Laptops with Matte Screens

[zlim]

I'd like to add a question to this laptop thread. It is becoming impossible, at least from my looking, to find a laptop with a matte screen. I don't want glossy. So, can anyone recommend a laptop with a matte screen? Or is it possible to order one with a matte screen?

Edited July 26, 2010 by Urmas
Split from "Laptop recommendations thread"

[goretsky]

Hello,Just about any Lenovo ThinkPad should have one, I believe.Regards,Aryeh Goretsky

I'd like to add a question to this laptop thread. It is becoming impossible, at least from my looking, to find a laptop with a matte screen. I don't want glossy. So, can anyone recommend a laptop with a matte screen? Or is it possible to order one with a matte screen?

[striker]

I'd like to add a question to this laptop thread. It is becoming impossible, at least from my looking, to find a laptop with a matte screen. I don't want glossy. So, can anyone recommend a laptop with a matte screen? Or is it possible to order one with a matte screen?

Lenovo R500 - I own one, has a matte screen. ( I don't accept those make up mirror screens either)With other manufacturers you often have to look at their Business line of models: Acer does have some models with matte screens too.

[zlim]

Thanks guys for the help. At least now I know what brands to look at.

[amenditman]

I have a ThinkPad T400 and it has the matte screen.

[Tushman]

Liz between Lenovo and Acer, I would choose Lenovo without question. Acer is by far the worst when it comes to quality of their laptops. Doesn't even come close to being in the top 5. You may pay less for their hardware, but as the old saying goes.... you get what you pay for.

[striker]

Amen. Never an Acer for me too. Within two and a half years time it was broken, kaput, end of exercise. And it wasn't exactly cheap too. € 1700, that ain't cheap.

[zlim]

I have a very strong bias against IBM based on a very bad experience with the first computer I owned. I vowed then never to buy IBM again. <sigh> I know they make or at least made great notebooks when the company was IBM.Looks like getting a laptop with a matte screen may not be in my near future plans.

[goretsky]

Hello,The IBM Palmtop PC 100 and ThinkPads 755CE, 770X, T23, T43, T43p I have used and the Lenovo ThinkPads T60, T61, T61p, X100e I have used all have matte screens. In 2005, Lenovo purchased IBM's Personal Computer Division, including the ThinkPad assets.I have an Acer Aspire ONE D150 netbook that I bought about half a year ago. No problems noted with it, but it sits mostly unused since I got the X100e netbook.Regards,Aryeh Goretsky

[striker]

I have a very strong bias against IBM based on a very bad experience with the first computer I owned. I vowed then never to buy IBM again. <sigh> I know they make or at least made great notebooks when the company was IBM.Looks like getting a laptop with a matte screen may not be in my near future plans.

Quite understandable Liz. Toshiba seems to have a notebook too with a matte screen. My friend has bought one a month ago, but I don't know the type/model out of my head. If you want me to I can give him a call and post back. Just let me know.

[zlim]

striker, Toshiba is a possibility. I know some models run hot; I'd like to avoid those models. Please find out the model and I'll do some sleuthing.goretsky, I don't want another netbook. I'm pleased with my ASUS eeepc. I'm actually looking for a replacement for my aging HP laptop so I do insist on having an optical drive so I can watch DVDs without attaching an external drive. One of these days, the HP will give up the ghost and I'd like to have a possible replacement in mind.

[striker]

striker, Toshiba is a possibility. I know some models run hot; I'd like to avoid those models. Please find out the model and I'll do some sleuthing.goretsky, I don't want another netbook. I'm pleased with my ASUS eeepc. I'm actually looking for a replacement for my aging HP laptop so I do insist on having an optical drive so I can watch DVDs without attaching an external drive. One of these days, the HP will give up the ghost and I'd like to have a possible replacement in mind.

Just got the reply: it's a Toshiba Satellite Pro S500-115

[zlim]

Thanks striker. Now I'll do some searching and reading.

[Urmas]

One of these days, the HP will give up the ghost and I'd like to have a possible replacement in mind.

Heresy. I'm typing this with a Pavillion ze4407EA (circa 2003). A luverly piece of... vintage technology. Penguin Inside, of course!

