View Full Version : Axim and cleartype?
Hi,
Having ordered a 400MHz X5 I was wondering if I should be preparing myself for a disappointment when it turns up...
After seeing the very poor cleartype quality on the Viewsonic V35 and my current iPaq 3635 I was wondering if anyone had seen the Dell with cleartype enabled?
Does it have a proper protrait screen or a landscape screen used in portrait orientation like the Viewsonic and iPaq?
Regards,
PJE
shawnc
11-25-2002, 08:10 PM
You've seen the V35? I didn't realize they had started shipping these.
Merlion
11-27-2002, 06:59 AM
PJE, have you updated your ROM to the latest version (2.20.02)? That fixed the ClearType problem with the 3600/3700 iPaqs. You could update to the lastest EUU 3.0 as well, but that doesn't do anything for the ClearType.
ClearType is just a software controlling the rendering of the 3 sub-pixels of each full color pixel to simulate a pixel each, thereby increasing the text resolution to 3 times the standard resolution. In other words, if the ROM (software) communicates the right format information to ClearType, ClearType will function properly, regardless of the orientation of the sub-pixels of the LCD.
At this point in time, I would expect all future PPCs to display ClearType properly. Not doing so would just be unforgiveable. I think Viewsonic & Dell would have the tiniest morsel of commonsense.;) I hope I'm not disappointed. :)
PJE, have you updated your ROM to the latest version (2.20.02)? That fixed the ClearType problem with the 3600/3700 iPaqs. You could update to the lastest EUU 3.0 as well, but that doesn't do anything for the ClearType.
I'm currently using 2.14, as I didn't want to cold boot my iPaq. I'll look at upgrading when my Dell arrives...
ClearType is just a software controlling the rendering of the 3 sub-pixels of each full color pixel to simulate a pixel each, thereby increasing the text resolution to 3 times the standard resolution. In other words, if the ROM (software) communicates the right format information to ClearType, ClearType will function properly, regardless of the orientation of the sub-pixels of the LCD.
The largest improvement in clarity with cleartype is when the 3x resolution 'improvement' is in the horizontal direction. if it is in the vertical direction the improvement is significantly reduced.
At this point in time, I would expect all future PPCs to display ClearType properly. Not doing so would just be unforgiveable. I think Viewsonic & Dell would have the tiniest morsel of commonsense.;) I hope I'm not disappointed. :)
I saw the Viewsonic at CompUSA, and the Cleartype was very poor. I couldn't access cleartype on the 3950?, but the Toshiba E740 (or was it a 330) seemed to implement Cleartype very well.
PJE
Janak Parekh
11-30-2002, 02:58 AM
PJE, have you updated your ROM to the latest version (2.20.02)? That fixed the ClearType problem with the 3600/3700 iPaqs. You could update to the lastest EUU 3.0 as well, but that doesn't do anything for the ClearType.
You'd think, right? Sadly, this is not the case. Compare a 2.20 ROM-based iPaq to the HTC Pocket PC PE. The HTC blows the iPaq clear out of the water. It isn't even remotely close. I think the vertical orientation is indeed the problem as PJE mentions.
All the 2.20 does is to thicken and realign the fonts slightly so you don't see the colors. ClearType is still "blurrier" than regular print. Not so on the PPC PE - ClearType actually looks sharper. In fact it's enabled on the HTC systemwide by default, and it really is stunning.
I'm hoping the 5450 (my planned next device) has better ClearType than my 3870... because the technology can work well.
--bdj
Steven Cedrone
11-30-2002, 03:04 AM
Not so on the PPC PE - ClearType actually looks sharper. In fact it's enabled on the HTC systemwide by default, and it really is stunning.
I wish someone would do a comparison of <Any New Device> vs. the Jornada 5XX. The Jornada had what I thought was the best screen, as far as ClearType was concerned...
Steve
The quality of cleartype text is highly influenced by screen sub-pixel orientation.
