The tale of my first IPS panel and why I wish it was a TN.

[norritt]

A couple of months ago I decided it was time to get a new notebook. My old netbook wich has served me well since 2009 had become to slow to get anything decent done on it so I looked out for a replacement and fell in love with the Lenovo X240, which is as close as you can currently get to a perfect notebook in my eyes. Some specs of the baby:

CPU:     Intel Core i5 (4. Gen.) 4200U / 1.6 GHzRAM:     8G DDR3L SDRAM (1600 MHz / PC3-12800)DISK:    Samsung 840 Evo (256GB)DISPLAY: 12,5 inch FullHD IPS (LP125WF2-SPB2)Ports/Interfaces/Wireless:   Bluetooth 4.0, 802.11ac   Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 - PCI Express M.2 Card   Intel I218-V (Ethernet)   2 x USB 3.0   VGA   Mini DisplayPort   4-in-1 ( SD-Card, MultiMediaCard, SDHC-Card, SDXC-Card)    SmartCard Reader

I also got the extended 6 cell battery which together with the internal battery gives me a productive battery liftime of 15 to 17 hours which IMO is friggin awesome.

 

As about every device it has some minor flaws, but consider this nagging on a fairly high level. The display bezel is quite rickety, its made of pretty thin plastic and isn't really anchored so you could easily put a paper/thin cardbord behind it or even your fingernail and flex it. This is not catastrophic but if you ever have held a T3x or a T6x before which feels like you could bash in brick walls with it - this is definitly not the case with the X240. The newer lenovo models have become lighter, smaller more elegent looking but as a result feel also a lot less rigid.

 

Anyhow back to the topic. At first I was totally amazed by the device. Also the display was pretty nice in the beginning, which I suspect is a result of the high dpi (1920x1080 on 12,5inches). A lot of people describe IPS as being a completely different experience and far superior (at least in terms of image quality) than TN panels. Over the course of several weeks, meanwhile months. The X240's IPS panel started to develop serious issues in terms of image retention/watermarking/ghosting that already has been seen in the past for instance with the Retina MacBook's. I started looking around online, to see if others had the issue too and found reports pretty quickly. The problem seems to be ongoing since the beginning of 2014 maybe earlier. Not only the X240 models but also the Yogas are affected since they use the exact same IPS panel the X240 has. Concerning the Yoga there is already a 77 pages long thread on the lenovo forums reporting those problems. Also Dell notebooks who use these LG panels seem to be affected (just google it you'll find a lot more than those two links I provided here). A number of people on the lenovo forums report to already have their 2nd, 3rd replacement panel that after a while starts developing the same ghosting again, which pretty much crushes my hope that a replacement will solve the issue for good (it might do for a couple of weeks though).

 

Considering this, I really wish the X240 had a TN panel instead of an IPS. I'm using Samsung BX2450L monitors (dual setup) on my desktop, which do have a TN panel and I'm completely satisfied with image sharpness, colors and the angle dependency. So the few advantages in terms of color fidelity/display brightness the IPS panel *might* offer over TN don't compensate for the damage caused by the image-retention because it falsifies the color/brightness of the display completely.

 

To give you an idea how bad the issue really is I took some pictures (I already posted and commented the pictures on the lenovo forums as well):

 

1st image: If you look at the dialogbox closely (which is NOT semi-transparent) you'll see how the PDF reader pages continue as brighter areas in the dialog box. Its hard to see on the photo but it will become a lot clearer on the next picture.

(Click here for full size version)

2nd image: Now I resized the dialog to full screen and the issue becomes way more obvious. If you now look at the lower part of the dialog box, which is located where you could see a part of the pdf before you will see that you almost can read the text of the after image (again consider this picture was taken with a bad mobile phone camera, even the regular button captions are hard to read but you're still able to recognize the letters in the after image). The after image fades to the regular grey background where the PDF file has been covered by the smaller dialog box before.

