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Acer 22 inch 1680 x 1050 Widescreen LCD Monitor

Monday, November 12th, 2007 | Monitor Reviews

With LCD prices continuing to drop, this wide screen monitor with high resolution makes the computing experience better with a much larger desktop area for all applications.

I love widescreen monitors. Well, I actually just love big monitors. Monitor space is even more important than desk space. Being able to fit more windows on the screen allows them to be spread over the screen rather than having to Alt-tab everytime I want to switch to something else. The ability to keep a source document and the document that you are inputting the information into, on the screen at the same time adds efficiency and ease-of-use to the computer.

Although widescreen is not necessary to achieve this affect, it does make more sense as we would naturally spread documents out next to each other, rather than on top of each other.

Here are a list of the main features:

• WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050)
• DVI and VGA inputs
• VESA mounting
• 5ms latency
• 22″ widescreen (16:10)

Twenty-two inches is really big, especially compared to the average seventeen inches that I use on a daily basis. The size of the screen is very impressive, the resolution of the monitor doesn’t match up well enough.

With such a huge screen, a slightly higher resolution would be preferrable. There is nothing wrong with the resolution, but for a monitor of this size, I would like to see a higher resolution, and although it makes everything on the screen that little bit smaller, it allows the work area to be maximized.

The monitor is a standard affair with both DVI and VGA inputs and all the OSD buttons at the front of the monitor, just below the screen. The most impressive feature is, of course, the price, and it is available from $260, less with rebates. I am willing to overlook the little niggles I have with the monitor for that price. Acer are well-known, so there is little risk, even at this price.