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Are there any laptop screens that are NOT glossy?

J

justlnluck

Senior member
I was checking out the laptops at Best Buy today and noticed that every single laptop there had a glossy, reflective screen. The glossy reflection is very distracting and it became tiresome on the eyes, even in the store. I remember a couple years ago, one or two laptops had this glossy style, but I never imagined it would take over. I understand that some people think a glossy screen gives the illusion of higher contrast, but I am very used to my LCD desktop monitor. I like to see what is on the screen, not what is behind me.
 
I actually prefer the glossy screens. That way I can do whatever I feel like with the laptop and know that I can use a sponge to clean off the screen. I can see how people would not like it, though.

Dell Latitude series do not offer the glossy screens, and I think they are only on the multimedia based laptops. I have also noticed that most consumer brands have made this change.
 
Lenovo Thinkpads come both ways - the Z series is glossy ("Brightscreen") - the X is not. HP business models are non glossy.

I have a "glossy" and it is not a problem. A slight change of the tilt angle fixes that.
 
Originally posted by: Phynaz
Every business classs notebook I've seen does not have the glossy screen.
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qft

consumer laptops = glossy. i like mine...coming from being used to my dad's lenovos.

glossiness is really bad in extremely bright areas (like best buy). for normal usage, you can still see reflections, but not nearly as much
 
Originally posted by: Phynaz
Every business classs notebook I've seen does not have the glossy screen.
Click to expand...

Yup. All the business class machines we purchase do not have the reflective screen. You can get it as an option but we don't pay the extrra $$$ for it.
 
Originally posted by: ChaosX2
Originally posted by: mbaldi
so what is the reasoning for the glossy screen?
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Thats a good question. No one I know likes them.
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Supposedly it increases contrast and makes for more vivid colors.

After seeing a Sony XBrite screen at Sam's, I would be inclined to agree. It was running Vista and the desktop & wallpaper looked amazing! But the glare is so annoying/distracting if there are any lights behind you.
 
My Macbook Pro does reflect some lights, especially those overhead flourescent lights in offices, but overall it's not as bad as I thought it would be. I've seen other laptops at Circuit City with glossy screens and those are a lot more reflective than mine. So there are "some" notebooks with glossy screens that aren't that bad.
 
Originally posted by: ChaosX2
Originally posted by: mbaldi
so what is the reasoning for the glossy screen?
Click to expand...

Thats a good question. No one I know likes them.
Click to expand...

Another reason is cleaning. When's the last time you saw a matte display cleaned with windex? No matter what I have tried, I cannot make the matte ones look new. The glossy ones you just wipe it off.

I DO think it looks better (especially in low light) overall, but my desktop monitor (which no one touches) is still matte.
 
Originally posted by: TMoney468
My Macbook Pro does reflect some lights, especially those overhead flourescent lights in offices, but overall it's not as bad as I thought it would be. I've seen other laptops at Circuit City with glossy screens and those are a lot more reflective than mine. So there are "some" notebooks with glossy screens that aren't that bad.
Click to expand...

The glossy screen is a BTO option for the Macbook Pro, if you haven't explicitely ordered one, you should have the matte display.
 
I like glossiness and dislike it at the same time

I agree the colors are awesome with the screen
but the fact that it reflects every source of light is annoying and makes it hard to use the computer in bright areas
 
Don't forget that there are companies out there that are able to change your display from matte to glossy and from glossy to matte. They charge about $150.
 
My HP Pavilion zd8000 is glossy, and a true headache unless I'm in a place with almost no direct lighting. It's unusable outside, even if I sit under a tree in the shade. Any hard reflected light from any surface, makes it's almost impossible to use. Same goes for my cell phone, even on overcast days I can barely read the screen. I'm sure this idea looked great on paper, but in reality not so great.
 
Originally posted by: justlnluck
I was checking out the laptops at Best Buy today and noticed that every single laptop there had a glossy, reflective screen. The glossy reflection is very distracting and it became tiresome on the eyes, even in the store. I remember a couple years ago, one or two laptops had this glossy style, but I never imagined it would take over. I understand that some people think a glossy screen gives the illusion of higher contrast, but I am very used to my LCD desktop monitor. I like to see what is on the screen, not what is behind me.
Click to expand...

I like glossy, but one of my work environments is super bright and I had terrible reflections. I sold my MacBook and bought a new Gateway laptop with non-glossy screen last year. The screen is TERRIBLE. I really wish I had purchased the glossy screen...it's way, way better than the non-glossy screen, despite the glare problem. With the glossy screen, you simply have to adjust the angle of the display to eliminate most reflections...there's nothing I can do to improve the picture quality of the non-glossy screen.
 
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