(Click here for full size version)

3rd image: another fullscreen picture of the dialog, again the dialog box is not semi-transparent. The white rectangles in the background are the after image of a previously displayed PDF document.

 

(Click here for full size version)

4rd image: Most obviously the issue becomes when you do the "checkerboard test" (http://www.marco.org/rmbp-irtest.html), which shows catastrophic after images:

(Click here for full size version)

5th image: For reference the exact same test done on my desktop monitor (Samsung SyncMaster BX2450L), which shows no effect at all:

(Click here for full size version)

6th image: for the record: this is what I've been able to find about my display, you can find the model name and Number of the display in the 4th line from the bottom.

(Click here for full size version)

 

According to the lenovo forum moderators there is now a newer batch of displays available that are supposed to not show these issues. From what I read on the forum the old displays carry a SPB1 in their name, whereas the new ones should be labeled SPB2. Unfortunately my X240 already came with an SPB2 display (see image 6 above) from the factory and as you can clearly see the ghosting problem is far from being solved.

 

To me and others having a device with a panel affected the situation is extremely disappointing. I've bought the device with 5 year extended on site warranty, so yes I could call in for a technician and most likely would get that panel exchanged. Judging from what I read on the lenovo support forums that will solve the issue for a couple of weeks at best, till the display starts to deteriorate and I have to get another service appointment again and again...

 

So apart from the time the repeated display changes will cost I don't think it will do the hardware any good, if displays are changed on reagular basis. Notebooks nowerdays aren't constructed to be taken apart so many times. I'd totally go for a FullHD TN panel but I couldn't find any on the lenovo parts list yet it seems only the 1366x768 panels are available as TN. Another option would be to ask for a refund but then again what are the alternatives? Apple devices are totally out of the question for me (no religious-/flamewar inteded here, thats just a decision I've made for myself). I definitly need a notebook that may not be larger than 13 inches it needs to deliver road warrior battery lifetimes, and offer similar ports (especially the VGA/Sub-D - which I often have to fall back when using a projector). With Samsung, Sony and Toshiba being/going out of the notebook business and Dell being affected by the ghosting issue as well I don't see many vendors left. Asus and Acer are pretty much out because of their sub-standard quality and above average Linux compatibility issues, there doesn't seem to be anything left to choose from, which leaves me pondering what should I do now?
 

[qwertywarrior]

through out the years

ive noticed that 1080p IPS laptop screens are always inferior to 600p IPS displays

they always end up having issues

[nokturrduk84]

Interesting post. Another reason for me to avoid IPS & get TN monitor.

[eLucid]

Interesting post. Another reason for me to avoid IPS & get TN monitor.

 

 

All products are bound to have lemons.

 

[nokturrduk84]

All products are bound to have lemons.

 

Didn't get it. What you mean?

[eLucid]

Didn't get it. What you mean?

 

All products have quality control issues.

[yttrium]

Okay, so the IPS panels Lenovo uses have some issues.

 

I don't see how that inherently makes TN > IPS...

[nokturrduk84]

Okay

[Jozsef88]

just because your ips panel has  faults does not mean all ips monitors will have this fault.

If you buy a bag of lemons from the supermarket you close your eyes and pick one at random and the lemon that you picked is a little bit rotten.
does it mean all lemons in the bag are rotten?

[norritt]

just because your ips panel has  faults does not mean all ips monitors will have this fault.

If you buy a bag of lemons from the supermarket you close your eyes and pick one at random and the lemon that you picked is a little bit rotten.

does it mean all lemons in the bag are rotten?

 

No, but how about 500 people picking up a bag of lemons in the supermarket and every single one is rotten? Plus there are already people who went to the supermarket to exchange their rotten lemons two or three times and guess what the lemons were rotten again

 

You probably haven't all read my post entriely so I'll give you the link to the according lenovo forum again clicky.

