Sarah Stokely19 September 2006, 5:53 AM
With the arrival in Australia last month of Taiwanese LCD manufacturer Chi Mei, price competition on LCDs has never been fiercer. Chi Mei's 22 inch widescreen monitor is selling for a little as $509.
With the arrival in Australia last month of Taiwanese LCD manufacturer Chi Mei, price competition on LCDs has never been fiercer.
Chi Mei’s 221A 22 inch widescreen monitor, distributed in Australia by Protac, has been advertised for as low as $509 (or $539 with DVI).
It has an impressive 1680x1050 resolution ... higher than many "HD" TVs, and a claimed 5ms response time and 800:1 contrast ratio.
Other brands can cost twice as much for a screen that size, so buyers need to look beyond the price tag to determine what else they may be getting — or missing out on — by choosing on price alone.
I looked closely at Chimei and other manufacturers' pricing to see what bargains are out there and how LCD manufacturers are differentiating themselves when prices are so rock-bottom. (I didn't, on the other hand, look at the monitors themselves from a review perspective, so I'm only talking about pricing alone here without considering the relative quality of the panels.)
In Sydney, Maco Technology had the 221A 22 inch widescreen LCD for $515 (preorder) and the 221D (with DVI) for $570 (preorder).
In Melbourne I found the 221A for $509 or the 221D for $579 at Newcomputers.
Another vendor applying heavy discounts to widescreen LCD monitors at the moment is — no surprises — Dell.
It has an online special of $350 off its2407 WFP 24 inch Ultra Sharp wide screen flat panel, with a bottom-line price of $1299 after the discount. The special ends 21 September, and is limited to three per customer.
"Since the 2407 WFP is so popular with gamers you can currently get it bundled in a multimedia pack with wireless keyboard, mouse and sound bar speakers) for $1299 delivered - a saving of $350," said a Dell spokesperson.
Dell has also lopped $200 off the price of its 2007WFP 20 inch ultra sharp widescreen flat panel, dropping it to $699. The price on this monitor, which features Digital DVI-D (with HDCP) alongside analog, s=video and composite inputs, includes delivery.
ViewSonic is fighting the competitors' sharp pricing with its own price cuts. It has reduced the price tag on its 20 inch VX2025 widescreen LCD from $589 to $519.
Warranty and dead pixel replacement policies can turn a bargain into a lemon so I asked a few vendors how their offerings stacked up.
Chi Mei’s LCD monitors are sold with a 30 day pixel defect-free guarantee and three year return to base warranty.
Dell offers a 15 day total satisfaction guarantee, which covers the return of the monitor for dead pixels or scratched stand/bezel. Its next-day advanced exchange warranty promises that should you need your monitor replaced, a new one will be dispatched to you the next working day, and the problematic monitor picked up from you. This means no need to return it to point of purchase or send it for checks before getting a replacement.
ViewSonic offers a 30 day zero dead pixel policy to supplement its existing three year limited warranty on LCD monitors.
It's less hassle to known at point of purchase whether your monitor has dead pixels so it can be replaced on the spot rather than having to take a faulty one back to the shop.
This may come down to how helpful the shop assistant (or online retailer) is. In my experience it's worth asking if you can plug in and test the LCD before you take it home.
You can also request this of your online retailer when you place the order - previously I've had good experiences with Eyo when we requested on the purchase order that they plug in and check the unit before shipping.
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