“We generally wouldn’t bother with mentioning a monitor’s audio qualities specifically, but Apple has clearly given this screen something worthy of talking about. Audio is delivered automatically over USB 2.0 from one’s laptop to the screen, and while we can only chuckle at the “.1” part of the “2.1” audio system, the quality is darn impressive. When hooking up your notebook, audio is instantly ported from the lappie’s speakers to the monitor’s speakers when the USB connector of the tri-prong cable is hooked up, and the clarity is superb. It gets plenty loud for desk use, and it does a noteworthy job of dispersing sound in a way that envelopes the user. In other words, it actually sounds like stereo,” Murph reports.
“So, the $64,000 question — does the thing even look good? In a word, yes. In a couple of words, absolutely yes. The LED backlight is responsible for delivering a striking, bright and incredibly crisp image that looks good while playing back fast-moving action or just displaying your mundane desktop. It’s actually rather scary how bright this thing gets, so don’t worry about being able to see it in broad daylight. Those familiar with the display on the new MacBook Pro are fully equipped to understand the LED Cinema Display, as the qualities between the two are practically identical. Whites are starkly white, blacks are decidedly deep and overall, it’s just enjoyable to look at,” Murph reports. “The viewing angles on this monitor were nothing short of terrific. We could see everything on the screen from practically every angle that you’d ever find yourself at, and we had no complaints from a small group that we rounded up to watch a 1080p movie trailer.”
Murph reports, “Apple’s 24-inch LED Cinema Display is a winner, but it’s a winner with reservations. If you’re totally kosher with Mini DisplayPort, and you don’t mind the omission of additional inputs, and you’re confident the glossy panel won’t turn you off, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better LED-backlit screen at this size and at this price point — particularly if you’re a MacBook / MBP / MBA owner.”
There’s much more in the full review here.
I love mine! Very bright and pr0n looks AMAZING on it.
Seriously.
At $900 it better be good
At $900 it ought to have more than one input. My $700, 32″ Samsung LCD (fluorescent backlight) has 3 HDMI inputs, 1 DVI, 2 component inputs, and a built-in TV tuner. Sure, it’s marketed as a “TV”, but it’s really a high end computer monitor with multiple inputs and a built-in OTA digital tuner. We should stop making false and unnecessary distinctions between TVs and computer monitors, and makers of high-end “computer monitors” would do well to take a cue from high end “televisions” and offer more than one measly video input.
How sweet would it be to be able to plug your Tivo, your Wii, your Xbox, your Macbook or Mac mini, and your AppleTV straight into this new Apple display simultaneously?
In Australia they’re $1499. I think I’ll stick with my $515 24″ Samsung.
It’s actually rather scary how bright this thing gets, so don’t worry about being able to see it in broad daylight.
Why so bright? High gloss requires a low-light environment.
Kinda self-defeating.
(And I’d hate to know what “scary” bright is. My little iMac is nearly capable of thermonuclear brightness).
I like unboxing pr0n as much as the next guy — but next time Engadget does a photo gallery about a new monitor, it’d be nice if they’d actually take a few shots with the fscker plugged up and turned on…
To confused . . . .
The brightness helps to mask or drown out the bright reflections on the glossy screen. Figured this out a year ago with my glossy iMac. I doe still prefer matte, but oh well.
“The viewing angles on this monitor were nothing short of terrific.”
Pure BS. I’ve seen this display and while it does look great head-on, reflections obliterate any image in anything but the darkest room. It also over saturates colors to make it look better. I guess my next display will have to be a third party offering.
@ Des Gusting
Re: “In Australia they’re $1499.”
Do you think that we are stupid not to realize that you quoted in Aussie dollars.
Not Apple’s fault for the dollar slide.
Last year it would have cost $809 Canadian, but this year with the it is $999 CND.
So for Americans, all you have to do is get hold of a Canadian reseller and have the monitor shipped to you in the States. Price $804 US.
The brightness helps to mask or drown out the bright reflections on the glossy screen.
IOW, the solution to gloss glare is to simply overpower it??
I’d love to see a long-term study on what that’s gonna do to our eyeballs!
Apple, please. Either reconsider the gloss, or bundle sunglasses.
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You know Apple does not do niche markets.
Get over it.