Dell Ultrasharp 2408WFP 24" Widescreen LCD
Conclusion
Dell has once again raised the bar for the display industry with the release of their Ultrasharp 2408WFP. While its price tag ($619 currently) puts it in the “luxury” class of 24” displays on the market currently, its feature-set puts it ahead of the competition by a sizable margin. Considering most 24” monitors sell in the $350 - $500 range, Dell is asking a lot of potential buyers – however, those who do open their wallets will likely not be disappointed by this screen. There is very little not to like here.
While the $600+ price tag is steep, keep in mind that it’s still significantly less expensive than Apple’s closest Cinema Display model, which is a 23” model that sells for $900. While the Cinema Display 23" features Firewire support, Dell’s 24" 2408WFP blows the Apple display away in terms of pixel response, contrast ratio, and connectivity options, and it supports a higher color gamut too. For creative types, Dell really is producing a superior product here – although granted, we still do feel that the Apple Cinema Display may be an aesthetically better looking monitor overall. Dell is definitely top tier when it comes to aesthetics, but no one has been able to match the elegance of an Apple Cinema display quite yet.
Obviously, we’d love to see the price of the screen drop to more tolerable levels, which we’re sure it will with time. Keep in mind, Dell frequently throws around sizable discounts on their displays if you’re willing to look around for codes and keys – and if you stumble upon one and you’re looking for a big new LCD display, it’s hard to pass up a display like the 2408WFP.
The display isn’t perfect, but it’s pretty darn close. We would have liked to see an integrated webcam at the top of the display considering the price point, and we would have liked to see the model support Picture-in-Picture/Picture-by-Picture with a wider array of ports, but neither of these negatives are deal breakers. This is the first 24” display with DisplayPort connectivity, the first to boast 110%+ color gamut support, one of a small few which boast 3000:1 contrast ratio, all three are features which deserve to be noticed. It’s sleek, vibrant, professional, and gets the job done. A beautiful display which we would be happy to own. We don’t know what more Dell can add to their Ultrasharp lineup to enhance this beast anymore, but we’re looking forward to seeing what they have up their sleeves.
