Oli Kenobi

My monitor broke 2 weeks ago. That’s not such a big issue because I own a laptop. However, I’d appreciate to have more pixels… So I’ve started to take a look at what manufacturers have to offer. So far it is EXTREMELY disappointing.

What’s the problem, sir?

I’m looking for a 24 inch monitor. From what I can recall, a usual 24″ screen has a resolution of 1920×1200 pixels, with a 16:10 ratio, and an average price of $400-$500. Now most of the 24″ market is filled with 16:9 screens, having a resolution of 1920×1080 (like a HD TV), for a price of $300-$450. You can still find what I call regular (they’re not so usual now) 16:10 24″ screen for $500 and more…
Do you see the problem here? Basically, manufacturers removed pixels on their screens (1200 to 1080), dropped the prices (that’s usual in the computer market), and then raised the prices of regular 24″ screens. WHAT THE F*CK?!!!

Why such a move, any idea?

I’m pretty sure manufacturers want to align their screen resolutions to the ones found on TVs, having the same ratio of 16:9 as well. Indeed, not only 24″ monitors have a resolution of 1920×1080, but also 20″, 21″ and 23″ offer that same amount of pixels. I guess the ‘official’ reason for this move it to help the average Joe who doesn’t understand anything about pixels, so that when he see 1080, he thinks “yeah that’s like a HD TV, so my PC will be HD”. But I’m sure the unofficial reason is just to trick people and therefore make more money… Even Apple got into that 16:9 trend with the new iMacs!

What happened to the 1920×1200 monitors? They’re hard to find… Why raise their prices? To make more money… Computers are not TVs, and the more pixels the better.

What’s the conclusion?

This is simply another modern (disguised) robbery! And I guess the end is near for 16:10 monitors…