Is the iPAQ h1940’s Display Really Yellow?

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.brighthand.com/article/h1940_yellow_screen' target='_blank'>http://www.brighthand.com/article/h...0_yellow_screen</a><br /><br /></div>"One of the most important elements of a handheld is its display. While there's no doubt that handheld displays have improved dramatically over the past three years, consumers have also become increasingly more demanding. They've begun to notice subtle differences in screen brightness and color reproduction, and sometimes they don't like what they see. Take the case of the new iPAQ h1940 Pocket PC from Hewlett-Packard..."<br /><br />The rest of this article goes on to explain the reasons why the iPAQ 1940 screen looks yellow from certain angles. Perhaps I have an especially yellow screen, but even from 100% straight-on, whites aren't really white, and there's a subtle yellow hue. The 1940 screen isn't as good as the 1910 screen, and suggesting that people hold it at a different angle as a solution is silly. On most photos though, the screen looks great - it's only the issue of whites...

[Skoobouy]

It's been said before, but I think the real issue at stake here is not that HP decided to use a slightly cheaper screen in a new model (as is their priviledge), but rather the inconsistency of production. Simply put, noone should have to wonder if their new iPaq 1940 will have a good screen.

I will go with Steve at least as far as to believe (at this point) that many, maybe even most, screens are fine when viewed straight on. That's only hypothetical now though, considering I haven't seen one yet. Then there are probably some like yours (Jason's) and others that are simply electronic legal pads.

When I go back to the States this Christmas, I'll just have to see for myself. I do demand white whites, but I don't need a wide viewing angle. As it is, the 1940 seems to me to have some compelling advantages that might make me choose it.

[Doug Raeburn]

I bought a 1945 and figured I'd get used to the yellowing. However, I found that there was noticeable yellow at the angle at which it was most comfortable for me to hold the unit. After a few days, I exchanged it for a 2215, and I'm so glad I did. Wonderful unit, I recommend it highly if you're looking for a full featured iPAQ with a smaller form factor than the 5400/5500 series.

[paris]

I have the 2210 and a friend of mine has the 1910. Yesterday he gave me his unit to install a program and i was showing both of them to my brother in order to compare the size.

However when i turned on the screens on both i noticed that the 1910 screen colors were i bit more alive, not much thought, but what i noticed was that the white on the 2210 was pure white but the white on the 1910 was a bit yellow, when i changed the angle of the device i noticed that the yellow color was more and more visible and that the unit had the same problem and the problem everyone is talking about for the 1940. Why does everyone say that the 1910 has a perfect display when it has the same problems with the 1940? The 2210 white colour would not change from whatever angle. and i am happy for that

[codesmith]

I noticed the same thing on a 1910 and a 1940 at my local CompUSA the other day. I was surprised to see that the 1910 exhibited the same yellowing that i saw on the 1940. Yet I never saw any comments on this during the 1910's heyday (heymonths?)

[Dalantech]

I also have an h1940 that has a "warm" screen when viewed straight on. I have to tilt my Ipaq so that the top of the screen is farther from my eyes than the bottom before the display turns white, and it's an angle that I would never use to hold it.

The "warm" tones to backgrounds that should be white don't bother me because my eyes are very light sensitive, so viewing text against a slightly yellow background is more comfortable than viewing the same text against a white screen. All the other colors look great, and the contrast is excellent on my h1940.

The best advice I'd have for anyone is to take a look at the screen before you buy one just to make sure you don't have any problems with it.

