Ad: Manage updates with the Download App
ie8 fix

widescreen

Grab a 26-inch LCD for $250 shipped

Holy giant monitors, Batman! Buy.com has a Westinghouse L2610NW-SP 26-inch LCD monitor for $249.99 shipped.

The specifications here are pretty solid: 1,920x1,200-pixel maximum resolution (that's 1080p to you TV fans out there), VGA and HDMI inputs (plus an HDMI-to-DVI cable), HDCP support (in case you want to pair it with, say, a Blu-ray player), and a one-year warranty.

Reviews of the L2610NW-SP are few and far between, but the Buy.com crowd was quite enthused by it (4.5 stars out of 5 on average), and Newegg buyers had mostly good things to say as … Read more

Photos: Philips ultra wide-screen 21:9 TV unveiled

We already knew this was coming, but now we have actual pics that give a better sense of its scale.

Philips introduced its new Cinema 21:9 TV with a wider-than-wide-screen display at a press event in London. Our favorite blokes at Crave UK were in attendance and snapped a few frames of the "mutant telly."

Head over to Crave UK for a whole gallery of photos, as well as their take on the trouble of a new viewing format. (Alternatively, if you find wide screen worthless, head here.)

The myth of width: When wide screens don't work

The displays of the world are getting wider. For those of us who work, this is not progress. Sure, wide-screen computer screens look cool, but in the real world of working on laptops, a wide-screen display is an ergonomic step backwards.

Before I slam the move to wide-screen computers, I will gladly admit that for entertainment content, wide-screen works. Our eyes are side-by-side, after all, and having a story unfold in a way that more closely respects how we see gives a more engrossing, absorbing experience. Wide-screen plasma and LCD television sets make sense, as do CinemaScope movie theaters.

But when we have work to do, the fact that our eyes are set up to spot a herd of jackals approaching us over the plain becomes irrelevant. For most people, the world of work is in portrait mode, and wide-screen displays offer scant benefits.

Like reading a page of text or a book, most Web sites are set up with strong vertical orientation. That works for text-based material, since wide lines of text, longer than about 60 characters, become hard to read (the reader has a hard time finding the beginning of the next line). … Read more

Get a 22-inch LCD with HDMI for $149.99

No doubt about it--22 inches is the sweet spot for LCD monitors these days. Witness this deal from TigerDirect: a Hanns-G 21.6-inch wide-screen LCD, with HDMI and speakers, for $149.99. Ground shipping will run you a very reasonable $4.99.

It's rare to find both HDMI and built-in speakers in a monitor this inexpensive. The HG-216DPB also delivers 1,680x1,050 resolution, 5ms response time, and a three-year warranty. The speakers crank out 3 watts apiece--not much, but better than the 1 watt in some monitors.

On the downside, the Hanns-G lacks a DVI port--a likely showstopper … Read more

Get a 24-inch LCD monitor for $199.99 shipped

Now that 22-inch monitors have shattered the $200 barrier, are 24-inchers next in line? Here's a kick-ass indicator that they are: Buy.com has a refurbished "famous maker" 24-inch wide-screen LCD for $199.99 shipped. Just one hitch: You must use PayPal to get that price, otherwise it's $249.99.

These are going to sell out fast, so I'm going to make this quick. The good: 1,920x1,200 resolution, VGA and HDCP-compliant HDMI inputs, four USB ports, and the ability to pivot 90 degrees for portrait mode!

The bad: a 90-day warranty, and that … Read more

Price Watch: Better 22-inch LCD, $139.99 shipped

Sorry to do monitors two days in a row, but I couldn't let this one slide: Staples has an SVA 2200W 22-inch LCD monitor, with DVI and speakers, for $139.99 shipped (plus sales tax in most states). That kinda kicks yesterday's deal's butt, huh? Sorry about that.

The 2200W hits mostly high notes, spec-wise, including 1680-by-1050 resolution, 5ms response time, DVI and VGA inputs, and stereo speakers. However, it's not HDCP compliant, so don't plan on using it with your Blu-ray-equipped PC.

My bigger concern is this: Who the heck is SVA? I never … Read more