Pentile screen? Really that bad?

[johnlgalt]

Lol - LASIK is not a panacea for everyone - I'd need 2-4 applications to get my vision to almost 20/40, but with contacts I get 20/10....

And interesting read, btw, on LCD displays, in cell phones: Engadget Primed: all mobile displays are not created equal -- Engadget

 

[BringItSon]

Capitalism.

If I were to buy the perfect phone, then part of the perfection would be that I'd never need to buy another phone again. And that means hundreds of trillions of dollars / yen / pounds sterling / {insert your favorite currency here} in lost revenues for that company (and all of its competitors).

As a consumer it would be awesome - but also terribly boring - b/cwe'd all have the same damned phone.

As a corporation, it'd be frightening. End of the road. nothing left to make. Time to disband and / or do something new.

this is really not how capitalism works...

a firm, or phone manufacturer in this case, would try to make a "best phone possible" at certain price range(including profit) with technology available.

They are practically force to do so in order to compete against their competitors. If they can make better phone at same price range, then ofc they will make more money. and that is your capitalism. giving most bang for your bucks. (or thats how it is supposed to be)

meaing that new phones are "perfect" in their own way(for certain price, for certain features, for certain screen, for given technology and etc)

 

[johnlgalt]

Umm, actually, yes, it is how it works.

You missed my point - it was a hypothetical situation that can never be achieved as long a human beings have free will, and thus, individual likes and dislikes, which means there will never be 1 singles phone, car, computer, {insert any manufactured commodity) that everyone likes.

Just look at the DROID - I love it, but a lot of people absolutely abhorred the slide out KB - those people and I would never be able to agree on a perfect device.

 

[lennydude]

I went to my VZW store yesterday. I have a high quality picture of a cat's face that i use to determine how a particular screen looks "to me".

I own a DX. I used bluetooth and put the picture on a DX2 and a Samsung Charge. Set the screen brightness equal on all phones. Zoomed in on the cat's face so each display was zoomed to equal levels and looked at the results.

Now these are MY results. Others may vary obviously............lol.

When doing this with the new Samsung Charge display, i was actually taken back by the level of quality the Samsung was showing. Sure do wish i had that display on my X. Do not care for the phone but the screen sure was awesome.

When doing this on the X2 i had totally the opposite impressions
In all honesty, the picture on the X2 was very close to black and white, no color tone at all. Tried zooming to all different levels, still the same. A VZW rep came over to see what i was doing. She looked at the Samsung, the DX2, and my DX and agreed with my results 100%. She raised her eyebrows and said that sure says a lot about the different displays.

I have no idea if this was caused by the "pentile" screen of the DX2 but regardless, it really did look bad.

Again, just MY observations.......................your mileage may vary.

 

[johnlgalt]

The Super AMOLED is, without a doubt, fabulous. But, you were in the store, right? static lighting conditions, or, at best, minor variation.

I say we all go to stores and ask a VZW rep to take the phone outside into the sun to take a look at the displays again in the sunlight and see the difference there as well....

 

[p8ntballah21]

This reminds me of when I was shopping for a new Plasma TV and people told me to stay away from Panasonic because of "Floating Black Levels" I went ahead and bought one anyways and never had a problem. You may ask what this has to do with pentile screens, but my general advice is this: Things like this are always made out to be waaaaay worse then they actually are.

 

[Poseidon126]

I went to my VZW store yesterday. I have a high quality picture of a cat's face that i use to determine how a particular screen looks "to me".

I own a DX. I used bluetooth and put the picture on a DX2 and a Samsung Charge. Set the screen brightness equal on all phones. Zoomed in on the cat's face so each display was zoomed to equal levels and looked at the results.

Now these are MY results. Others may vary obviously............lol.

When doing this with the new Samsung Charge display, i was actually taken back by the level of quality the Samsung was showing. Sure do wish i had that display on my X. Do not care for the phone but the screen sure was awesome.

