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A PC Pro survey has found that the magazine’s readers overwhealmingly prefer matte displays while manufacturers continue to focus on glossy displays.
All of the nine ‘ultra-value laptops’ reviewed in PC Pro’s issue 200 featured glossy screens of the type known to be more difficult to read under brighter ambient lighting and all but impossible in natural daylight.
That said the survey doesn’t quote any specific numbers and the author of the article is up front about having an axe to grind against glossy screens from the outset.
"Speaking as someone who use a glossy screen laptop every day, I’m constantly irritated by the reflections cast across my screen," said PC Pro’s Barry Collins.
A pie chart of survey respondees appears to show something like two thirds support for matte screens with the rest split between glossy and non-preference.
Collins also highlighted the necessity of wiping finger prints from glossy displays of shared computers and said that he hoped PC makers would "wake up to the degree of dissatisfaction" and "bring back the welcome matte."
There are at least some manufacturers on the market offering matte displays such as Dell and Lenovo but on the whole the market has moved towards glossy displays as a means of enhancing sharpness, contrast and colour reproduction.