[Andy Whiteford]

I've had my h1940 for nearly a week now and I can say that when viewed straight on, the whites are perfect white, on a par with my h1910. As soon as you start tilting the screen, the yellow starts to show and becomes more prevalent through a wider angle however all other colours seem fine, only white is affected. I genuinely don't consider this a reason to not go for a h1940, I did a lot of comparisons before choosing the h1940.
Just for the record, the h1910 does exhibit a little yellowing when viewed from below but no where near the extent of the h1940. From the side, the h1910 remains fine and from above it shows a little bluish tint.
The h1940 also displays this bluish tint from above.
The yellowing I am experiencing does not appear to be as bad as is being reported on certain sites. Whether this is a product of over exageration or me having a better screen remains to be seen.
The bottom line as far as I am concerned is, the screen on the h1940 is excellent, very sharp, bright and vibrant with the one flaw being a yellow tint that appears when viewed 'off axis' and increases with angle. Not as good as the h1910 but not that far off.

[Alexandre Baroni]

Again and Again,

Anybody asked HP about this 1910x1940 problem ?

[edgar]

HP developed the lovely blue-tinted screens for the Jornada 56x series. Carly engineered the takeover of Compaq to introduce these same beautiful screen color technologies to the iPaq series. The use of yellow in this case is a major breakthrough, which is apparently under-appreciated by some iPaqers. Congratulations to Carly and all her fine technical staff.

[jeff]

No Jason, they're all yellow. It's just less noticable if you don't have another screen to compare it to and you're not looking at a predominantly white picture. If you look at a 221x and a 194x side by side, there's no way you can say the whites are anything but yellow, regardless of the angle. Even still, I decided to overlook the screen tint and keep the 1945. It's so much smaller and the unrecessed buttons are far superior for games.

I think the main problem is that HP installed the screens upside down. The yellowing decreases enough not to be distracting as you tilt the top of the unit toward you, which is exactly opposite of how a PDA is held. And it's especially bad if you're using it on a desk. Try it yourself. Lay the 1945 on a desk with a blank Excel sheet open and look at the color shift. Then flip it upside down and watch it mostly go away.

[Dr. Grabow]

Having compared them side-to-side, I can say that the 5550 screen is slightly "warmer" than the 2215 screen, but the 1940 screen is YELLOW YELLOW YELLOW way beyond any other PDA I've seen. That's the reason whole reason I didn't buy a 1940 ...

[Sslixtis]

No matter how or why it's YELLOW! :pukeface: This is NOT a feature.

[DanNotDan]

Maybe I'm combining threads here but I badly wanted the 1940 for it's size and weight (it could even fit in a shirt pocket!). I could overlook the extras that HP left out to keep the price point under $300, but the screen killed the deal for me. I will hold onto my trusty 3635 for another six months and see what comes out.

And once again, has anyone talked to HP about this?

[ikesler]

I have and use a 1910 still..... I think it has the best screen I have ever seen on a handheld........ the 1940 is yellow..... I was going to get one but passed when I first saw the screen .......... it would get really annoying to me personally. :( 2215 here I come

[rmasinag]

Someone said to take a picture of a white picket fence and show it on the PDA to see the degrees of white on the display.

I did this on my local CompUSA and here's what I can gather.
Tested this on a HP 5500, 5400, 3970, 1910, 1940, and a 2215
Hawai'i CUSA ppl didn't seem to mind :)

*All screens except the 2215, and 3970 had yellowish tint, 1940 was the worse, very obvious.
*1910 still has a best contrast and color screen, but with a slight yellowish tinge. The tinge more noticeable than in 5400/5500
*Seems like 5400/5500 have the same screen, yes, an unnoticiable yellow tinge.
*2215 looks washed out (just like my 2210) :cry:
*3970 looks like the 5400/5500 screens without the slight yellow tinge

So..my conclusion if you want the best screen, update a 3970 to WM2003 :mrgreen:

Just my $ .50

[denivan]

Anybody asked HP about this 1910x1940 problem ?

I contacted HP and they said the solution to the 1910 x 1940 problem was 3705400 :lol:

Sorry, but at the moment my country is experiencing a heat wave and my melted brain couldn't resist making this silly joke :oops:

Ivan

[xoiph]

:i got it: Oh, I get it! At first I thought it was "1337 h4x0r" talk :duh:

[Randall L. Lewis]

Yellow screen tint in new iPAQs? Good gosh.

