My first, second and even 3rd laptops had 640×480 in 16 greys, with passive matrix LCDs. They also didn't have pointing devices.

I still use 15+ year old Thinkpads with 1366×768 pixel screens (a bit cramped) and a W520 with a 1920×1080 screen. Twisted nematic screens.

For me, given the 20th century laptops I started on, I think they're great. Not perfect, but good enough to put in 2 weeks working 9-5 on one of them, no problem at all.