ThinkVision L150p

While many smaller flat screens look like nothing more than a CRT squished flat, the IBM ThinkVision L150p exudes class. Its slim, matte-black bezel has the clean lines of an expensive suit. Set within an exceptionally sturdy, square base, a lazy Susan lets you swivel the panel a generous 75 degrees to the left and the right (most LCDs swivel only 45 degrees each way). The display tilts backward 30 degrees and can be mounted to an IBM radial arm. Those features alone make the L150p one of the more adjustable 15-inch LCDs around; that the panel slides smoothly up the neck to add four inches of extra height is exceptional. About the only thing the L150p can't do is pivot between Portrait and Landscape modes, but we haven't come across many 15-inchers that can.

The L150p has both analog and digital inputs (IBM includes only an analog cable), and there's a handy loop on the back of the neck to manage signal and power cords. The ripple-shaped, onscreen menu buttons manage intuitively designed and easy-to-navigate menus and give the panel a touch of modernity.

But the L150p's virtues are more than merely cosmetic. The panel scored well in CNET Labs' tests, with especially bright, crisp images and text and vibrant colors. As with all LCDs, there was some degree of jaggedness to text and a lack of nuance in the extreme ends of the grayscale spectrum, but the L150p performed better than most.

IBM backs the L150p with the standard three-year warranty on parts and labor and the backlight. The company also offers a range of warranty-service upgrades through its Web site. Lifetime phone tech support is available all day, every day. IBM's Web site features the usual alternatives, such as discussion forums, e-mail contacts, and knowledge bases. IBM's policy on defective pixels is stingy, though; the company wonÂ't replace a display that has 10 or fewer nonadjacent bad pixels.

IBM's flat screens often cost more than the competition's, but they're also usually cooler-looking, more sturdily built, and better performers. Shoppers on a budget are advised to check out the ThinkVision L150--similar to the L150p but without the DVI input and with fewer adjustability options--or one of the other, less-expensive 15-inch LCDs that CNET has reviewed.

Brightness in nits  (Longer bars indicate better performance) Measured with the Sencore CP500

IBM ThinkVision L150p 273  HP L1502 272  Sony SDM-HS53 236  NEC LCD1560NX 231  Philips 150P4 223  LG L1520 218

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  February 21, 2005

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