When doing this on the X2 i had totally the opposite impressions
In all honesty, the picture on the X2 was very close to black and white, no color tone at all. Tried zooming to all different levels, still the same. A VZW rep came over to see what i was doing. She looked at the Samsung, the DX2, and my DX and agreed with my results 100%. She raised her eyebrows and said that sure says a lot about the different displays.

I have no idea if this was caused by the "pentile" screen of the DX2 but regardless, it really did look bad.

Again, just MY observations.......................your mileage may vary.

From what I have seen, checking out the screens from the Atrix, to the DX2 and the Droid 3, I have noticed that the screen looks better after each new phone.

The DX2 imo had the worst display.

The Droid 3 was the best, and did not phase me at all. Like I said in my previous reply, it was not as bad as everyone said it would be.

This is making me think, and hope for, the Bionic to have a better looking screen as each phone masters the PenTile display just a little more.

 

[Poseidon126]

This reminds me of when I was shopping for a new Plasma TV and people told me to stay away from Panasonic because of "Floating Black Levels" I went ahead and bought one anyways and never had a problem. You may ask what this has to do with pentile screens, but my general advice is this: Things like this are always made out to be waaaaay worse then they actually are.

Exactly my point.

Have you seen some of these reviews about PenTile screens? They always focus mostly on the Battery meter of the phone and always zoom in as if you would be looking at the phone 1 inch from your face.

Seriously, NO ONE USES THEIR PHONE THAT CLOSE TO THEIR FACE!

 

[p8ntballah21]

Exactly my point.

Have you seen some of these reviews about PenTile screens? They always focus mostly on the Battery meter of the phone and always zoom in as if you would be looking at the phone 1 inch from your face.

Seriously, NO ONE USES THEIR PHONE THAT CLOSE TO THEIR FACE!

I have some read some of the hate out there about these screens. I have personally never really inspected one close up. But a Battery Meter?? Seriously? Wow. I for one am not that picky, most of us will most likely have a ROM or theme that will change that Battery Icon anyways lol.

Like I said before, this reminds of the whole Floating Blacks on Panny Plasmas, people were ranting and raving and going crazy over it, I bought mine and to this day I have no idea what these people were seeing. I have sneaky suspicion that this may be the case with me and a pentile screen.

 

[lennydude]

One thing............

Other than the color issue, the DX2 screen was VERY nice indeed. Crisp and clear.I could not agree with you guys anymore, no one holds a phone that close to their face!

On another note however, i do not find myself with MY lifestyle using my cell phone in the bright sunlight so it is a non issue for me at least.

 

[Poseidon126]

One thing............

Other than the color issue, the DX2 screen was VERY nice indeed. Crisp and clear.I could not agree with you guys anymore, no one holds a phone that close to their face!

On another note however, i do not find myself with MY lifestyle using my cell phone in the bright sunlight so it is a non issue for me at least.

I am the complete opposite with that.

I have noticed over the course of my journey with the DX that I do use my phone in very bright sunlight very often, so the PenTile display will be a plus for me.

 

[BringItSon]

So from what i've been reading. here are Pros and Cons of pentile screen.. please feel free to correct me if i am wrong.

Pro
Brighter in general
Can be seen better on sunlight
Does not have weird discoloration.

Con
Ugly looking tile when you look at it 1 inch away from it.


Imo, pros outweigh cons very much....

 

[Vehtemas]

So from what i've been reading. here are Pros and Cons of pentile screen.. please feel free to correct me if i am wrong.

Pro
Brighter in general
Can be seen better on sunlight
Does not have weird discoloration.

Con
Ugly looking tile when you look at it 1 inch away from it.


Imo, pros outweigh cons very much....

I agree with this gent.

I studied the D3 screen for a half hour the other day and I think it beats the iPhone/Samsung screens out of the water...

All in the eye of the beholder I guess.

 

[Poseidon126]

So from what i've been reading. here are Pros and Cons of pentile screen.. please feel free to correct me if i am wrong.

