In a world teeming with mediocre 1080p displays, it’s nice to see some companies try to stand out from the crowd. Dell appears to be doing just that with its new UltraSharp U2412M display, which has an impressive set of features for its $399 price tag: LED backlight, IPS panel technology, and 1920×1200 resolution.
Yes, this is one of those rare modern-day displays that hasn’t succumbed to the 16:9 craze. The 1920×1200 resolution serves up 11% of additional vertical space over 1080p, which can come in handy if you ever plan to use your computer for, you know, not watching movies on Netflix. Oh, and of course, the IPS panel should deliver better viewing angles and more accurate colors than the TN panels so common among low-end displays.
On top of that, Dell says the U2412M features a 1000:1 contrast ratio, 300 cd/m² brightness, 8-ms grey-to-grey response time, and 82% color gamut. I believe that color gamut is closer to plain sRGB than some of the newer wide-gamut displays out there, which tend to look over-saturated before calibration. Connectivity-wise, the new UltraSharp packs DVI, VGA, and DisplayPort inputs as well as a four-port USB 2.0 hub. (Thanks to Engadget for the tip.)