Review by The newer Apple Display designs are not exactly new to the market but earlier this year, Mike and I bought two screens. One was a 20inch and the other 23inch.
Although a bit of a challenging review since Steven already reviewed the 23" Isaac purchased but enough has changed to warrant a second updated review.
The first thing to note is the price. With the 20" now selling for $799 USD and the 23" for $1,499, the price point is much more competitive.
I'm not going to list any of the specs but I can't do a review without listing the resolution at least once. Having a screen size of 1680 x 1050 pixels (1920 x 1200 pixels) is fantastic. As a first time LCD owner, I was surprised as to how much brighter this screen was compared to my laptop.
Admitting that I bought this monitor to run on a windows machine, the setup was just as simple as plugging everything in. Full resolution, No ADC-to-DVI adapter, all the monitor controls, USB, Firewire ports all worked out of the box. All of which comes from the monitor in a single cable that splits near the end for the various connections.
One of my complaints about the previous design or should I say concern was the plastic leg is supported itself on. I have never heard of any reports of it breaking but the thought of it alone scared me when thinking about it. That being said, the updated monitor stand looks more stable and also allows for better angle adjustments using a smaller foot print on the desk.
And finally I would like to close with the packaging. Apple ships their products in boxes that can be easily reusable. A nice protective box with a plastic handle makes for easy transportation if the need is ever there.
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The more stuff you own, the less happy you will be - so be sure and own good stuff!
Comments
Nick - July 8, 2005 1:21 am
I work at an Apple Store and can attest that the plastic legs do break. So, the new design is a welcome one. It is a lot more stable and attractive.
Bryan Culver - July 17, 2005 11:05 am
I just bought the 20" Cinema Display and it's definatly worth the price. I do think however, the 23" and 30" are too expensive. With the 20" hooked up on my Mac mini, it looks great and it allows me to do work a lot more efficantly.
Doug Drury - March 22, 2006 12:08 pm
Does anyone know how to connect these monitors to a VGA laptop? I tried a passive VGA to DVI connector...but that did not do the trick. Do I have to purchase a powered VGA to DVI adapter??? I have seen some for $299...but I don't want to have to do that for my work laptop. I have 3 other computers that work great with the 23". Is there anyone who knows of a good PCMCIA DVI video card? Thanks.
pErz - April 10, 2006 7:47 am
Doug Drury >> you can use D-sub converter to DVI and use double with DVI to ADC converter to connect your monitor :) i think
George Hurley - June 12, 2006 3:11 pm
Im just about to buy a cinema display 20" but need to know the dimentions of the box for transportation reasons, please can anyone advise me? Really appreciate it, thanks.
George
Chris Maukonen - September 30, 2006 12:34 am
I just purchased a 20" cinema display and attached it to my PC using an ATI Radeon DVI card. Works great
and the current AIT driver comes with a control center where you can adjust brightness, contrast, gamma
and individual colors. Set up was quick and easy with this combination.
However for the Linux croud, there are drivers available from ATI, but they do not support anything
but gamma adjust. Perhaps another DVI card would be better for linux, but make sure there are linux
drivers available.
Alex C - July 12, 2007 4:54 pm
With the previous model of studio display is there any way to fix the broken back leg of the monitor?