MBP Refresh - Higher resolutions screens?

[ltcol266845]

Howdy!
I was wondering what those that followed Apple's upgrades more thought about if Apple is at all likely to do a resolution bump on their Pro line.

Probably the biggest thing holding me back is that I need a higher resolution screen than Apple currently provides. I think that the 17" needs to bump to a WUXGA screen (1920x1200) and the 15.4" to WSXGA (1680x1050), is there any chance that if Apple is changing the backlight, that we might see a resolution bump? These screens are being offered by many of Apple's competitors (ie the Dell Lattitude and Precision laptops) and if I am going to drop $2000+ on an Apple laptop, I want to have a higher resolution screen to go with it.

Thats my 2 cents (or rather, 2 grand I guess)

 

[Eidorian]

Resolution independence first.

 

[Diatribe]

Resolution independence first.

The LED backlit screens ASUS is shipping are the resolutions you mentioned. I don't even think there are lower res LED screens. So if Apple goes LED then it'll be higher res.
But without res independence this will be a bad choice but who knows, we will know as soon as the new MBPs are announced.

 

[reflex]

Why exactly do you need that resolution, btw?

 

[ltcol266845]

Why exactly do you need that resolution, btw?

CAD (yes I have to use windows for AutoCAD ), video and photo editing. The more screen real estate the better. I do not want to go to the 17" because it is too big. There is also the I-am-paying-a-ton-of-money-and-just-because-I-may-not-utilize-it-fully-doesnt-mean-I-dont-want-it factor (whew).

 

[ajhaji]

I used to own a 15" Dell laptop with 1680x1050 resolution and I found the resolution to be far too high. Things were really small. However, I think Mac OS X is naturally suited for higher-resolution displays. By default, the fonts and icons look somewhat larger than those in Windows XP. Windows Vista takes a page from Mac OS X's book (or several, for that matter) and has increased the default font size and icon size, probably to accommodate those with larger screens and higher resolutions.

 

[reflex]

CAD (yes I have to use windows for AutoCAD ), video and photo editing.

Figured it had to be something like that.

Though I find that no matter what resolution my screen has, I always seem to run out of it. So I tend to settle for a "readable text" resolution

 

[Diatribe]

1680x1050 with resolution independence, keeping the graphics the same size, would look awesome.

 

[4np]

Resolution independence first.

Nah, not really necessary; it could work at a lower resolution. Apple could disable the higher resolutions for the new panels and introduce them with the introduction of Leopard.

 

[4np]

I don't even think there are lower res LED screens.

Not entirely true; for example the Samsung's 15.4" panel will be capable of 1440x900.

The 15.4 inch LED backlit LCD will be capable of a 1440 x 900 resolution while being 5.8 mm thin. To add on to it, the power consumption will only be eating 3.1W, making it a suitable panel for future laptops. Covering 45% of NTSC color gamut, the 15 inch model will also manage 262k colors while holding a 330 cd/m2 brightness.

source1: http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/01/samsungs-15-4-30-and-40-inch-led-backlit-lcds/
source2: http://www.turbogadgets.com/2007/02/02/samsung-showcases-led-backlit-lcd-panels/

 

[ltcol266845]

Nah, not really necessary; it could work at a lower resolution. Apple could disable the higher resolutions for the new panels and introduce them with the introduction of Leopard.

That would suck. Nothing like having features disabled... Plus, down scaling doesn't usually look all that great.

 

[Eidorian]

The LED backlit screens ASUS is shipping are the resolutions you mentioned. I don't even think there are lower res LED screens. So if Apple goes LED then it'll be higher res.
But without res independence this will be a bad choice but who knows, we will know as soon as the new MBPs are announced.

As if there aren't LCDs that are at that pixel density already...

Nah, not really necessary; it could work at a lower resolution. Apple could disable the higher resolutions for the new panels and introduce them with the introduction of Leopard.

My eyes! And who the heck would want to look at an LCD that isn't at its native resolution?

 

[Diatribe]

As if there aren't LCDs that are at that pixel density already...

Huh? I think you misunderstood my point.

 

[ajhaji]

The 15.4 inch LED backlit LCD will be capable of a 1440 x 900 resolution while being 5.8 mm thin. To add on to it, the power consumption will only be eating 3.1W, making it a suitable panel for future laptops. Covering 45% of NTSC color gamut, the 15 inch model will also manage 262k colors while holding a 330 cd/m2 brightness.

I *really* hope Apple doesn't use these panels in their laptops. Only 45% of NTSC colour gamut? No thanks.

 

[PDE]

I *really* hope Apple doesn't use these panels in their laptops. Only 45% of NTSC colour gamut? No thanks.

It will still be a big improvement of the current displays in terms of brightness (They reall don't need to get brighter IMO), and illumination distribution. 45% of NTSC gamut and still 6-bit not great though...I guess laptop requirements stop us from getting true desktop display performance.

 

[Eidorian]

Huh? I think you misunderstood my point.

Enjoy your expensive LEDs then.

Seriously, we have some 1920 x 1200 15.4" Dell laptops and I have never found anyone running them at native resolution. Even I can't with my eyes.

 

[ltcol266845]

Enjoy your expensive LEDs then.

Seriously, we have some 1920 x 1200 15.4" Dell laptops and I have never found anyone running them at native resolution. Even I can't with my eyes.

Which is why they would likely go with the WSXGA screens for the 15.4"... I don't know if they will or not, but I really would like it as an option. I would be willing to drop another $100 to upgrade to a better screen

 

[Diatribe]

Enjoy your expensive LEDs then.

Seriously, we have some 1920 x 1200 15.4" Dell laptops and I have never found anyone running them at native resolution. Even I can't with my eyes.

Geez, someone had a rough morning. I said that without resolution independence such a high res would be bad.

 

[Eidorian]

Geez, someone had a rough morning. I said that without resolution independence such a high res would be bad.

Pessimism my friend.

 

[ltcol266845]

I think this would be a great move for Apple, especially since having a 17 laptop that can view videos at native 1080 resolution would be a good selling point.

 

[iBunny]

The Higher resolution the Better. The Smaller everything is the better as well.

 

[munckee]

Uh...what is "resolution independence"?

 

[Eidorian]

Uh...what is "resolution independence"?

lol google

 

[BrianMR]

Uh...what is "resolution independence"?

Clearly, its an attempt to throw off the tyranny of resolution! Rise up people, rise up against the evil resolutions.

 

[jdechko]

Well, seeing as how Tiger already supports (somewhat) resolution independence a higher resolution screen shouldn't be that big of a deal. The Developer tools has a way of enabling it, but it's not quite complete. 10.4.10 could include a control panel for it if there were the need for it. Or it could be a minor update to 10.4.9. Who knows. Though, thinking about it, Apple has the ability to roll out software updates at the same time that it releases hardware updates.