Dell's 'Crystal LCD': The supermodel of monitors

(Credit: Dell)

Dell isn't exactly known for its cutting-edge fashion, but it's definitely creating a buzz for the New Year with its "Crystal LCD" monitor. To look at the flash ad on Dell's site, you'd think it was a new Mercedes that was being rolled out.

First impressions seem to be somewhat mixed, as Boing Boing and others have criticized this museum piece as being all about show and short on specs, notably its size and resolution (22 inches, 1,680x1,050). And Dell is baiting the detractors by adorning it with a price tag of $1,199--which, as Gizmodo notes, is $899 more than the company's other LCDs with similar technicals.

But as slaves to fashion (in our minds if not appearance), we have to side with the fans of this beautiful screen for purely superficial reasons if nothing else. From the Webcam on its forehead to the four speakers embedded in its ultra-thin 4-millimeter-thick glass, this limited-edition monitor is a stunner. The metal tripod alone is enough to turn heads.

[Drew1022]

Supermodel? Really??

Might be nice in comparison to the content shown on it if you're viewing 2 girls 1 cup, but that thing is fugly if you ask me. Just because it is expensive doesn't make it look good.

[duggynyc]

pretty cool.

What we see here is Michael Dell actively bringing his company back to prominence. Not everyone is going to like the design. But it's cutting edge looks will have people buzzing about Dells again for the first time in years.

[jimothyGator]

I just don't get it

Frankly, I just don't see what the fuss is about. Dell took an ordinary LCD
display, bolted on a pane of glass and some tacky looking speakers, and gadget
bloggers wet themselves. Frankly, I think the contraption looks like it was put
together in a high school shop class.

[chillax9]

expectations from dell are too high

the design is nice. its even cute. but thats not what we expect from dell. We are expecting great machines at industry leading prices not this uber-expensive lcd. this is below the high standards that dell has created.

Aleast an oled monitor in rich black and silver for the same price would have been much better.

[cmdshiftdesign]

a good try

it's nice to see dell trying to step it up with their product design, but i think they missed the mark with this one.

[Emesis_]

Think differet?

Wow, a mediocre product with an overblown price tag?

So, has Dell poached some design talent from Apple?

[SiliconDoc]

I agree, Dell has some problems, and it seems after they swore off AMD cpu's then "caved in" to the pressure - their problems have multiplied.
With this mostly empty glass monitor, I say let the wasteful pocketed elite scarf up 3 million of them, they can set them on their latest prescious conversation wares home ivory tower, and chatter about how the jones have never seen one...
In the mean time, Dell can scarf up a few hundred million extra in largess profit, and therefore keep their deals at a low price, where screen real estate is covered in hi-def gaming or content pixels for the rest of us.
How much time to you spend staring at the plastic surrounding your monitor, and how often do you stand back from it for even a long ten seconds and peer at it's beauty ?
I mean let's face it, most of us have 3 post it notes we forgot were attached on the side of the bezel area... ha! caught you looking...
Ok, so it's a great monitor. You just are not upwardly mobile unless you buy a few of them, and have the maid dust the glass on them once a week. Dell was smart about it, they know the pointy nosed snooters buying this snot glass could care less what resolution it has... it will be off 99% of it's useful lifetime.
Thank you, to all the idiot, snooty, upper crust freaks who spend a pile of dough on this horrid moni-ster, thank you for keeping prices down for real humanity, you foolish little vain creatures.