 

And this is not only an issue lenovo has to deal with: Also Dell and Apple have been affected so far. As far as I've read about the apple issues the problem seemed to have only occurred with IPS panels from LG (the ones lenovo and Dell are using) but not with the PLS panels from Samung that have been built into some of the Retina MacBooks. So again this is not a singular case if you don't believe it just check out the lenovo thread I linked above.

[norritt]

Just out of curiosity, is there anyone else here using a notebook with a 12,5 inch IPS screen from any brand, that you bought 12 weeks+ ago, regularily used since then and has an IPS screen? I'd be very interested if your display shows similar image retention. The problem is easier to spot on backgrounds that are not completely dark, but also not totally bright/colorful, like the greyish backgrounds on my pictures above. Has anyone ever had those issues on larger (desktop panels), after at least three months of regular use?

 

P.S.: Here is the "checkerbord test" URL again in case you want to test your panel just leave the checkerboard image be displayed for nearly 10 minutes and then switch to grey. Get a timer and see how long it takes for the square shapes to disappear and the background becoming uniformly grey.

[MinotaurGrumps]

I'm a huge IPS fan, I would much rather have IPS than any TN panel. It's just a shame that one specific panel turned off IPS for you. The colors of IPS are much better than anything TN can offer, and If you get the right one it can be fine for gaming!

[RatedBlam]

The reason why those things are happening probably have nothing to do with the actual physical and techical differences between IPS and TN. Those particular IPS panels from LG are probably just bad products.I have also dealt with some atrocious Samsung TN panels too.

[VulsaviiK]

Since this thread is probably about to turn heated anyway, here's the IPS vs. TN discussion, as presented by the LTT forum

 

1) IPS panels are better than TN, always. There's no reason to buy a TN panel monitor, ever
2) Eeerrrmmaaaggggeeerrrrdddd..... errrr ooo ggggeeee sswwweeerrrfffftttt

3) The response times and input lag of a monitor, one advatage of a TN panel, are irrelevant. <------ This always comes from someone who doesn't actually play a competitive game, but makes the assumption that the difference isn't noticeable in competitive games
4) 120/144Hz monitors are great for FPS games, but, you should always get an IPS panel which isn't capable of this
5) There's no reason to have a monitor that isn't fully colour accurate. It's always about colour accuracy. My sub-note from point number 3 applies to this as well
6) Linus says to get IPS, therefore you should get IPS. Even though Linus isn't the guy who posted the topic and probably plays a different batch of games

7) VIEWING ANGLES! <----- I'm convinced some people put their monitors on their desk sideways or something, rather than sitting in front of it

[norritt]

I'm a huge IPS fan, I would much rather have IPS than any TN panel. It's just a shame that one specific panel turned off IPS for you. The colors of IPS are much better than anything TN can offer, and If you get the right one it can be fine for gaming!

 

The reason why those things are happening probably have nothing to do with the actual physical and techical differences between IPS and TN. Those particular IPS panels from LG are probably just bad products.I have also dealt with some atrocious Samsung TN panels too.

 

TBH I don't really care if a panel is IPS/PLS/TN 60, 120, 144Hz, at least I didn't before that ghosting issue. In the beginning my notebook screen was alright nice FullHD with high pixel denisity. I didn't have any issues with it until those ghosting started after a couple of weeks, but I also didn't notice any considerable advantages (except the higher dpi) over my TN Desktop monitors. Since humans are physically incapable of processing 60 or more images per second I find the 120/144Hz dicussion rather academic/fanboyish except you have some special hardware like those 3D Shutter glasses that need to high refresh rates.

