Glossy vs. Matte?

I visited CompUSA recently and looked at the glossy display and I didn’t like it at all. The fingerprints and glare drove me crazy. I tried cleaning the display with my own eyewear micro-fiber cleaning cloth but it failed to remove many of the smudges. I suppose it appeals to some although I’ll pass.
Regards,

I have the glossy. if you are going to do a lot of work outside in the daylight, then its not the best thing. if you are using it outside at night or inside then its amazing.

As for the smudges and fingerprints, I am a photographer. I clean the screen with a lens cleaning cloth. I workds wonders, and keeps it looking brand new.

I would like to warn you about the displays though. If ou check these boards you will read of users having screen flickering. I recived mine on July 10th (a week ago today) and it had a horrible flicker. Not to mention it was hot enough to cook on. (I literally cooked toast and an egg on the underside of the computer.) So do take a good hard look at yours, the first few days. Apple will replace it, if there are problems, you just have to be firm.

I myself just bought a Glossy screen MacBook Pro. I was settling for the matte but realized the significant color difference. If what your doing with this machine is graphics and alot of indoor use, than I'd stick with the Glossy screen. I personally had a matte screen for my previous Fujitsu laptop and it was still as horrible in terms of getting smudges and such.

It usually takes more than a dry micro fiber cloth to clean it. You usually need a LCD cleaning solution to perfectly clean the screen for both types.

I got the glossy one. It's outstanding, easy to clean, and I haven't noticed any glare that rotating the machine slightly won't fix.

I haven't noticed any better 'colour quality' but it does look very shiny when you walk into the room and look at the machine from an angle. And that's what buying computers is all about.

Glossy or Matte. Well, I decided on the Matte when I purchased my MBP.

What I found out from my research was this:
Glossy screen is sometimes considered better for watching DVDs because of better contrast and sharper colour. But Matte screen is considered better for reproducing true-to-life colour, so better for use with photography and other applications where you need to have accurate colour.

I decided I wanted a screen that reproduced real-life colour better so I went for the Matte screen.

Glossy pros:
- high contrast ratio
- high saturation
- atractive colors

Glossy cons:
- incorrect color rendition
- causes more eye fatigue
- glare, glare, glare
- smudges

Matte pros:
- better color accuracy
- reduced glare
- easier to clean and keep clean
- easier on the eyes

Matte cons:
- lower brightness
- lower contrast
- less saturated colors

Hope that sums it up 🙂

Edit: Also, glossy has a narrower (usable) viewing angle.

Great summary, Orcinus!

For me, the bottom line was this:
Did I want more accurate colour reproduction or more saturated colours with brighter screen?

For me, the Matte version has always been bright enough . I've owned a PowerBook 540c, iBook G3, and PowerBook G4 and they were all matte. I thought I really preferred accurate colours because these days with me taking digital photography.

That (digital photography) is exactly why i prefer the matte screens over glossy. And the fact my eyes start to water after staring at glossy screens for too long 🙂

Any idea about differences regarding scuffs from the keyboard?
I'm gettting ready to purchase a new MacBook this week and that always drove me crazy with the PBG4.

thanks

FWIW, no scuffs yet on my three weeks old matte 15".
(*knocks on the wood*)