Dell probes alleged Inspiron screen issue
By Tony Smith
22nd January 2007 11:44 GMT
Buyers have begun complaining that the displays Dell installs in
its Inspiron notebooks may not be up to scratch, and a groundswell
of internet users are asking the computer giant to sort out the
situation.
Affected LCD panels develop one or more pixel-wide vertical lines.
Typically, each line will appear as a single colour or will change
according to the colour of the image being displayed.
A website dedicated to the problem, www.dellverticalline.com,
http://www.dellverticalline.com/?www.reghardware.co.uk
lists some 273 cases centring on machines bought between March and
May 2005. Of all the reports on the site of faulty displays, only
28 say that Dell resolved the issue. The model most cited in the
reports is the Inspiron 9300, though it's by no means the only
model listed.
Did Dell get sent a duff batch of displays? Or was there an issue
with the machines' construction, or one or more of its other video
components? At this stage, the cause - or causes - are unknown, and
Dell would only toll us it is currently investigating the
matter.
Interestingly, this reporter has seen the same issue on LCDs fitted
to notebooks produced by other vendors. In one case, two vertical lines appeared
about three-quarters of the way over from the left-hand side of the
screen. While static in location, the lines appear to move
vertically, much like the 'marching ants' of an old-style
drag-to-select GUI operation. 
The curious thing: the lines are colour dependent and are triggered
by a very narrow range of RGB values, which may differ from screen
to screen. Adjust the display's gamma controls or change the image
behind the lines and they can disappear, completely or in part,
depending on the image - drag a window over the line to see the
change. Gently tapping the screen or moving it doesn't change the
display, suggesting the issue is not a wiring fault.
Some pictures provided by Dell owners suggest physically damaged
displays, but others don't.
Dell's clearly not the only company to experience this issue. Not
long after Apple began shipping the MacBook Pro in February
2006,
http://www.macintouch.com/readerreports/macbookpro/topic3863.html
early buyers reported. Mac troubleshooting site MacInTouch lists
numberous reports from buyers who've experienced the issue.
Luckily for them, their machines were in the warranty period.
However, quite a few folk complaining about the problem in Dell
laptops said they didn't notice the fault until after their
warranty had expired. Dell nonetheless told Reg Hardware they
should contact the company's customer services operation if they
are experiencing the problem.
If we hear more from the company, we'll let you know.