[striker]

Without listing Acer,Lenovo and Apple, I found the below with matte displays; Ranging from 15" to 18.4".These are just a couple of the 193 I would be able to list here and only within the resolution range mentioned above, but I think the below is enough to start digging around.ASUS P50IJ-SO071XDell Latitude E5500 IIIDELL Vostro 1015 series and 3500 series have different models with matte displays availableDell Vostro 3500 silver N0535001SDell Vostro 3700 III silver N0537011SHP 625 BusinessBook WS835EAHP 625 BusinessBook WS829EAHP EliteBook 8540p (WD919EA)HP EliteBook 8540p (WH130AW)HP ProBook 4510sHP ProBook 4520s (WS709EA)HP ProBook 4720s (WS718EA)HP ProBook 6545b (NN189EA)HP ProBook 6545b (NN194EA)Fujitsu ESPRIMO MOBILE X9515 UMTS T9600Fujitsu Lifebook A530 Core i5Fujitsu LIFEBOOK E780 Core i7 620MMSI X600-S3547VHP SilverSamsung P530-PRO PaladioSamsung P580-PRO PesaroSamsung P580-PRO PenfieldSamsung P530-PRO PittsSony VAIO F12S1E/B.G4Sony VAIO VPC-B11X9E/BTOSHIBA Satellite Pro S500-115TOSHIBA Satellite Pro S500-116TOSHIBA Satellite Pro L650-155TOSHIBA Satellite Pro L650-156TOSHIBA Satellite Pro L650-175TOSHIBA Satellite Pro L650-176TOSHIBA Satellite Pro L670-13LTOSHIBA TECRA A10-1C1TOSHIBA TECRA A11-127Toshiba Tecra S11-11GYou can do the search easily on your own:Goto http://www.notebooksbilliger.de/advanced_search.php (German, but read on)The Notebooks tab should be selected (colored orange);Select your Display width: at Displaygröße, select from xxx inches to xxx inches. (In the above list I selected 15" and 18.4" . (metrics are mentioned plus inches)At Displayeigenschaft (= Display Properties) select mattes Display ( = matte Display)Now click the orange button 'Suchen' (= search) at the right hand ... see the results.

[zlim]

Urmas, my HP notebook is from 2001 - so it is 2 years older than yours. You may get uneasy about yours in 2012. :hysterical:striker, I'll need to figure out the US equivalents of those models. Right now I've checked on the specs for the Satellite Pro S500-115 and see it has an Intel Core i-3-330M processor. Today's ads list some Toshibas with Intel Core i3-350M processors. We aren't offered the same models.As far as figuring out if the screen is shiny or matte, your model says this "HD TFT High Brightness display". One of the models in today's ad from one b&m store uses that wording while the others say "TruBrite" which might mean shiny. Rather than waste gas driving around, I'll concentrate on figuring out what the printed specs in the ads are telling me. Perhaps I will be able to narrow my search down.ASUS K50IJ-BNC5 at Best buy says this "The 15.6" LED-backlit widescreen on this laptop features a glare screen design..." I have no idea if this is supposed to read glare free. <sigh>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Think I found one.HP Probook 4520s http://www.businessweek.com/idg/2010-07-09...titalented.htmland newegg is selling ithttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16834157262

Edited July 26, 2010 by zlim

[rbdietz]

ASUS K50IJ-BNC5 at Best buy says this "The 15.6" LED-backlit widescreen on this laptop features a glare screen design..." I have no idea if this is supposed to read glare free. <sigh>

According to usa.asus.com -

Display: 15.6" HD (1366x768) LED backlight,Color-Shine (Glare-type),Asus Splendid Video Intelligent Technology

[striker]

Think I found one.HP Probook 4520s http://www.businessweek.com/idg/2010-07-09...titalented.htmland newegg is selling ithttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16834157262

That one is in the list above, it should have a matte screen. (beware, it seems there are diferent models of it out there, even with glossy screens.)

[zlim]

Thanks striker. I downloaded the specs from the newegg site and under LCD Features it specifically says LED backlight, anti-glare so I think I'm safe assuming it is matte.

[striker]

Thanks striker. I downloaded the specs from the newegg site and under LCD Features it specifically says LED backlight, anti-glare so I think I'm safe assuming it is matte.

You could give HP a call to be sure; the model in the US uses another submodel notification than the same one in Europe. So better give 'm a call.

[lewmur]

I have a very strong bias against IBM based on a very bad experience with the first computer I owned. I vowed then never to buy IBM again. <sigh> I know they make or at least made great notebooks when the company was IBM.Looks like getting a laptop with a matte screen may not be in my near future plans.

Different strokes for different folks. I've owned both and was quite happy with the two Acers I've owned and found they gave a much better "bang for the buck." The Aspire 3000 I bought 7 or 8 years ago, is still running. It recently had the "backlight" go bad but that only cost $6 to replace. I'm never going to spend $1700 for a laptop but if I did, then it probably wouldn't be for an Acer. But you can get a pretty darned good Acer for under $600.

[Tushman]

As far as figuring out if the screen is shiny or matte, your model says this "HD TFT High Brightness display". One of the models in today's ad from one b&m store uses that wording while the others say "TruBrite" which might mean shiny.

