I guess I would be disappointed too, but one dead pixel is well within manufacturing tolerances for any manafacturer.
So don't be too hard on Sony if you had purchased any other make of laptop you could be in the same situation now and they would not be any more sympathetic either.
I have two Sony laptops and a Sony TFT screen and have not noticed any dead pixels, but then again I have not looked for them.
An excerpt from:
http://www.one2surf.co.uk/enduser/buyingzone/guides/july_00/monitors/
The main disadvantage of TFT LCDs is the extra complication of
manufacturing, as the glass substrate that the transistors are built on is effectively a single chip - but with a 10" to 20" diagonal. As multiple LCDs are normally made on a single substrate to keep costs down, the level of care needed in manufacturing becomes very high. As an example, a substrate that has four 800 x 600 resolution panels on it has 5.76 million transistors - more than an Intel Pentium CPU.
TFT LCDs can offer very high levels of performance for motion video or other applications.
Because of the high number of components, it is impossible for
manufacturers to make perfect TFT displays. Small defects will show as some pixels that are permanently light or dark. Each manufacturer of displays will have a standard for the number of defective pixels that is considered as acceptable for the product that they supply and this level will normally be agreed with the maker of the monitor or notebook computer - a factor that will affect the cost of the pane to the computer maker.
(CRTs often have these small imperfections, but these are usually less obvious than on LCDs where each pixel is more precisely defined)
Individuals vary in their sensitivity to these small defects. If you are choosing a display and are concerned about possible defects, it is important to either check with the maker the level of defects that are considered acceptable, or to ensure that you receive a demonstration of the actual unit that you plan to buy. (In a recent magazine review, makers quoted levels from 1 to 25 as the number of defects that would make them consider an LCD faulty and eligible for repair or replacement under warranty). Check for defects on a completely blank screen with a white background and also with a black background. Look for light, dark or coloured dots that stand out from the rest of the screen.
William
