This is officially getting ridiculous. When I was tinkering with the HP 2310e monitor a few months back, I was really impressed with how thin and bright this LED backlit monitor is – not to mention its performance. Now I’m eyeballing a display that’s even thinner, the x2301. Today it’s officially being unveiled, but I’ve had a chance to play with it over a weekend and I just wanted to share a couple quick thoughts about the monitor itself. First, let’s go over the obvious – this thing looks beautiful.
Don’t believe me? See for yourself. (By the way, I intentionally shot the above video in an overly bright setting to show that you can still get a clear view of the monitor).
I was initially knocked out by the slim screen (9.8mm deep), sure, but I thought moving the ports and most of the electronics into that stylish aquamarine base is just plain smart. That makes the screen easy to adjust as you tilt to taste and, when you get to plug something in, it’s a breeze to spin around thanks to the low center of gravity. In fact, for the above video when I turned the monitor, I spun it by literally twirling two fingers. Try doing that with the monitor sitting on your desk right now.
I also think that the four front OSD control buttons are exactly what I want: a couple to adjust settings and one button that can quickly toggle between the HDMI, DVI-D and VGA inputs.
…But how does it work?
Since it’s a little tough to show you exactly how it performs (if you’re not reading this post through the x2301, that is), here’s a couple additional things I wanted to throw at you:
The twisted nematic (TN) panel in this monitor actually manages to provide a bright, colorful (72% Color Gamut) picture – as you probably noticed in the video I shot, the screen is clearly visible. But you might also notice a spot of glare. That shouldn’t be all too surprising because glossy screens cast reflections if you look at them from wide angles. On the bright side, glossy panels makes colors pop – even if you’re in a well-lit room.
Running the Blu-ray version of Tron Legacy on the screen, the bright neon blues popped out from the black cyberspaciness in the background. Meanwhile, both Jeff Bridges and his younger digitally-enhanced counterpart looked sharp and clear. Thanks to the 3ms response time of the x2301, fast-paced combat wasn’t lost on me for a nanosecond. Whether it was light cycle racing or aerial combat it looked silky-smooth. And looked like a videogame. Speaking of which…
Another bonus to the size-and-shape of the unit is that if you’re inclined to go the multiple-monitor route, the thin bezel and base make it simple to stack them side-by-side. The only thing I found missing from the x2301: DisplayPort. Not a deal-breaker by any means, but I just wanted to put it out there.
What I don’t know is if I’ll be able to part with this monitor. I’m serious. I’ve already warned HP’s Pete Ellis that I might need to lock the x2301 down to my desk so that they can’t take it back. (But if I had to buy it, I wouldn’t mind the $279 price tag when it ships June 10).
But that’s me. Do you have any specific questions or thoughts about the monitor?