 

 

Since this thread is probably about to turn heated anyway, here's the IPS vs. TN discussion, as presented by the LTT forum

 

1) IPS panels are better than TN, always. There's no reason to buy a TN panel monitor, ever

2) Eeerrrmmaaaggggeeerrrrdddd..... errrr ooo ggggeeee sswwweeerrrfffftttt

3) The response times and input lag of a monitor, one advatage of a TN panel, are irrelevant. <------ This always comes from someone who doesn't actually play a competitive game, but makes the assumption that the difference isn't noticeable in competitive games

4) 120/144Hz monitors are great for FPS games, but, you should always get an IPS panel which isn't capable of this

5) There's no reason to have a monitor that isn't fully colour accurate. It's always about colour accuracy. My sub-note from point number 3 applies to this as well

6) Linus says to get IPS, therefore you should get IPS. Even though Linus isn't the guy who posted the topic and probably plays a different batch of games

7) VIEWING ANGLES! <----- I'm convinced some people put their monitors on their desk sideways or something, rather than sitting in front of it

 

If this discussion was carried out here I'd probably would state the following:

 

1). obviously not (at least not generally) - see my pictures above.

2)... ehhh ... what?

3) yes

4) doesn't matter/don't care

5) you mean like IPS panels showing checkerboard patterns where there is a uniform background color?

6) I got an IPS don't want it anymore

7) Well that viewing angle thing is more a modern internet myth. There may be some bad TN panels that are badly angle dependent but if you take a decent TN panel look at it from any position you would want to work with that display, it will be fine, at least speaking for the TN displays I've worked with. Actually I took this snapshot from my TN monitor, I can still see everything perfectly even though I'm standing right in front of it looking down at quite an angle. I'm not saying that IPS in general can't provide better viewing angle color stability than TN - I just say it at most rarely practically relevant (unless you do some crazy yoga while working on your PC). I think the question is not "IPS or TN?" but "Is it a good display?".

 

I'm still hoping someone (...anyone?) can report a 12,5 IPS panel from LG working for longer than 6 months on any device without  ghosting?

 

My problem is the following I can't use my notebook as it is for obvious reasons. I can get the panel exchanged no problems BUT, after reading the reports of other users on the Lenovo forums this will be a short term solution ~3months till the panel will deteriorate again. So I need another service appointment get it exchanged and so on. So rather than going through this procedure again and again I'd prefer to get a TN panel, which is as good for me as IPS. After checking Lenovos spare parts lists I didn't find any hints on a 12,5 inch TN panel being available . So currently I'm hoping to find a few persons to testify there are 12,5 IPS panels from LG in this universe that actually work, if not I might have to look for a different notebook - which will raise another problems: I doubt I'll find an alternative as good as the X240, cause for me its nearly perfect - except the display.

[Grrizz]

Cant say I've ever seen an IPS with image retention problems, what you have is either a bad panel or a bad model its certainly not something that is inherent to IPS in general.

[norritt]

Hey everyone,

 

I just wanted to report the current status back. I've just got my display replaced by a technician. The replacement display has also severe ghosting issues, but burns in faster than the old one and also flickers. So things have actually gotten worse.

[GoodBytes]

Lenovo? oh boy...

 

Lenovo has a reputation of getting the cheapest, crappiest TN or IPS panel money can buy, slap them in products, and sale it as a premium product (even TN), and call it a day.

Go buy any Lenovo monitors for your desktop, the most expensive to the crappiest you can find, I can guaranty you that the 100$ Acer monitor, will blow both away, even the IPS.

Sony did this in the recent models of their laptops powered by IPS panel. Look where is Sony now.

 

Believe me, at work, we had our share of Lenovo... ALL, 100% of them, were switched to Dell, and the Lenovo returned. And I am talking about returning hundred of monitor that were ordered.

Since, we put a ban on Lenovo monitors.  Laptops (Thinkpad) is the only exceptions, as we have currently no choice. But you can bet if Dell comes back with solid business class system, we will switch.

 

I believe that the reason is that Lenovo doesn't care. They know that HP and Dell are out of the picture. Businesses are choosing Lenovo systems, as HP and Dell have nothing interesting, as they are both restructuring, plus will need time to start working on new models. That is why PC sales are down for all manufactures except Apple and Lenovo, where they are up, with some nice margins.

