Asus U33Jc: Much Ado About Bamboo
by Vivek Gowri on July 29, 2010 9:01 AM ESTASUS U33Jc - LCD Analysis
And now we get to the first, and only, real sticking point. It feels like we harp on all the displays that come through our labs, partially because we do (with a few exceptions), and partially because they all deserve it for being universally mediocre.
The U33Jc is no different from the U30 and every other mainstream notebook on the planet in that it has a fairly mediocre LCD panel. It’s a bit brighter than our U30 test unit, and thusly has a higher contrast ratio, but they’re close enough that it’s more likely just a function of the panel lottery that we got a slightly better panel. However, colour accuracy is a bit worse comparatively, and the color gamut is nothing special. Viewing angles are about average. There really isn’t anything to say about it - it’s yet another lousy laptop display. Glossy, middling contrast ratio, mediocre colours - basically poor overall panel quality. It’s almost become the defining characteristic of all mainstream consumer notebooks.
I understand that certain cuts need to be made to cheaply manufacture a high performing computer for $900, but still, it’d be nice to have a decent display for once. Maybe somebody should try putting a little bit more money into their display and maybe challenge Apple for the best display at a reasonable price. The MacBook Pro 13” manages to integrate a high contrast, high brightness display for under $1200, why can’t any of the notebook PC makers figure it out?
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JarredWalton - Thursday, July 29, 2010 - link
I'd guess Apple probably spends about $50 more on their LCD... $100 tops. RGB LED backlit panels are prohibitively expensive, but for standard LED backlighting at a fixed size of 13.3", you're looking at probably $100 for a base panel and $150 for a quality panel. The problem is, most marketing departments are focused on all of the other stuff: you can loudly proclaim better battery life, a faster processor, USB 3.0, etc. but when was the last time you saw a consumer notebook on sale with a sticker that says, "High contrast, high color LCD with an 800:1 contrast ratio!" The closest I've ever come to seeing that is with RBG LED backlighting... which adds ~$150 to $200.Souka - Thursday, July 29, 2010 - link
Too bad on the LCD.I suspect if they had a "+" model which had a better LCD for $100 more they'd sell.
Oh well... my wife's IBM Thinkpad T30 (Pentium 4M cpu) will have to last a bit longer! :)
AnnonymousCoward - Tuesday, August 3, 2010 - link
I agree, Jarred, that it's probably marketing to blame. I hate TN and would always pay for IPS given the choice. Also, 16:9 sucks, as does 768 vertical pixels on a C2D machine.VivekGowri - Thursday, July 29, 2010 - link
While that's true, remember back to before Core 2010 released. The MBP13 was as fast as any of the regular Core 2 Duo notebooks and still had the same screen. So while the current MBP is basically Apple getting away with highway robbery (again), it's not like they can only put in a good display because they're fleecing customers. It's always had a good display. Fair point with the 20% more expensive, but see if you can find me a $1200 13" notebook with a decent display. PC makers just figure to save money with the LCDs in all but the highest end notebooks, which is really disappointing.(The base MacBook is a whole different story - Apple's as guilty as anyone for mediocre quality screens there.)
erple2 - Saturday, July 31, 2010 - link
How's the display on the Envy 14 with the 1600x900 display? That's about 1100 for the "Radiance Display"...PlasmaBomb - Saturday, July 31, 2010 - link
It's supposed to be pretty good, and when the E14 first launched it had the radiance display at $999.crydee - Thursday, July 29, 2010 - link
But I needed a laptop sooner than that. Disappointing this is it after such a long wait. Even on the JTszoxo - Thursday, July 29, 2010 - link
Arguably the most important part of a notebook is the display, since afterall it is the part you stare at, yet manufacturers consistently try to shove these horrible displays down our throats.Stupid glare-type surface, horrible contrast, bad colour representation, terrible black levels, narrow viewing angles. I really don't understand why people buy those things, and some even seem to like them...
Atleast manufacturers now seem to realise that the mirror-like surfaces on the palm rest, keyboard, and bezel are not necessarily good things, and try to move towards matte/textured surfaces.
AstroGuardian - Friday, July 30, 2010 - link
Why would you say that? When being a PRO only thing you care while using the laptop is visible characters and performance. Why would it be crucial for the display to be high quality? Display is a display. On that kind of computer it's enough for the display to be clear and illuminated. But i agree with the fact that 1366x762 is a lousy resolutionzoxo - Friday, July 30, 2010 - link
When I work on a computer, and look at the screen, I want to see what's on the screen, not my reflection/the window or whatever is behind me. I want to actually be able to distinguish red from orange, black from gray. I think a screen is extremely important when you want to look at it for more than 10 minutes at a time.