Cool Tech Reviews

TigerDirect.com is doing something slightly different this year - its 72 hour post Thanksgiving sale is called Pink Friday to support breast cancer research. Some of the deals:

Lenovo laptop - Intel Core 2 Duo T5250 1.5GHz notebook with 2GB RAM, 160GB HD, 14.1″ WXGA display and Vista Home Premium reduced $350 to $599.99.

I-Inc LCD monitor - I-Inc 19″ LCD DVI monitor, SXGA 1280×1024 resolution, 8ms response. Reduced $40 to $119.99.

Matsunich digital picture frame - Matsunich 8″ Wide Screen Digital Picture Frame reduced $10 to $99.99.

LCD HDTV - $200 off Sharp Aqous 180p LCD HDTVs in 42, 46, and 52-inch sizes which are now respectively $1299.99, $1399.99, and $1999.99.

Staples has posted their Cyber Monday flyer and here are some of the deals:

Compaq laptop - Presario C712NR Notebook PC reduced $400 (with instant coupon) to $349.98. With 1GB memory, 80GB Hard drive, DVD R/RW with Double Layer Support, 15.4″ WXGA display, and Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, it’s a good deal.

External hard drive - Maxtor 500GB OneTouch™ 4 reduced $90 to $79.98.

LCD monitor - Hanns-G 21.6″ Widescreen HD Ready LCD Monitor with built-in speakers. Native resolution: 1680×1050. Reduced $150 to $149.99.

There’s more there and as usual with “Cyber Monday” deals, it isn’t tied to Monday and in fact started today at 6AM EST.

LG is one of the manufacturers experimenting with computer monitors connected via USB 2.0 and they have teamed up with DisplayLink to launch their first one, the L206WU, in the USA:

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I got an email the other day with a bargain offer for the Acer AL2216WBD 22 inch LCD Monitor. By the time I got around to checking it out it had expired, but this monitor is currently offered at a variety of places for what seem to be really low prices (e.g. Amazon: $239.99 or less, NewEgg: $249.99) so I thought I would see what you can get for so little. The AL2216WBD specs are at first glance pretty startling: (more…)

No sooner did I spot the LG Flatron L1970HR LCD monitor for gamers, than ASUS jumped into the 2ms response game. It’s too early for reviews and the pricing and availability have still to be revealed, but Gizmodo has some of the specs:

To start with the nitty gritty, this behemoth has a 1280×1024 native resolution, 800:1 contrast ratio, 320cd/m2 brightness and a very nice 2ms response time for optimal gaming and minimal ghosting. The fun doesn’t end there, either. This display has three USB 2.0 ports, DVI-D, D-SUB, 1.3-megapixel webcam, microphone/headphone inputs and even an integrated 2.1-channel speaker system that includes a fancy tube-like subwoofer on the back side.

There’s more by following the link and at ubergizmo, but I think it’s clear this baby will have a premium price.

My gaming days are mostly behind me but the LG Flatron 1970HR LCD monitor caught my eye when I saw the 2 ms response time. John R. Delaney has kicked its tires at PC Magazine and here’s the net:

Known for turning out stylish TVs, cell phones, and computer displays, LG Electronics continues the trend with its 19-inch Flatron L1970HR ($420 street) LCD monitor. This flashy 1,280-by-1,024 panel features a 1,600:1 contrast ratio and the fastest LCD pixel-response rating—2 milliseconds—I’ve ever seen. Gamers and video buffs will appreciate the monitor’s smooth motion performance, but if you’re working with lots of small text or photos, look elsewhere.
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The big story here is the L1970’s amazingly fast 2-ms (black to white) pixel-response rating. I put it to the test while playing several rounds of Doom 3 and was blown away by the panel’s smooth motion performance. Granted, it’s not CRT quality, but there was no noticeable ghosting and very few motion artifacts. I fired up The Matrix on DVD to see how the monitor handled the tough combination of fast action and dark shading and came away impressed, although there was a slight loss of shadow detail. Even so, gamers and multimedia mavens will have a ball with this display.

He does report some problems with grayscale rendition and ultra small fonts, although I suspect those are way, way down on most people’s “must have” feature lists.