Pro
Brighter in general
Can be seen better on sunlight
Does not have weird discoloration.

Con
Ugly looking tile when you look at it 1 inch away from it.


Imo, pros outweigh cons very much....

Don't forget the screen also allows for better battery life.

 

[tehsusenoh]

So from what i've been reading. here are Pros and Cons of pentile screen.. please feel free to correct me if i am wrong.

Pro
Brighter in general
Can be seen better on sunlight
Does not have weird discoloration.

Con
Ugly looking tile when you look at it 1 inch away from it.


Imo, pros outweigh cons very much....

I have extremely good vision. I see the pixels from a good distance. I tried the X2 and the D3 out yesterday by holding it at the normal holding distance at my local corporate store, and didn't like it. The inch-factor, for me at least, is false.

But you are right: It is brighter, better in the sunlight, thanks to the white subpixel, which also increases battery life. The brightness also makes black text on white (every website) look nicer and easier to read.

But it definitely has the weird discoloration.

The thing about PenTile is that it was created as a way to need fewer subpixels, and use fewer color filters. It was designed to make things cheaper for the company, hence why Motorola is using it. Cheaper.

Here's a photo showing how it has fewer subpixels and filters than a normal screen.

But I have no right to say that it looks bad for everyone, you need to look yourself. You like it? You buy it. If I try it out and the screen bugs me too much, then I might as well wait.

 

[Teegunn]

I have a DX2 and DX to compare. Unless you are using a magnifying glass, the DX2 screen is definitely better than the DX screen. DX2 is brighter and has crisper colors. If you get VERY up close, you can see the pixels in things like the battery meter. But we are really talking splitting hairs here in all honesty. I don't like that it is pentile, but if you gave me a choice, I would still take my DX2 lcd over my DX lcd at the end of the day. It may not be perfect, but imo it is better. I am assuming the same lcd will be on the bionic, which really shouldn't be seen as a negative.

 

[BringItSon]

I have extremely good vision. I see the pixels from a good distance. I tried the X2 and the D3 out yesterday by holding it at the normal holding distance at my local corporate store, and didn't like it. The inch-factor, for me at least, is false.

But you are right: It is brighter, better in the sunlight, thanks to the white subpixel, which also increases battery life. The brightness also makes black text on white (every website) look nicer and easier to read.

But it definitely has the weird discoloration.

The thing about PenTile is that it was created as a way to need fewer subpixels, and use fewer color filters. It was designed to make things cheaper for the company, hence why Motorola is using it. Cheaper.

Here's a photo showing how it has fewer subpixels and filters than a normal screen.

But I have no right to say that it looks bad for everyone, you need to look yourself. You like it? You buy it. If I try it out and the screen bugs me too much, then I might as well wait.

Thx. and i am not sure i see any discoloration in the picture you linked. What i meant by it is that for some screen, at certain angles you see colors you are not suppose to see... i forgot where i read this, but will link it when i find out.

and i didnt know it was cheaper for the company. that is a news to me cause usually traditional technology is cheaper and new tech is usually more expensive.

 

[tehsusenoh]

Thx. and i am not sure i see any discoloration in the picture you linked. What i meant by it is that for some screen, at certain angles you see colors you are not suppose to see... i forgot where i read this, but will link it when i find out.

and i didnt know it was cheaper for the company. that is a news to me cause usually traditional technology is cheaper and new tech is usually more expensive.

The discoloration I was referring to was the fact that the greens look sorta brownish.

But, judging by Yoda's pictures, I think that the colors will be better on the Bionic. My biggest thing is the fact you can see the pattern of the pixels.

The other thing is that when you see the comparison, you notice that you kind of get ripped off. Sure, it "has" that resolution, but for each pixel on the RGB stripe, you have all of the colors, while pentile has just two colors. You get one less subpixel.

 

[dragma]

The discoloration I was referring to was the fact that the greens look sorta brownish.

