zm. the poor bloke.: comex 2007

That's the difference. Or is it?

i had absolutely nothing to buy this moment, thus i thought comex was quite disappointing - in terms of exhibitors and the stuff on offer.

was thinking of buying a 20 or 22' LCD to replace my brother's Dell 17' (i need to get rid of all my CRTs and take this as spare). Went there, and everything just didn't look fantastic. Went back last night and read up on Samsung's 226BW/CW/2232GW and found so many issues:

- 226BW is the model that surpassed demand forecasts, causing Samsung to get AU Optronics (AUO) and Chimei (CPT) to manufacture panels for this model. So there were 3 editions of this monitor - the A (AUO), C (CPT) and S (Samsung, the best). The A and C panel were comparatively worse off than the S panel, however most consumers wouldn't know unless they are well read. Although Samsung is progressively using only the S panel this monitor is a boo-boo.

Samsung 226BW/CW

- 226CW promises wider colour gamut from 72% to 97%. However there are some backlight bleeding issues. Fortunately, only Samsung provides the panel for this model.

- 2232GW looks more like the consumer TV with the glossy bezel and stand. Seems to be on par with 226CW.

Samsung 2232GW

there is a bigger problem with the current 22 inchers in general - all of them uses 6-bit TN panel technology, no matter it's from Samsung, Chimei or AUO. And those 19/20 inchers that have unbelievable prices too use 6-bit TN. My Dell 17' belongs to this section, and the colour reproduction simply degrades over time. It's only 2+yrs old.

the 8-bit S-IPS/PVA/MVA panel technologies are better in terms of colours, however has a higher response time (12-16ms compared to 2-8ms), and carries a much higher price tag. Consider this - Dell's entry (read: 6-bit panel) E207WFP is $379, compared to the higher end brother (8-bit panel) 2007WFP's $599. A whopping difference of $229!

salesmen will tell you the manufacturer of the panels, but many of them are not technically inclined to differentiate between 6 and 8-bit panels. It can mean a world of difference especially for graphical work.

the decision - LCD prices are going up until the end of the year. So i'm holding on, then get a 8-bit panel from Dell next year. Perhaps by then, i can get my 2nd 2407WFP if the price is right *grin*

Dell's current design for 20/24/30 inchers

meanwhile, Zhangwei bought much more stuff. He got 2 pieces of 1GB RAM for his laptop and some Canon ink. He was looking for a glossy screened 19 incher, but there was only the Dell SP1908FP that had that gloss.

went for dinner at Crystal Jade 拉面小笼包. Ate it in April last year, and it's still as good as before. I would say the quality is better than Din Tai Fung for their dumplings. In the end, i paid by Clear Card since there was a free dessert.