Asus To Ditch Glossy Screens In Favor of Matte Displays in Eee PC Netbooks

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Computer screens often come with a tradeoff. Glossy screens are bright and crisp, but are prone to glare. Matte screens are glare-free, but can produced washed-out displays. Asus seems to be phasing out glossy displays in favor of matte. Is this a good move?

The first and second generation Eee PCs both came with matte displays, which were friendlier to the eyes in bright situations. However, the need for better multimedia necessitated bright glossy displays, which produced crisp and vivid images. However, these are prone to glare, and are often inappropriate in office environments, where overhead lamps and sunlight streaming from windows produce glare.

Asus is going for matte screens in its upcoming Eee PC 1025C and 1025CE netbooks. While the company won’t be switching to matte screens in all its current models, future models are likely to sport matte screens across the board for better visibility in bright environments.

It’s probably better if Asus were to give consumers an option for either glossy or matte, like Apple used to do with its MacBook line. But since netbooks are often aimed at consumers with a budget, Asus is not likely to go this route.