reneb@philica.ica.philips.nl (Rene Bax) (04/02/91)
Hi, I want to buy a notebook computer and want a FAST an crisp display. Now, I read the article in the February 1991 issue of BYTE, where they say that the active matrix screens (also called TFT or Thin Film Transistor) are very good in speed and in contrast. Amongst others the SANYO MBC-17NB, the ZEOS 286 and the OGIVAR INTERNOTE 286 were tested. The article said that the notebooks all had the same active matrix LCD screen, developed by OGIVAR, and according to BYTE the screens were 'outstanding'. This month I saw the SANYO MBC-17NB ... what a disappointment... The screen didn't look fast at all and also had that irregular blue color, typical for supertwisted screens. The manual said that the LCD screen was of the STN type (SuperTwist Nematic), and could show only *8* gray scales. It didn't say a thing about TFT or active matrix. The 32 gray scales mentioned in the BYTE article were only for the external monitor. Here come the questions: * What exactly is 'active matrix' and how fast is it (e.g. in terms of refresh rate). * Has anyone seen the ZEOS 286 screen, and how fast is it? * How about the screen for the ZEOS 386SX (the one I'm really interested in), is it the same as the one for the ZEOS 286 and therefore the same as that for the SANYO?? Rene Bakx Philips Innovation Centre Aachen Email: reneb@ica.philips.nl