Lenovo's 24-inch LED LCD: So far, so good

When Lenovo announced its ThinkVision L2440x LCD a couple weeks back, I wrote that I was excited about getting it in and testing it. After receiving it last week, I've only completed some preliminary anecdotal testing, but I wanted to write about some quick impressions I got from the monitor.

What I was most excited about was the monitor's LED backlight. LED backlights on LCDs are kind of the new hotness these days. While most LCDs use Cold Cathode Fluorescent Tubes for their backlights, monitors that use LED backlights are known to have better color accuracy and a much longer--about 3:1--lifespan than CCFL-based monitors. They are also purported to be more energy efficient than typical LCDs, although we've yet to actually test this.

(Credit: Eric Franklin/CNET Networks)

As for picture quality, so far, the left and right viewing angles are OK, but not as good as I would have liked. When I moved about 20 degrees to the left or right, I noticed that the picture became noticeably darker; however, text was still readable.

The lower viewing angle was less impressive. At only about 10 to 15 degrees below center, the screen gets a very dark patch at the top. So if you're slouching in your seat while Web surfing or gaming, be prepared that detail on the screen will be harder to see. I mean, I guess you could always just sit up straight, but in my opinion, you shouldn't have to.

When I did sit up straight, while Web surfing and playing World of Warcraft, I noticed that the colors in WoW are vivid without being over-saturated. Everything just had a very smooth and precise look to it--so far. We'll see what I discover once I get down and dirty with the testing.

Design-wise, the display is practical and elegant. I especially like the wide and flat footstand that keeps it from wobbling, and the conveniently placed and comfortable handle that I got some use out of while carrying it around, looking for a spot to photograph it. The screen pivots 90 degrees vertically and rotates nearly 90 degrees to the left and right.

Lenovo is also sending me its ThinkVision L2440p soon and I'd prefer a direct comparison between it and the L2440x, so I won't begin full testing until I have them both in. I'll be testing them in DVI using the Extron Electronics D/2 DA4 Distribution Amplifier that will let me test them simultaneously. Check back in a week or so for full reviews of them both.