3 Affordable Full-HD LCD Monitors

Prices of LCD monitors have been steadily crashing. Sizes such as 20" and 22" are rapidly approaching mass-market status and this has resulted in full-HD monitors (24" and above) becoming affordable. These 24" inch monitors are not only full-HD compliant but also offer significantly more working area. Another market that such monitors have found surprising success in is next-gen consoles. Full-HD monitors come at a fraction of the price of a comparable TV that would normally be required to enjoy these consoles' native resolution.

Keeping in mind that Blu-ray has now effectively won the HD war and that prices for these drives are already dropping below the 10K mark, we decided to shop around for three 24-inch monitors that can be had for a relatively low price. Here's what we found:
AOC 416V

The brand name AOC may not ring any bells for most readers, since the company is virtually unknown in our part of the world. However, in Europe and many parts of Asia, the company has decent brand recognition since it's been in the PC business for a while.

AOC's monitor range has been available in India for some time though. The 416V is the flagship 24" model, with a native resolution of 1920x1200 p, 5ms response time (gray to gray), a dynamic contrast ratio of 3000:1, and 160/160 horizontal/vertical viewing angles. Though it lacks HDMI, it does have full support for HDCP via its DVI connectors and also has a D-Sub connector.

It is available for roughly Rs 23,000 (prices vary as per regional availability, so it could be anywhere between Rs 19,500 and Rs 24,200). For a detailed specification chart, please check this link.

BenQ G2400W

BenQ is not one a newcomer to this space; its previous model (the FP241W) was one of the best in its generation with a wide variety of connectors, including HDMI/DVI/D-Sub. It recently introduced the G2400W, which differs from other monitors in this range as it is the only one that offers an HDMI connector.

As expected, the G2400W comes with a native resolution of 1920x1200, 5ms response time (gray to gray), a contrast ratio of 1000:1, and 160/160 horizontal/vertical viewing angles. It offers HDMI with full support for HDCP. It has a single DVI connector on board, and also a D-Sub connector.

The G2400W is available for Rs 24,000 + taxes. Detailed specifications can be found here.

Dell E248WFP

Widely regarded as the leader in this space, Dell continues to offer excellent VFM monitors that have established a sterling reputation for display quality and finish. The E248WFP is Dell's entry-level monitor and has a native resolution of 1920x1200, 5ms response time, 1000:1 contrast ratio, 160/160 viewing angles, DVI-D with HDCP support, and a D-Sub connector.

Prices start at Rs 19,100, and factoring in taxes will peg it at around Rs 23,000. This is open to a bit of bargaining, but remember that Dell only takes orders through its website and over the phone. Some discreet negotiation while placing your order just might get you significant savings of around Rs 3000.

Head here for further details.

3 Great Laptops Under Rs 40,000

Laptops today are universally becoming the first choice for anyone looking to upgrade. Rapidly falling prices, increased performance levels, and almost complete packages of multimedia and smooth multitasking are some of the reasons for this. Keeping these factors in mind, we decided to look around and shortlist three models that we think represent great VFM within the very price-sensitive market segment of under Rs 40,000. Here are our choices.

Compaq Presario C740TU
HP has to be commended for maintaining a clear differentiation in its product range. While the HP brand of laptops caters to the value and performance markets, the Compaq brand has been used to address the needs of the budget and ultra-value markets.

The Compaq Presario C740TU that we have chosen is currently one of the best VFM models available. It offers an Intel C2D T5450 processor which is clocked at 1.67 GHz, 512 MB RAM (upgradeable to 1 GB for an additional cost of Rs 1,450), a 15.4 inch LCD panel, 160 GB of HDD space and 3 USB slots. Its current street price is around Rs 34,000.

Though most users will today balk at the sparse amount of RAM being offered, please note that the laptop can be easily upgraded, inexpensively. The OS offered is Windows Visa Basic. A 1-year warranty is offered through Compaq's service centers.

Watch out for a review of this laptop, which will come up pretty soon. In the meantime you can check out a detailed specification list here.

Acer Aspire 2920N



It should come as no surprise to anyone that Acer has appeared on this lineup. Acer's last few releases have been driving this segment very hard, with products like its 4520 model, which did exceedingly well and was well appreciated.

