(Credit:
James Martin/CBS Interactive)
Hey, I'm waiting. Are you there? By "you" I'm referring to the LED-based computer monitor revolution. I've yet to actually see you in the flesh and I'm starting to have my doubts as to whether you actually exist.
OK, so monitor vendors have been purporting the advantages of LED-based computer monitors for the last couple of years at least. So far, I've reviewed three. The first was the Lenovo ThinkVision L2440x. I was disappointed that aside from slightly better color, it was an exact replica of the CCFL (Cold Cathode Florescent Tube)-based ThinkVision L2440p.
Then came Apple's LED Cinema Display. Great performance, great design, and really took advantage of what LEDs have to offer (thin panel, great color reproduction). One slight problem. Unless you own a MacBook with a Mini DisplayPort you can't use it.
Now that brings me to my latest LED-based display, the ViewSonic VLED221wm. Don't get too excited. In fact, you can just sit back down because the revolution has yet to arrive.
While the monitor achieved good performance in games and movies and includes a thin panel, it has a pitifully low 245 candelas per square meter (cd/m2) brightness and its color reproduction proved to be inaccurate (as evidenced by its noticeable red push). In fact, the CCFL-based Gateway HD2201 performed better.
The worst part is the price. For a monitor so devoid of features, its $500 asks a lot of your wallet.
Check out the full review to get more details and see our recommendation.
(Credit:
Corinne Schulze/CBS Interactive)
After a little teasing, we finally have the full review of the Apple 24-inch LED Cinema Display.
The most disappointing thing about the display is that unless you own a MacBook with a Mini DisplayPort connection, you won't be able to use it. That is until third parties release a Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter for it.
Since we could only test it on a MacBook, you won't see any performance numbers here, since our DisplayMate-based performance scores are based on a specific configuration. We do try to give as much performance perspective as possible, however.
Check out the full review to see how it performed. However, I will say this, the speakers on this thing are some of the best sounding I've ever heard coming from a monitor.
At one point, I was in our small enclosed monitor test room and had the sound way up while testing it with Kill Bill Vol. 1. After I came out of the room, I got a couple of comments from co-workers like "We can here you playing your video games in there, so we know you're not really working." They said they could "hear the swords slicing through the air with distinct clarity."
Good for the speakers, bad for any hopes I had of keeping my ruse going.
It's just the back, but oh, what a smooth back. Click on the above photo for more images of the display.
(Credit: Eric Franklin/CBS Interactive)We got the 24-inch Apple LED Cinema Display in Thursday, and well, it looks nice. No idea how it performs yet, as thanks to Apple's commitment to Mini DisplayPort it's currently only compatible with the new MacBooks that include the connection.
We're hoping to get a MacBook in from Apple on Friday, and then we can test away. In the meantime, check out a few shots we took.
The Dell Precision M2400 uses an LED-backlit display.
(Credit: Dell)Dell announced on Wednesday that within 12 months, all displays in its new laptops will be light-emitting diode (LED)-based.
Dell says that as of December 15, two-thirds of its Latitude E-Family laptops, as well as its Precision line, will be shipped with mercury-free LED backlighting as standard.
LED backlights are known to be mercury-free and very recyclable. Compared to cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) technology, which most LCD displays use today, LED displays are much more energy efficient. Dell says that its 15-inch LED displays consume an average of 43 percent less power at maximum brightness.
Dell estimates that, overall, this could save consumers approximately $20 million and 220 million kilowatt-hours in 2010 and 2011 combined, the equivalent of the annual CO2 emissions of more than 10,000 homes' energy use. This figure was based on Dell's internal analysis using U.S. EPA carbon-conversion calculators.
By the end of 2009, Dell plans to have at least 80 percent of all of its laptops delivered with LED backlit displays. By 2010, it expects that number to rise to 100 percent.
Over the past year or so Dell has been committed to "Hulking out" (you know, turning green?) as a company. In June 2007, Dell announced plans to reduce its corporate carbon footprint by 15 percent or more within 5 years. In May 2008, it announced its desire to cut PC-energy use by 25 percent. In June of this year, Dell said that it had become the first company to introduce a "80 PLUS Gold-certified" power supply for servers. It launched its Studio Hybrid in July, which, according to Dell, uses 70 percent less energy than a traditional desktop.
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