 

If you want proof that IPS panels don't do what you experience: Just check out the  Surface and Surface Pro line. You can find it at any big retail stores.  And you'll see, no such issue.

Look at iPads, most high-end phones, and Android tablets powered by an IPS panel.

 

Why they don't have a problem, but yours do? And that is why. Lenovo is killing their reputation by selling over priced crap. They don't realize that the moment a competition will do a come back, or a new one come it, Lenovo will be in serious trouble... And if they don't play their cards right, and continue doing what they are ding, they'll hit the dust like Sony computers.

[Astralify]

That sucks. This ghosting issue is apparently a thing on some IPS panels. Can you try "Stuck Pixel Sweeper"? It's a small java app that will flash RGB colors super fast. I'm curious what will happen. The ghosting can go away in some cases if the image changes frequently. So, if you have time, do it In the name of science.

[MinotaurGrumps]

All products are bound to have lemons.

 

Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?

That reference though!

[Cheddle]

Lenovo pls... I work in ICT and Lenovo are ALWAYS a pain.

You should hate lenovo for putting rubbish panels in the device, rather than the technology the panel uses.

Personally I prefer TN, I've had both and care less about the specific pixel tech and more about "is it a good display" becaues BOTH TN and IPS have their fair share of lemons.

Lenovo basically own the lemon orchid

[norritt]

Laptops (Thinkpad) is the only exceptions, as we have currently no choice. But you can bet if Dell comes back with solid business class system, we will switch.

 

Yeah the problem of having no choices gets more and more serious. With Toshiba, Samsung and Sony out of the market there are not many vendors of 11-13 inch notebooks left. The Dell XPS 12 has exactly the same panels Lenovo uses for the X240 and thus suffers the same issues, as does the share of MacBooks that are equipped with the LG Panels.

 

The X240 is a fine device except from the display. The Lenovo staff stated in the official forums they'd be looking in to the ghosting issue that still persists with the revised LG panels, that were supposed to fix it. Still if this is gonna be fixed at all I assume the Yoga/X240 users will have to bear many RMAs and the inferior display till a permanent solution can be offered.

 

@Cheddle & GoodBytes:

If you know any viable alternative devices that are similar to the X240 (I posted my specs above) and also meet the following requirements:

 

> 10h+ battery lifetime

> external replaceable battery

> Screen >= 10 and <= 13 inches

> matt panel (don't care if it is TN or IPS, no touch)

> >= 8GB RAM

> min. 2 USB3 Ports, Display Port integrated Ethernet support

> Docking station port

> full Linux compatibility

> option for LTE module

> slot for 2.5 inch SSD

> good keyboard

> no additional graphics chip, but only Intel HD graphics

> no Apple products

 

I'm grateful for tipps I haven't been able to find anything else meeting my requirements.

 

@Astralify

I already tried manually changing between dark and bright backgrounds. It doesn't affect the ghost image at all. Once you get back to a greyish background you can see the image again. The only way is to wait a couple of minutes till it fades away. But if the screen content during this period of time is more or less static the new image will burn in before the old ghost image disappers. So basically you're permanetly stuck with ghost image content. I'll give the Stuck Pixel Sweeper a try and report back, but based on my observations I doubt it will help.

[GoodBytes]

Yeah the problem of having no choices gets more and more serious. With Toshiba, Samsung and Sony out of the market there are not many vendors of 11-13 inch notebooks left. The Dell XPS 12 has exactly the same panels Lenovo uses for the X240 and thus suffers the same issues, as does the share of MacBooks that are equipped with the LG Panels.

 

The X240 is a fine device except from the display. The Lenovo staff stated in the official forums they'd be looking in to the ghosting issue that still persists with the revised LG panels, that were supposed to fix it. Still if this is gonna be fixed at all I assume the Yoga/X240 users will have to bear many RMAs and the inferior display till a permanent solution can be offered.