At least no one is posting pictures of dust particles anymore and sharing detailed explanations of how you could use a human hair to fish the dust out of the iPAQ screens. Yuck.

Compared to those days, a faint yellow tint seems trivial.

[rmasinag]

Lol.......I had a H3135 so the dust issue was negligible except in rare instances with me. I remember those good ol days. :)

:bangin: LOL..off topic :bangin:

[ctmagnus]

Do you ever consider that maybe the reason the blue gradients were added to the backgrounds of certain apps in PPC2003 was to counter the yellow we're seeing now? Almost as if Microsoft knew about this particular issue ahead of time.

[caywen]

Yellow yellow yellow. You know, every 4 or 5 days, I see some new article here about the 1945's yellowness. It doesn't at all bother me until I start seeing everyone whine about it. And when I see all this whining, it makes me notice the yellow more and more.

This makes me rather angry because where I'd be perfectly satisfied with the display, your incessant whining over this *minor* issue is turning a really really excellent PDA into something far less desirable.

Please just be happy with what you have and please stop covering the same ground over and over and over and over and over and over again.

This is you -> :mecry:
This is me -> :ppclove:

[ctmagnus]

OMG! If I tilt my 5550 to the extreme right, I get an awful yellowing also, as bad as some of the bad pics of the 1940s were. But it's :rock on dude!: otherwise.

[Jason Dunn]

This makes me rather angry because where I'd be perfectly satisfied with the display, your incessant whining over this *minor* issue is turning a really really excellent PDA into something far less desirable.

So the fact that we're discussing this issue is making you less satisfied with your Pocket PC, and you're blaming US for that? :roll:

[caywen]

Are you telling me I shouldn't complain about you complaining about what I consider to be a very minor flaw, not worthy of a dozen high profile articles and a front-page discussion on my favorite web site?

:roll: :roll: :roll:

[Jason Dunn]

Are you telling me I shouldn't complain about you complaining about what I consider to be a very minor flaw...

No, you can complain all you want, but ultimately what you're saying is that us talking about this issue is making you feel bad about purchasing your 1940, and that's an issue for you and your therapist, not us. :lol:

Look, I don't think the yellow tint on the screen is enough to warrant not buying the unit - I've suffered through the blue tint of the Jornada, the pink tint of the Toshiba e570, and the dusty tint of the iPAQ 3650. All were still good Pocket PCs. But the reality is that PDA display technology has advanced tremendously in the past years, and we all have higher expectations. The display on the 1910 was the best I've ever seen, so it's natural that people would expect something every bit as good on the 1940. Disappointment is natural when expectations aren't met.

This site is all about Thoughts - mine, yours, everyone. You're welcome to voice your opinion that you don't mind the yellow tint, and that you're very happy with your purchase, but voicing your opinion that the rest of us should NOT voice ours is just silly. This site is about sharing thoughts right? :wink:

[cyclwestks]

When I first noticed the yellow (almost more of a wheat color) was when I hooked it up to synch & set it to the right of my monitor where I was at a pretty good angle. I thought "dang, they weren't kidding", but straight on I don't notice it.

How are other PPC's at an angle - do they retain their same color saturation? I have a M505 that work purchased (they have now switched to iPAQ's), that when viewed at an angle you can't even tell it's a color device (I know, it's older technology). I never noticed on my Axim before I sold it if it looked the same at an angle, or if it was like my 3670 of old, & couldn't even be viewed from the side.

[cyclwestks]

Ok, answered my own question by reading the posts I'd skipped.

[allenalb]

i bought my 3975 about three days after it came out (had been using my old compaq pc companion up until that point - only 2 megs of ram!) and it was my first color pda so i got used to that nice bright screen. i noticed that my workmates with older ipaqs had slightly yellow screens, so i thought it had something to do with that wonderful transflective technology.

now i have just upgraded to a 5555, and i gotta say holding them next to each other makes me a little bit sad...

wish hp woulda stocked up on whatever screen they put in that 3975...