Liz, I Googled up TruBrite and this was the first link that turned up. If your aversion to glossy finish is because of the potential for glaring, it seems the TruBrite might be one option for you.If you have a Best Buy or another retail giant close to you, it might be helpful for you to take a look with some Toshiba models (TruBrite technology) and see if it looks good to you or not.====================Edit: Liz, one more link for you. In the Google search, there was another link that allowed me to download a PDF from Toshiba's website explaining what TruBrite is. You can find it here. It's located on the bottom of the page - "Download file". Edited July 26, 2010 by Tushman

[zlim]

Thanks Tushman. My Best Buy must sell everything in the Toshiba line with the really glossy screen because my husband and I did look and the only screen I found that was easy on my eyes was an HP mini; since I don't need another netbook, I didn't see anything I wanted to buy.We'll have another look at BestBuy and read what it says on the cards under the laptops because newegg has a Toshiba with the TruBrite screen for $399. (It has Win 7 64 bit and 4 GB RAM whereas the HP has 32 bit Win 7 and 2GB RAM, probably because it would not use anything over 3.2GB of RAM).People complain that the Toshiba only has 2 USB ports, but that wouldn't be a problem for me. I don't intend to travel with the notebook and I can hook up a powered USB hub if I need more ports.

[Tushman]

Thanks Tushman. My Best Buy must sell everything in the Toshiba line with the really glossy screen because my husband and I did look and the only screen I found that was easy on my eyes was an HP mini; since I don't need another netbook, I didn't see anything I wanted to buy.We'll have another look at BestBuy and read what it says on the cards under the laptops because newegg has a Toshiba with the TruBrite screen for $399. (It has Win 7 64 bit and 4 GB RAM whereas the HP has 32 bit Win 7 and 2GB RAM, probably because it would not use anything over 3.2GB of RAM).People complain that the Toshiba only has 2 USB ports, but that wouldn't be a problem for me. I don't intend to travel with the notebook and I can hook up a powered USB hub if I need more ports.

I saw one (Toshiba model) on New Egg yesterday & the specs looked pretty decent. But as soon as I looked at the keyboard layout, I was turned off by it. So much of what makes a good laptop for me is the keyboard layout -- I tend to use a lot of keyboard shortcuts and I'm a fast typist. When the keys are spaced so tightly together, it's easy for me to hit 2 keys at once. The arrow keys were placed so closely together that I could have pressed all 4 keys with my thumb. Really aweful design.I'm going to be patient and see what kind of deals come along in Aug/Sept when the retail giants run their "back to school" specials. If I'm going to be forking over $700-$800 for a new piece of hardware, I want to be completely satisfied with it. And if I don't find anything by the end of this year, I'm getting a MacBook!

[zlim]

Since I'm not planning to travel with the notebook, if I need to type a lot, I'll attach another keyboard if I simply can't stand the keyboard. I rarely rely on the touchpad - I usually attach a small mouse to every laptop/netbook because I have better control with a mouse than a touchpad.

[Tushman]

Since I'm not planning to travel with the notebook, if I need to type a lot, I'll attach another keyboard if I simply can't stand the keyboard. I rarely rely on the touchpad - I usually attach a small mouse to every laptop/netbook because I have better control with a mouse than a touchpad.

The touchpad isn't a problem for me. For me the real challenge is in finding a decent laptop with good specs and a nice keyboard layout. That combination is becoming hard to find in the newer models as of late. I've been looking more & more at Macs. I noticed that they recently redesigned the MacBook Pro. What a nice piece of hardware. <drool> I'm becoming rather turned off to much of the laptops out there. At some point, I will switch over to a Mac - not a 100% but for atleast a part of my computer needs. This is one of the best put together videos I've ever seen. Short, sweet and very easy to follow. It's ingrained into my memory now. http://www.apple.com/findouthow/mac/#switcher Edited July 30, 2010 by Tushman

[zlim]

OfficeMax is selling a Toshiba Satellite laptop for $379.99 this week.15.6" widescreen using TruBrite "anti-reflective". We went to look. When I can see my face in the screen, I do not consider this anti-reflective!I now know I can skip TruBright laptops because, although it appears what I want, the actual screen is not something I want to look at every day.For those that don't mind glossy, it is a good deal.3GB memory, Win 7 (didn't check if it is 32 or 64 bit), 250GB hd, wireless b/g/n, 1 e-SATA USB port combo, 2 USB ports, VGA port and a super multi DVD drive. It also said memory card reader, though I didn't look closely to see that.The model is L655D-S5055 if anyone wants to see all the specs.

[amenditman]

This is one of the best put together videos I've ever seen. Short, sweet and very easy to follow. It's ingrained into my memory now. http://www.apple.com/findouthow/mac/#switcher

Nice video. Reminds me of my KDE 4.5 desktop with compositing effects enabled. Mine is more customized for less keystrokes, but kind of the same.