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HP Nonchalantly Announces Compaq L2105tm Multitouch Monitor, First Windows 7 Certified Display

:Paul Lilly — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:24:21 -0500

Almost as a side note, HP today announced its new Compaq L2105tm touchscreen monitor, dedicating just a few lines to promoting the display in a press release which covered several items.

The 21.5-inch, 1080p display sports a multitouch panel with one finger scrolling and two finger mousing capabilities.. But if you prefer to roll with a stylus, you'll find one jammed conveniently into the side of the monitor. You can even use a gloved finger, says DisplayBlog.com, who points out that the two cameras, infrared light, sensor, and reflective film create a rugged light field capable of detecting just about any type of object.

There was a little bit of marketing glitz on HP's part. According to the OEM, this is the world's first Windows 7 certified monitor, which you means you can plug it in groove to your newly acquired copy of the just-released OS.

HP says the L2105tm is available now for $299.

No Video in Normal Mode

The Maximum PC Staff — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:05:00 -0500

I have an Acer L310 that runs Vista Home. Recently, I have only been able to start in Safe Mode. When I try to start in normal mode my monitor won’t work, but when I go with Safe Mode with Networking the monitor works. How can I get around this?

—Terrence Kyles

Terrence, it looks like your videocard is defaulting to a resolution your monitor can’t handle. Go ahead and boot into Safe Mode and adjust your monitor’s resolution to something pretty low, then reboot and start Windows normally. It wouldn’t hurt to check Acer’s website for an updated video driver while you’re at it. From there, you can fiddle with the resolution to see how high you can set it and have your monitor still work. If you set it too high and your monitor blanks, you can just wait 15 seconds and it will revert to the previous resolution.

SUBMIT YOUR QUESTION Are flames shooting out of the back of your rig? First, grab a fire extinguisher and douse the flames. Once the pyrotechnic display has fizzled, email the doctor at doctor@maximumpc.com for advice on how to solve your technological woes.

New Philips Monitor to Detect When You take a Bathroom Break

Paul Lilly — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:30:07 -0500

There's been a major push this past year in being more energy conscious when it comes to computing, and one way Philips plans to do that is by making sure your LCD monitor doesn't consume more power than it needs to.

Called the Brilliance LCD, the upcoming display will feature a built-in sensor capable of detecting whether or not you're sitting in front of your monitor. Get up to grab a cup of coffee or go powder your nose and the monitor will dim its display, a move Philips says will cut power consumption by half. Once you return, the display lights back up and all is as you left it.

Because not everyone sits the same distance from their monitor, the sensor comes configurable for anywhere between 30cm and 120cm, and is completely independent of the host system's software or operating system.

No word yet on price or availability.

Image Credit: Philips

Alienware Launches 21.5" 1920x1080 Monitor

Paul Lilly — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:00:49 -0500

Alienware, a boutique OEM vendor who made a name for itself building high end gaming PCs offered in distinct looking cases, has just released its first monitor, the OptX AW2210, and it doesn't have any tentacles or other alienesque features protruding from the side.

"The ultimate gaming experience requires more than just a great PC," explained Frank Azor, Dell Gaming. "Alienware is building an ecosystem around our machines to give gamers the complete gaming experience."

It's not too surprising to see Alienware release a monitor, considering that Dell, an active player in the LCD display market, now owns the OEM.

The 21.5-inch widescreen TN panel boasts 1920x1080 full HD resolution, a 2ms response time, 16.7 million colors, an 80,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, two HDMi ports, four USB ports, and a titl/swivel/height adjustable stand.

It's available now for $299 direct from Dell.

Image Credit: Dell

Samsung Announces Scopia Monitor with Built-in 5MP Webcam

Pulkit Chandna — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 06:35:48 -0500

Samsung has taken a run-of-the-mill 24-inch monitor and armed it with a 5MP webcam. With the new Scopia VC240 monitor, the South Korean electronic behemoth has enterprise users – those who wish to flash all their facial blemishes in intricate visual detail and strident glory during video conferencing sessions – in its sights. The webcam perched atop the Scopia VC240 has the ability to capture video in 720p resolution at 30fps, features H.264 compression and supports V2oIP.

As for the monitor itself, the specs are nothing you can boast about to anyone over the phone - or during a web conferencing session - after you have splurged $2000 on this ugly monitor. It features 1920x1080p full HD resolution, 1000:1 contrast ratio, 16:9 aspect ratio and a 170 degree viewing angle.

NEC Pshaws TN Panels with Pair of Premium 24-Inch LCDs

Paul Lilly — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:00:00 -0500

Forget about those wimpy TN panels, NEC has instead decided to shoot straight for the high end with its two latest 24-inch LCD displays, the LCD2490WUXi2 and LCD2490W2. Both monitors sport IPS (In Plane Switching) panels for better color accuracy, a wider viewing angle, and higher credit card bills.

On the spec sheet, NEC rates both models at a 1,000:1 static contrast ratio, 320cd/m2 brightness, 8ms response time, and 1920x1200 native resolution. Both also come with DVI and VGA inputs. Other similarities include about a 96.7 percent coverage of the sRGB color spectrum, 12-bit color lookup tables, and ambient light sensors. Where the LCD2490W2 separates itself from the base model is with the inclusion of a SpectraView color calibrator.

No word yet on availability, which gives you a bit of time to save up the $1,100(LCD2490WUXi2) and $1,300 (LCD2490W2) these two models command.

Image Credit: NEC via Electronista

NEC Releases Pictures, Price For Beautiful 43-Inch Curved Monitor

Andy Salisbury — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:30:24 -0500

This week NEC announced a 43-inch, curved monitor that will sport a 2ms response time.

The CRV43 “ultra-widescreen” display will pack a native resolution of 2880x900, and thanks to LED backlighting, feature a response time of just 2ms. For those of you that are looking to get one of these for yourself, start saving now – it’ll cost you $7,999.

Though, for those of you that have gaming running through your blood, no length is too great in order to have the baddest rig on the net. And, adding this to your setup will without a doubt put you near the top of the stack.

Image Credit: NEC

Report: LCD Prices Going Up

Paul Lilly — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:00:37 -0500

If you spot a good deal on an LCD monitor, you may consider pouncing. Putting off that purchase could be rolling the dice at higher prices, according to data by iSuppli. The market research company notes that an increase in demand from China, driven by the impact of China's rural consumer stimulus program, has led to rising prices for LCD monitor panels. Also to blame are an increase of orders from brands and retailers, iSuppli says.

"These brand and retail orders mostly stem from demand for inventory replenishment because channels have kept their stockpiles at lower-than-normal levels since the end of 2008," iSupply noted. "With many panel prices for monitors having been drastically slashed to less than cash-cost levels, panel buyers in February started purchasing in droves in order to build a supply of cheap panels."

Increases thus far haven't been anything to warrant hitting the panic button. According to iSuppli, average pricing for most LCDs and small-sized TV panels increased anywhere from $2 to $3 in March compared to February. And while prices are expected to rise some more in the short-term, iSuppli warns that it's too early to say that a recovery is taking place in the LCD industry, as the influx of orders are not expected to be sustained.