If you ignore their color a landscape LCD has 960 (320x3) x 240 'sub-pixels' whileas portrait LCD has 320 x 720 (240×3) 'sub-pixels' which gives the landscape LCD 240 pixels against 720 for the portrait display when used in the portrait orientation.
Now most text... the I is an extreme case are much taller than they are wide and may take 3 pixels horizonally and 8 pixels vertically. Obviously the resolution enhancement would be much more apparent on the 3 horizontal (9 sub pixels) rather than the 8 pixels.
Also on characters such as 'H' the sub horizontal sub-pixels allow the vertical lines to positioned with 3 times the precision, so it the spacing between the two uprights can be controlled much more accuratly. The actual position of the cross bar is FAR less critical to the appearance of the text.
(Needs fixed pitch font...)
A portrait RGB screen used in portrait mode a 'H' could be:
RGBRGBRGBRGBRGBRGB RGBRGBRGBRGBRGBRGB
################## > ##################
###OOO######OOO### > ##OOOOO####OOOOO##
###OOO######OOO### > ###OOO######OOO###
###OOOOOOOOOOOO### > ###OOOOOOOOOOOO###
###OOO######OOO### > ###OOO######OOO###
###OOO######OOO### > ##OOOOO####OOOOO##
################## > ##################
Whereas a landscape screen used in portrait mode a 'H' could be:
R##### > #####
G##### > #####
B##### > #O#O#
R#O#O# > #O#O#
G#O#O# > #O#O#
B#O#O# > #O#O#
R#O#O# > #O#O#
G#O#O# > #O#O#
B#O#O# > #OOO#
R#OOO# > #OOO#
G#OOO# > #OOO#
B#OOO# > #O#O#
R#O#O# > #O#O#
G#O#O# > #O#O#
B#O#O# > #O#O#
R#O#O# > #O#O#
G#O#O# > #O#O#
B#O#O# > #####
R##### > #####
G##### > #####
B##### > #####
Not quite so impressive!!!
Anyway, sorry for boring everyone silly, I was just hoping my new pride and joy would implement Cleartype correctly - I guess I'll only find out on Christmas Day!
My 2c
PJE
Just thought of an easy way to check.
Anyone with an Axim...
Look closely at a white screen. Can you see horizontal or vertical red and green lines on it?
If you see horizontal lines then Cleartype is toast. A proper 'portrait' screen would have vertical lines.
My last 2c (for now).
PJE
Roosterman
12-02-2002, 02:45 AM
PJE,
I didn't know what the big deal was about the cleartype you were going on about. So, I did a google and learned how to turn it on. This is amazing the difference on my screen 8) . Now that it is turned on, I am wondering also if I will be disappointed tomorrow when my gets delivered. Great, now there is something else to make my day go even slower tomorrow as I wait. Thanks for turning me on to cleartype. :D
Dave Beauvais
12-02-2002, 03:44 AM
Microsoft has an interesting page (http://www.microsoft.com/typography/cleartype/default.htm?fname=%20&fsize=) about ClearType technology. A few images showing exactly what ClearType does and why it generally improves readability. The "What is ClearType (http://www.microsoft.com/typography/cleartype/what.htm?fname= &fsize=)" and "ClearType FAQ (http://www.microsoft.com/typography/faq/faq15.htm?fname= &fsize=)" are interesting reads.
--Dave
Kati Compton
12-02-2002, 04:02 AM
Even though ClearType is intended for LCD displays, just for fun I turned it on (momentarily) for my XP desktop (which has a CRT display). It did in fact smooth the fonts, but to me they also looked blurry. I expect that the blurriness is at least in part because of the CRT instead of LCD. On PPC devices, does ClearType make text smooth but a bit blurry (when it's working correctly)? Or is it just smooth without the blurriness the way MS says it should work?
