Philips Curved monitor
Surprisingly capable curved 32–inch display
About $250 From Philips, philips.co.uk Features Ultra–wide color, Quad HD, 3W speaker base, VA display
The latest monitor through our doors is the Philips ‘Curved LCD monitor with Ultra Wide–Color’ (or 328E9FJAB/00 if you insist), a 32–inch, 2560x1440 pixel LCD screen with a distinct horizontal curve.
This uses a VA (Vertical Alignment) LCD panel. This is less expensive tech than IPS (In–Plane Switching) but doesn’t look as consistent when you aren’t flat– on to the display. Contrast shifts can creep in: fine for spreadsheets, but not great for graphics or video work. Hence the curve; it means the full width of the screen faces you directly, eliminating those shifts — as long as you’re seated in roughly the right spot. The curve’s focal point is about 1.3m from the surface. This is a little distant for production work, but it performs well down to around 70cm. Pixel density is 93ppi; not Retina–class, but not a problem from 1m away. Its color performance is fairly good, achieving 100 per cent of sRGB and 85 per cent of Adobe RGB in the tests we put it through.
It has VGA, HDMI, and DisplayPort sockets, with a slim stand that’s easy to attach. There’s no built–in swivel or height adjustment but turning it on a desk is easy. Two 3W speakers are in the base. Unsurprisingly, like many monitor speakers, these are too tinny for anything more than system beeps.
This monitor doesn’t have lots of inputs or other high–end features, but it does the core job admirably. The curve handily counteracts the VA panel’s weaknesses and it renders colors well.
the bottom line. A simple curved 32–inch display that achieves good color when in the right spot.