3M Gold Privacy Filter for 11.6 Inch Widescreen Laptop (GPF11.6W9)

• Fits screen sizes of 11 5/8" diagonally measured (Width 10 1/8",Height 5 11/16")
• Screen data is visible only to persons directly in front of the monitor.3M privacy technology darkens on-screen data when viewed from the side. Keeps your electronic information confidential, making it excellent for use in high traffic areas.
• 3M(TM) Gold Privacy filters provide nearly twice the level of effective privacy protection and 14% higher clarity than standard black out privacy filters.
• User sees more clearly than ever while on-lookers see nothing but a vibrant golden screen.
• Filter is reversible. Choose gold or black side.
• Helps protect notebook display from damage
• Made in USA
• Stays in place when laptop is closed

I've owned this product for about a month now and purchased it because I was frustrated with seatmates on airplanes looking at my notebook screen for the whole flight, trying to figure out what I was doing. This screen works wonders in deterring others from taking glances at my private information. In fact, most people think I'm crazy, typing away on a computer with a blank screen, or so they think.

There are some disadvantages with this screen though. Your seatmate directly next to you will be able to see through the filter to your screen partially, because they are within the viewing angle of the screen with the filter on. But move over any farther and the screen is not visible, nor is it visible across the aisle (if sitting in an aisle seat). About the only other place that it is visible is if someone is standing directly above you, one row back. Turning down the brightness of your screen also helps immensely in blocking people from viewing your screen through the filter at any angle.

(Please note, having this filter installed screens out about half of the light coming out of the screen. If you have poor eyesight with dim lighting and have trouble with computer screens, this product may not be for you.)

Additionally, the clear plastic tabs included with the filter adheres to the plastic border around the notebook LCD screen to keep the filter in place. It works, but blocks about a 1/8" of the screen at 6 points, especially noticeable around the bottom of the screen where the start bar is located.

You'll also notice a large "3M PF14.1W" printed in the top right hand corner of the filter. It's used to help in determining whether the filter is facing the right direction, but it's quite distracting at times. The height of the lettering is equivalent in size to the window bar at the top of any program.

This filter is also very dust, lint, debris, and smudge attracting. You'll find yourself wiping the filter often.

Overall, this filter does its job. Great for those who need to comply with HIPPA or other privacy regulations. But as an individual consumer, I wonder if the high price is justified for the benefits it provides.

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I'm a consultant who travels weekly. Lots of time on flights makes a privacy filter important to me. Being something of a perfectionist and the fact that I look through it for hours each week, I ordered both the ViewGuard and the 3M filters to compare them. I kept the 3M and returned the ViewGuard. Why?

The image clarity of the 3M filter was significantly better (note that I work with small fonts, spreadsheets, etc. and wear glasses) Yes, ViewGuard, I removed the protective film before making the comparison! Two things bugged me about the ViewGuard: (1) its polarization cuts run diagonally (the 3M run vertically), which is distracting, and (2) the image through the ViewGuard is a tiny bit blurry/hazy compared to the 3M. 3M seems to have a more clear film that they use. A colleague of mine did the same side-by-side and agreed with me.

Both products do what they claim, and both fit my notebook well, although I also prefer the optional vertical mounting strips that come with the 3M product (both come with mounting 'dots', but 3M supplies an alternate mounting mechanism as well).

Let's face it: $50 for a piece of plastic seems expensive, but there's no alternative if you want to work on client (or your own financial) information on a plane. Thanks, 3M, for making a quality product. (And no, I don't work for 3M!)

Read Best Reviews of 3M Gold Privacy Filter for 11.6 Inch Widescreen Laptop (GPF11.6W9) Here

Three big disappointments. Biggest is the viewing angle is WAY too wide. It darkens at 45 degrees, but you can still clearly see what someone's up to, even if it's *kind of* harder to read precise text. It doesn't blacken until your near a 90 degree viewing angle. Pretty lame.

Also, though it's "matte" it's a lot more reflective than a regular LCD flat screen. Maybe it's less than an old glassy CRT, but the reflectivity is terrible compared to an LCD. You can actually make out your own face and highlights in the screen, even highlights coming from a side window (which I was hoping would be reduced by the microlouvre, not increased). Bright environments are 5 times harder to work in than they would be with a regular LCD screen.

And lastly, looking at it straight in, it darkens the screen enough to be distracting and eye-straining. So it's the worse of both worlds it darkens too much for the user, and not enough at odd angles.

The method for sticking the frameless kind on clutters your screen with cheesy plastic adhesive disks.

Plus, it's pretty expensive for a sheet of plastic.

Wait until the tech gets better. Or decent, at least.

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You can almost completely stop those peeping toms with this filter. While it is not 100% effective, it does block or blur most of the view from people who are not directly behind you. You can kind of see the double sided tape squares you place in each corner to keep it affixed to your monitor but it isn't obvious enough to be annoying or distracting.

Amazon.com has the lowest price I could find on the web plus free shipping. I got my in 3 days and am completely satisified with this product.

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As advertised, the 3M Notebook Privacy Filter does its job by masking what you are typing on the screen from other people. Someone seated right next to you cannot tell what is being typed on the screen...guaranteed. For people travelling on business with sensitive documentation, this filter is a must. For masking personal letters or emails, its a must.

If you read other reviews from other websites stating it is possible for others to see the screen behind you, it's true. But it'll take someone with super, telescopic vision to be able to read the typing from that far away. If they are looking right over your shoulder, then you should have the right to give ther person a dirty look and tell them to back off. This filter's purpose is to mask unsuspecting eyes from spying from the side view in a crowded environment and that is what it does. It's not 100%, though...from a sixty degree angle, your screen will appear really dark, but it is more than enough to mask what you are typing.

This 12.1" filter fits perfectly into an IBM Thinkpad X40. It clamps right on it making it seem like a part of your notebook. There's no sticky adhesives necessary to keep it on.

So why am I giving it only three stars? Well, in my opinion, there is absolutely no logical justification to make it so expensive! At most, I could understand if they charged this product for something like $24.95 or so, but asking for $80, retail, is just plain ridiculous. Even half that amount is too much. It's simply a piece of plastic. I was lucky and got mine at an auction for $0.99, but it is too pricy for private use, seriously.