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January 21st, 2008

Death to the glossy display!

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 10:12 pm

Categories: Display, Hardware, MacBook Air

Tags: Screen, MBA, Apple MacBook, Notebooks, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, Jason D. O'Grady

In Focus » See more posts on: MacBook Air

(If you’re a big fan of glossy displays, you can probably skip this post)

Death to the glossy display!

I’ve been gushing about the MacBook Air to anyone that will listen for the past week, but I have to admit that now that I’m back from Macworld Expo the Kool Aid is starting to wear off.Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t canceled my order or anything, but I’m really becoming troubled by Apple’s move exclusively to glossy displays. What started as an option on the MacBook Pro, became the only choice on the MacBook. Then the iMac. And now the MacBook Air.

The glossy screen annoys me so because of the incredible amount of glare that it reflects. Sure, it might be ok in a dimly lit studio, but as soon as you’re near an outdoor window it’s as reflective as a mirror. This effect is exponentially worse when used outdoors or in a car, train or airplane–the prime locations for using a notebook computer. Have you ever used a glossy display during the day in a vehicle? It’s horrible. Especially if you have a light-colored shirt on.

I can’t believe that Apple made the MBA exclusively glossy. In fact, I’m pissed. I’m getting myself more and more worked up as I write this, so I need to take a deep breath and go to bed.

Maybe I’ll wake up tomorrow to find out the the MBA’s glossy display was just a bad dream…

What's your take on glossy notebook displays?

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Jason D. O'GradyJason D. O'Grady is the editor of PowerPage.org, which has been publishing daily mobile technology news since December 1995. For disclosures on Jason's industry affiliations, click here or to view Jason's full profile click here.

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  • Talkback
  • Most Recent of 30 Talkback(s)
RE: Death to the glossy display!
What most people are not aware of is almost all notebook screens are 6 bit TN panels and only display 256 thousand colors (the rest 16.3 million are obtained from dithering. No, they cannot display 16... (Read the rest)
Posted by: robertstonephoto@... Posted on: 10/17/08 You are currently: a Guest | | Terms of Use
Amen brother Jason  greg_glockner@... | 01/22/08
I know what you mean . . .  JLHenry | 01/22/08
RE: Death to the glossy display!  jwearley@... | 01/22/08
RE: Death to the glossy display!  tomcloyd | 01/22/08
You utterly fail...  skatersev | 01/22/08
It's about probability...  tomcloyd | 01/22/08
planes, trains, automobiles... differing environments...  shryko | 01/22/08
Two things  laura.b | 01/22/08
Wrong!  bportlock | 01/23/08
Not flawed.  frgough | 01/23/08
am i alone?  lostarchitect | 01/22/08
That's because you have a desktop...  Jason D. O'GradyZDNet Moderator | 01/22/08
i have a laptop, too...  lostarchitect | 01/23/08
I think you may be missing the point  Kid Icarus-21097050858087920245213802267493 | 01/22/08
says who? it's all in the choice of materials... (nt)  shryko | 01/22/08
Garmin uses matte finish touch screen  Question everything | 01/22/08
re: I think you may be missing the point  M.R. Kennedy | 01/22/08
RE: Death to the glossy display!  phatkat | 01/22/08
RE: Death to the glossy display! What is up with Apple?  The Ash Man | 01/23/08
A nightmare for graphic designers  ronhowe1@... | 01/22/08
CRT displays are glossy.  frgough | 01/23/08
Must we ALL be graphics designers?  CobraA1 | 10/15/08
Long live the glossy display  mlindl | 01/22/08
Apple never really was about choice!(nt)  ShadeTree | 01/22/08
Apple never claimed to be.  frgough | 01/23/08
There just better  Boot_Agnostic | 01/23/08
Reflective as a mirror  frgough | 01/23/08
non-reflective for a glossy display  frgough | 01/23/08
RE: Death to the glossy display!  AllenKenya | 01/23/08
RE: Death to the glossy display!  robertstonephoto@... | 10/17/08

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