If there’s one thing that you’ve got to hand it to the people at Samsung is that they know what it takes to make a seriously stylish product. We’re talking dollar sign bling action here! The company has been working hard to create a very distinctive style to the entirety of their product line and it’s really starting to show. Taking a look at their cell phones, you will inevitably find that the majority of those handsets have a piano black finish and a remarkably slim profile.
Hopping over to the television department, you’ll discover the same glossy black finish and the same slender physique. Even when you look at some of the Samsung printers, they’ve got piano black finishes there too. This is why I was taken aback upon opening the box for the Samsung SyncMaster T220 LCD monitor.
Unlike the rest of the company’s product line, this computer monitor is not piano black. Instead, they’ve opted for a fantastically attractive deep red translucent color. You could say that it’s burgundy. As you can probably imagine, there aren’t very many consumer electronics with this kind of color scheme. At the same time, the styling is still distinctly Samsung with its undeniable visual impact.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I’m beholding some beauty. If you’re looking for an LCD monitor that’s a little different than all the black and silver wonders on the market, the Samsung SyncMaster T220 might be for you. Read on to uncover both the good and bad about this LCD monitor.
Features and Specifications
Strangely, I couldn’t find the spec sheet on the official Samsung website. I guess the SyncMaster T220 is still so new that they haven’t even put it up on their site yet. Thankfully, they do list the basic specs on the box. The box itself isn’t anything to write home about, but the box does hint at the glossy burgundy finish on the T220. Reading down the box, we find the following specs:
- 22″ Wide TFT-LCD Monitor
- Up to 1680 x 1050 (WSXGA+)
- Dynamic Contrast 20000:1
- Fast Response Time: 2ms
- 0.3W Standby Power
- Windows Vista Premium Certification
I always take contrast ratio and response time ratings with a grain of salt, especially since the actual performance of the monitor will depend on other factors (like your graphics card). Even so, in real world use, I was impressed with the reasonably deep blacks and bright whites displayed by the T220. The color reproduction was quite vibrant as well.