Rirath
12-02-2002, 04:23 AM
Hmm, I have an LCD screen on my desktop, so I tried Cleartype on XP as well. I must say the text is somewhat clearer, but it's far too blurry for my tastes. Not sure if I could get used to it or not... but don't really see the reason. It reminds me more of the text on a plain monitor, blurry and somewhat bolder. I think I'll try it for a bit... Some text looks better than others.
Dave Beauvais
12-02-2002, 04:39 AM
... On PPC devices, does ClearType make text smooth but a bit blurry (when it's working correctly)? Or is it just smooth without the blurriness the way MS says it should work?
On my "old" Casio E-200 and my current Toshiba e740, ClearType is great. I suppose text could be considered a bit blurry, but it's much more readable (in my opinion) than with ClearType turned off.
The thing that gets me, though, is that unlike in Windows XP, ClearType is not a global, system-wide change. In WinXP when you enable ClearType, all text in every application is affected by it. On the Pocket PC, however, developers seem to pick and choose what parts of their applications they want to use ClearType. Even the standard Pocket PC apps seem to use it randomly. The text on the Today screen, for example, doesn't use ClearType, nor does the text on the Start menu. Actually, just about all menus don't use ClearType.
But I digress... I love ClearType on my Pocket PC, but some people don't. That's why you have the option (on most PPCs) to turn it on or off.
--Dave
Janak Parekh
12-02-2002, 05:25 AM
Even though ClearType is intended for LCD displays, just for fun I turned it on (momentarily) for my XP desktop (which has a CRT display). It did in fact smooth the fonts, but to me they also looked blurry. I expect that the blurriness is at least in part because of the CRT instead of LCD. On PPC devices, does ClearType make text smooth but a bit blurry (when it's working correctly)? Or is it just smooth without the blurriness the way MS says it should work?
On properly-aligned LCD's, there is a slight perceived blurriness, but as you get used to it you don't notice it and find the characters much better-formed--it's just a matter of getting used to it. On improperly-aligned LCD's, like the iPaq, you shouldn't see colors but the print appears blurrier, as the ClearType effect is not being done on the right axis. On CRT's, you see smoothing but also see some blurriness and some colors on the edges, as the effect doesn't quite line up.
That said, I've gotten so used to ClearType on both LCD's and CRT's that I can't go back on either type of monitor. Seeing Times New Roman & Arial rendered just the way it should be makes all the difference. However, once you get an LCD at home (as did I, with my 1600x1200 monster) there is no going back. :D On the iPaq 3870, I've just gotten used to not having it - except when I read ebooks via MS Reader, where you don't have a choice. The low resolution plus ClearType makes it worse than a CRT for me. :?
--bdj
Janak Parekh
12-02-2002, 05:28 AM
Hmm, I have an LCD screen on my desktop, so I tried Cleartype on XP as well. I must say the text is somewhat clearer, but it's far too blurry for my tastes. Not sure if I could get used to it or not... but don't really see the reason. It reminds me more of the text on a plain monitor, blurry and somewhat bolder. I think I'll try it for a bit... Some text looks better than others.
Give it a week. Also use the alignment tool found on the MS site (link above). If it works properly you'll never go back. ;)
--bdj
Janak Parekh
12-02-2002, 05:30 AM
I wish someone would do a comparison of <Any New Device> vs. the Jornada 5XX. The Jornada had what I thought was the best screen, as far as ClearType was concerned...
I believe they're nearly the same. Jeff Kirvin, who's very nitpicky about ClearType, raved (http://www.writingonyourpalm.net/XDA_Review.htm) about the PPC PE's ability to use it.
--bdj
I believe they're nearly the same. Jeff Kirvin, who's very nitpicky about ClearType, raved (http://www.writingonyourpalm.net/XDA_Review.htm) about the PPC PE's ability to use it.
--bdj
Each PocketPC has a slightly different screen technology. Until someone actually tries out the Dell we'll never know...
As an aside, after seeing Cleartype on the E740? I'm considering returning my Axim if ClearType is not correct as it makes SOOO much difference when ClearType is implemented correctly.
PJE
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