|
 |
TRENDS
|
Flat Screens
Make For Well-Rounded Workstations
By Laurie Burstein
“Star Trek technology is here today on your own desktop,” says Lloyd
Bruce of IBM in St. Louis. Bruce is talking about the new high-resolution
flat screen monitors that look and perform up to the latest technology
standards.
Not only do the flat panel monitors look sleek, they provide sharper,
crisper images. The new screens provide a space-saving advantage
too. The lightweight, flat panel models are far less heavy and bulky
than the traditional counterparts. The average weight of a 15- to17-inch
flat screen monitor is just one to three pounds, as compared to
25-30 pounds for the older desktop units.
At the consumer PC level, flat screen monitors are a huge trend.
John Branan, an A/V Specialist at Ultimate Electronics in Brentwood,
says the flat screens are very popular, especially with prices continuing
to drop. Just a few years ago, the flat panels were selling for
$3,000 and up. Today, they are $500 to $800 on average at most retailers.
“The flat panels still cost more than the older style monitors,
but they are worth it. They provide richer images, reduce glare
and take up less space. Prices are coming down and our customers
continue to ask for them,” Branan says. With four stores in the
St. Louis region, Ultimate Electronics first opened here in November
and has 46 stores around the country.
At the corporate level, flat screens are ideal for key industries
including healthcare, financial services, engineering and design,
says Bruce, Central Region Sales Manager for IBM. “For financial
analysts viewing reports to designers preparing publications or
web pages to scientists analyzing satellite imagery, the new high-resolution
monitors improve usability.”
Bruce cites financial traders and counselors whose work requires
them to scan numerous panels of information. He explains how one
trader can use four screens in a multi-media workstation with one
screen for buying and selling, a screen for viewing the market in
real time, another for viewing CNN, and another for producing documents.
The technology of flat screen panels allows for extremely detailed
images and graphics in this set-up.
For businesses, IBM’s T221 LCD top-of-the-line high-resolution monitor
goes for $8,399. This is half the previous price after IBM announced
a price cut in March. Bruce says prices will continue to drop even
more in time. And, for companies with multiple units, another advantage
is the savings in reduced electrical bills as flat screens consume
less heat and power.
Whether for consumers or corporations, flat screen monitors are
the latest status symbol technology with many advantages from looks
and high-res images to cost and space saving features.
Laurie Burstein is a St. Louis-based free-lance writer.
|
|
|
|
|
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|
