IBM unveils swiveling flat-panel display

IBM has released a flat-panel monitor that rests on a cranelike arm, allowing it to be positioned--like a desktop lamp--in nearly any direction or angle.

The 15-inch T560 display can tilt backward as far as 145 degrees or flip over to allow a person sitting on the opposite side of a desk to view the screen. The display can also tilt forward, swivel onto its side to present a portrait view, move up and down, or be compressed into tablet form for transport.

Although flat panels that pivot have been around for some time--both at IBM and elsewhere--the T560 uses the crane-like articulating arm that made its debut in IBM's Netvista PC.

An articulating arm is also used in Netvista X Series PCs, first introduced last year, to hold and pivot the PC in space.

IBM, which offers T Series displays in sizes from 15 inches to 20.8 inches, said the T560 is also its lightest and thinnest flat panel to date. It is 50 percent thinner and 10 percent lighter than previous models.

The T560 is priced at $559, about $60 more than the company's T540, a regular 15-inch flat-panel display.

As their prices continue to fall, flat panels are becoming increasingly popular among PC buyers. They have become popular enough in recent months to put a dent in revenues for traditional cathode-ray tube monitors.