 

@Cheddle & GoodBytes:

If you know any viable alternative devices that are similar to the X240 (I posted my specs above) and also meet the following requirements:

 

> 10h+ battery lifetime

> external replaceable battery

> Screen >= 10 and <= 13 inches

> matt panel (don't care if it is TN or IPS, no touch)

> >= 8GB RAM

> min. 2 USB3 Ports, Display Port integrated Ethernet support

> Docking station port

> full Linux compatibility

> option for LTE module

> slot for 2.5 inch SSD

> good keyboard

> no additional graphics chip, but only Intel HD graphics

> no Apple products

 

I'm grateful for tipps I haven't been able to find anything else meeting my requirements.

 

@Astralify

I already tried manually changing between dark and bright backgrounds. It doesn't affect the ghost image at all. Once you get back to a greyish background you can see the image again. The only way is to wait a couple of minutes till it fades away. But if the screen content during this period of time is more or less static the new image will burn in before the old ghost image disappers. So basically you're permanetly stuck with ghost image content. I'll give the Stuck Pixel Sweeper a try and report back, but based on my observations I doubt it will help.

 

The closest system that i know to your specs needs, is the Surface Pro 3. It has 9h (if it's like my Surface Pro 2, with 6-7h I can push mine to 12h, but that is: bluetooth, wireless off, minimum brightness, and reading a document/PDF. The Pro 2 and Pro 3 has the same CPU). The system is powerful with 8GB of RAM option (1600MHz also, the max the CPU supports. So no cheaping out.), and genuinely fast SSD,

 

Secure boot can be disabled, as you have access to the UEFI screen despite being a Microsoft product, so you can theoretically install Linux on it. The question is drivers, and that I don't know, I never looked into it, but I am sure you can do a quick research for this. You best bet however is a Virtual Machine environment. It does support Hyper-V, and the CPU does support Virtualization, so any VM of your choice, liek Virtual Box will work just fine.

 

No LTE however, and only 1 USB port. Maybe the Surface Pro 4 might have a second USB port, if it uses Intel's new Core M series Broadwell line CPU. It should open room for a second USB, and more battery. The Pro 4 is expected to be released late this year or next, depending on when Intel decides to release it's next gen CPU, let alone if it will be U/Y/Core M series, and not desktop and laptop.. if its the later, we may need to wait longer.

 

Quality 6-bit IPS screen (the only complaint that I know off, is back light bleeding, but that is common problem for all TN panels (laptop, desktop), and all IPS panels on tablet sides, due to the required thinnest. It's not bad. It's usually a corner, and not visible beside on full black (so like when your system boot up, as usually the screen brightness is at max, until you get to the OS). Glossy, as it's touch screen, sadly.

I know, bugs me too. Would be cool if there is a marketed option of glossy, but reduce reflection. Oh and Battery is non-replaceable. But charges super quick form 0 to 80% in 2h. And the battery used inside is of very high quality. It won't be affected by heat, and Microsoft claims that it will retain ~80% of it's capacity after 4 years.

 

12inch and paper aspect ratio, so you have nice level of height for your work. Dock station is available with plenty of USB ports and Gigabit Ethernet. And, good keyboard. The keyboard has depth when you type, the keys are near full size of a normal keyboard. I program on it just fine. The F1, F2,. F3, keys can be swamp to function keys with Fn+Caps Lock or switch back which is nice. If I had to nit pick. I use the function keys and not F1, F2, F3.. etc keys, as I like using Home, End, Page UP/Down keys. For Visual Studio, the debug keys are F10, F11, F12, and those are easily accessible by holding your thumb on the Fn key, which is at the same location. So Microsoft did thought about it, which is really nice. You don't need 2 hands, or always switch mode with Fn+CapsLock. F5 to run/debug is a bit of the annoying side, as the F5 key is a bit to far from the Fn key, but I see it as a small compromise to a fantastic, solid device. I am sure you can change to some other key, maybe F9, but I never bothered. I just use my mouse to click, I don't mind this.