But, judging by Yoda's pictures, I think that the colors will be better on the Bionic. My biggest thing is the fact you can see the pattern of the pixels.

The other thing is that when you see the comparison, you notice that you kind of get ripped off. Sure, it "has" that resolution, but for each pixel on the RGB stripe, you have all of the colors, while pentile has just two colors. You get one less subpixel.

Umm, when I looked at the pics, there were 2 different color schemes going on, one for the Moto phones and one for the other. For green comparison look at the battery icons.

 

[tehsusenoh]

Umm, when I looked at the pics, there were 2 different color schemes going on, one for the Moto phones and one for the other. For green comparison look at the battery icons.

The market is green. On the left is pentile, the middle a normal RGB LCD, and the AMOLED+ on the right.

It may be just because of the different manufacturers, but I'm not an expert.

 

[tma]

Once I finaly got over the issue of the 3 phones being in the wrong order, look at the times on each phone, I was really taken at how bad the x2 looked. The brown color doesn't bother me but I really can see the pixelation. Hope this is better on the bionic.

 

[lennydude]

I know we have all said many things about the pentile screen.

Do yourself a favor IF this matters to you at all...............save this photo to your phone (i have the DX), go to the VZW store and bluetooth the photo to the DX, DX2, D3 or any other phone that has a screen you think you will get. (try it on the Samsung Charge)

Compare the looks of this photo and see what i am talking about. Does it matter to you? Maybe not but i (ME) refuse to buy a phone that renders this photo badly...............needs to have some color to it? Sure it may look good by itself but compared to other displays ??????????

 

[tehsusenoh]

I know we have all said many things about the pentile screen.

Do yourself a favor IF this matters to you at all...............save this photo to your phone (i have the DX), go to the VZW store and bluetooth the photo to the DX, DX2, D3 or any other phone that has a screen you think you will get. (try it on the Samsung Charge)

Compare the looks of this photo and see what i am talking about. Does it matter to you? Maybe not but i (ME) refuse to buy a phone that renders this photo badly...............needs to have some color to it? Sure it may look good by itself but compared to other displays ??????????

Tinyurl'd:

http://tinyurl.com/3ghvt7s

My current screen is over 300 dpi, so that looks like one sick cat on my screen.

 

[kg2128]

I have extremely good vision. I see the pixels from a good distance. I tried the X2 and the D3 out yesterday by holding it at the normal holding distance at my local corporate store, and didn't like it. The inch-factor, for me at least, is false.

But you are right: It is brighter, better in the sunlight, thanks to the white subpixel, which also increases battery life. The brightness also makes black text on white (every website) look nicer and easier to read.

But it definitely has the weird discoloration.

The thing about PenTile is that it was created as a way to need fewer subpixels, and use fewer color filters. It was designed to make things cheaper for the company, hence why Motorola is using it. Cheaper.

Here's a photo showing how it has fewer subpixels and filters than a normal screen.

But I have no right to say that it looks bad for everyone, you need to look yourself. You like it? You buy it. If I try it out and the screen bugs me too much, then I might as well wait.

Good points, I feel like some people here are going just as overboard as the people trashing the Pentile display. What I mean is "PENTILE IS AWESOME, THE HATERS DON'T KNOW ANYTHING" is just as biased as "PENTILE IS COMPLETE GARBAGE." In the end you just have to use the phone to know. I am in the I don't like pentile camp, but may live with it if everything else about the Bionic lives up to the hype.

 

[BlueBiker]

Compare the looks of this photo and see what i am talking about. Does it matter to you? Maybe not but i (ME) refuse to buy a phone that renders this photo badly...............needs to have some color to it? Sure it may look good by itself but compared to other displays ??????????

Thanks for that sharp & rich photo. I don't have a Pentile screen to compare at the moment, but it looks wonderful on my OG Droid (though perhaps slightly less saturated) compared to three good quality desktop LCDs.