MB. The current MB (at least the one I just used) has a much better display than the old machines.
The MBP has the best display of Apple portables. This has been true for several years. The MBA has a great display but it is not as good as the MBP in viewing angles. The MBA does have better color saturation than the MBP. The old MB's had horrible displays and I still cringe when I use my wife's MB. The current MB (at least the one I just used) has a much better display than the old machines.
I just exchanged my MacBook for a MacBook Pro and wow! The difference in screen quality is night and day - The colour is much more vivid and the viewing angles are massively improved. It's a damn shame that Apple couldn't use the same panels in the MacBook as the smaller form factor was perfect for me, but I'm really picky when it comes to screen quality, so I'm happy with the MacBook Pro.
LED is just the type of lamp that provides the backlight. The advantages of LED compared to the old CCFL backlights are that they take less space (lid can be thinner), less energy, don't need warm up time, are brighter and don't fade over the years. But they have nothing to do with viewing angles.
The viewing angles are almost completely determined by the TFT layer, which are color filters that the white light from the backlight goes through before it comes out of the screen to your eyes.
I use my MacBook quite a lot to watch DVD's or Hulu content while lying next to another person on the bed..
Sure, I could hook it up to a television and sit on the couch, but I have a perfectly good machine there that's able to just sit on the corner of the bed. It's just a couple clicks away to watch something over the internet.
Viewing angles are important ... it's such a overlooked feature in Apple Laptops.
If you're paying 1200+ for a laptop, why not have the best of everything? That's what a lot of people are complaining about.
Apple customers expect the best, and we're not usually given the best of everything. We're just enticed by pretty designs and told "Oh you don't need this. Here's something shiny to distract you."
Sure, I could hook it up to a television and sit on the couch, but I have a perfectly good machine there that's able to just sit on the corner of the bed. It's just a couple clicks away to watch something over the internet.
Viewing angles are important ... it's such a overlooked feature in Apple Laptops.
If you're paying 1200+ for a laptop, why not have the best of everything? That's what a lot of people are complaining about.
Apple customers expect the best, and we're not usually given the best of everything. We're just enticed by pretty designs and told "Oh you don't need this. Here's something shiny to distract you."