This time around too the company had some of the best options available in this price bracket. One of these models is the Acer 2920N. It is perhaps one of the cheapest 12.1 inch laptops available now. It offers an Intel C2D T5450 processor, 1GB RAM, 160GB storage and 3 USB slots. These are healthy specifications, and a price tag of just Rs 37,000 makes it a great portable choice for anyone who is looking for crunching power and portability .
Acer Aspire 5920N


It's Acer once again, this time with the 5920N. This is a 15.4-inch job with features similar to the 2920. It has the same specifications (Intel C2D T5450 processor, and 160GB of storage) but improves on the 2920 by offering 4 USB slots, a 4-in-1 Dolby Digital capable surround system, a DVD-RW writer, Firewire, and Bluetooth support.

Touchscreen Mobiles: Part II

In Part I of this feature I highlighted some 'totally touchscreen' handsets that had no physical keypads at all and relied on virtual keypads (onscreen) instead. In this second installment, let's look at some handsets that offer the best of both worlds by incorporating full-screen touch sensitivity and a physical keypad for those who don’t like to mess up their screen with fingerprints.

Slider Phones
LG KF 700

LG's KF700 slider is equipped with a 3 inch, 240 x 480 pixel resolution TFT touchscreen display. The keypad slides down from behind and yet it appears rather slim at 14.5mm. It has a 3 megapixel auto-focus camera that uses image stabilization for better pictures. Other features include a media player, FM radio, Bluetooth and USB connectivity. For internet connectivity there's 3G with HSDPA and GPRS. It also supports microSD cards for external memory.

QWERTY Sliders
HTC Touch Dual (Rs 26,500)

The HTC touch has always had a great design, but things just got better with a slide-down QWERTY keypad. Unfortunately it seems HTC compromised a little, with the display being reduced to 2.6 inches from the 2.8 inches in the Touch. But that’s no biggie; considering features such as Bluetooth, USB (mini), EDGE, 3G with HSDPA, USB, and Windows Mobile 6.0 Professional. It even has a 2 megapixel camera, with a secondary camera for video calling. Like the Touch, the Dual too incorporates HTC's TouchFLO finger swipe navigation

Sony Ericsson Xperia X1

Although this handset has not yet been released, it’s something to look forward to this year. The Xperia X1 has a 3-inch, 800 x 480 pixel resolution TFT touchscreen display with a superb QWERTY keyboard that slides out. The handset is well designed and lightweight, and will run on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional. It incorporates a 3 megapixel auto-focus camera with flash, inbuilt GPS with A-GPS, Bluetooth with A2DP, and USB v2.0 connectivity. It supports Wi-Fi, EDGE and 3G with HSDPA. There's about 400MB of internal memory and support for external memory. I particularly liked the optical navigation pad under the display and motion sensor with UI auto-rotate feature

QWERTY Candy Bar Phones
Sony Ericsson P1i (Rs 16,600)


Though I wasn't hugely turned on by the P1i and its functions, it nevertheless is a good phone with great features such as a 2.6 inch touchscreen, a QWERTY keyboard and a scroll wheel on the side. It has a 3 megapixel auto-focus camera, Bluetooth with A2DP profile, USB, and Infrared connectivity. External memory is handled via M2 cards. It supports Wi-Fi and 3G. A great feature to have on a business phone like this is the Business Card Scanner. It even a has a media player and an FM radio with RDS.

Treo 750 (Rs 22,500)

The Palm Treo 750 is a comfortable phone to use, with a neat QWERTY keyboard, 5-way navigation pad, and 2.4 inch TFT touchscreen display. It runs on Windows Mobile 5.0 PocketPC but is upgradeable to Windows Mobile 6.0. Features include a 1.3 megapixel camera, miniSD external memory card support, 3GT, EDGE, Bluetooth with A2DP support, and USB connectivity. It also has infrared if you need it.

There you have it: my list of dual input handsets that incorporate touchscreen technology and physical keypads to offer a complete mobile experience. If you have suggestions regarding any more handsets, please leave a comment. Indeed, I shortlisted some of these devices based on recommendations from Tech2’s very own readers. Thanks guys... keep reading!

Touchscreen Mobiles: Part II

In Part I of this feature I highlighted some 'totally touchscreen' handsets that had no physical keypads at all and relied on virtual keypads (onscreen) instead. In this second installment, let's look at some handsets that offer the best of both worlds by incorporating full-screen touch sensitivity and a physical keypad for those who don’t like to mess up their screen with fingerprints.