 

Another option:

 

The Dell XPS 13 Developer edition, which is a Linux powered ultrabook. It is 13inch, comes with Ubuntu (12.04 LTS (64-bit)). You have a bit slower CPU than the Surface Pro 3, with an i5-4210U, 1080p resolution, 8GB of RAM 1600MHz. Sadly, you are limited to 128GB SSD. It is once again glossy. No touch or pen. It does have 2 USB ports, and you have Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 + Bluetooth. No LTE option. Of course the device is bigger and heavier than the Pro 3, but it is still lightweight and portable.. I mean it's a normal ultrabook. The power adapter is the new one from Dell, which means it's your standard laptop adapter. And not like their previous model which was the fancy slim and small models. And you can no longer wrap the cable around the power adapter itself, a signature feature from Dell. That is gone (which I think it is retarded move).  If you are in Canada, Dell cut a lot on the phone service. You cant' even call to place an order now, nor can do special requests (ie: please include OS disks).

 

I can't comment on the device itself, as I don't have it, or seen it in person. I don't know if you can install Windows on it.

[norritt]

Thanks for your proposals Goodlife, I appreciate your effort. I'm afraid the Surface is not an alternative for me I've looked into it before but Linux compatibility seems to be an issue (it seems to work but it's tricky). Also the Ethernet Port and 2nd USB3 is missing. I also forgot to mention above - the X240 has an analog Sub-D out, which I still need to use for presentations on older data projectors. I think that issue could be dealt with an adapter tho. As far as the VMs go I'm using VMs anyways but since Windows's only purpose would be to Host VMs - and Windows is not the best choice for that task, Xen would be a better solution - I'd prefer to go with a linux host. To me it's a matter of convenience not to have boot your device twice before you can use it. Also I need to have the possiblity to swap batteries when I don't have access to a power point and the battery is running low. Also glossy screens are kind of a deal breaker for me.

 

The XPS 13 is much closer to my needs - It also misses an Ethernet port and the analog Sub-D (VGA) out. Positive: it's a "real Notebook" which usually means way better keyboard then the tablet hybrids, strong hardware. The good news is I'm not stuck with a 128GB SSD (which wouldn be enough for me I need 250GB) but with a 512GB SSD, which is enough, but unneccesarily driving the price up. Also the battery is not replaceble and again we have a glossy screen - I *really* hate those . Concerning the CPU my X240 also has the i5-4210U - which is good enough for me. Experience shows the new Ultrabooks tend to clock down pretty early under load so bigger CPUs only have advantages for short bursts but if you stress them for longer periods i.e. compiling code they just drop in performance (except the quad cores which definitly will offer a leap in performance towards the dual cores). Anyhow the XPS I can get here has a i7-4510U. I haven't found a way on the Dell website to configure a smaller SSD oder lower grade CPU so you seem to be stuck with the Dell recommended configuration, which is not bad.

 

Another thing: Dell offers a maximum of 4 years of On-Site-Service and Accident Protection whereas Lenovo not only offers 5 years but also for a lower price.

 

So if I had to pick one of them it would be the XPS 13. Still that would mean a lot of compromises to me, whereas the X240 meets every single one of my requirements and unfortunately only suffers from the bad panels. Although the ghosting is really annoying and the new screen is way worse (ghosting + flickering + visible gridlines), I think glossy would drive me insane - seeing mirror images of the electric lighting or windows behind you is as bad as ghost images. I'll wait and see if Lenovo can fix this in the near future, but I'll keep my eyes open as well for solutions that don't require me to accept as many compromises as the Surface or XPS 13 do. At least a matt screen, replacable battery and >= 2 USB3-Ports would be nice. The ethernet and VGA port might be available through adapters. LTE module support is nice but not that important, I can still use a phone in AP mode.

[GoodBytes]

Ok I see.

DisplayPort can be converted to VGA. Adapters do exists, are actually not expensive (well.. assuming you don't get the manufacture one, and you look for third party)