Dell busts out E207WFP 20-inch LCD for the budget set

No word on that 19-incher we were just hearing about, but Dell just announced a new 20-inch LCD to pad out their lineup, and this one's priced to move. The new E207WFP eschews big brother 2007WFP's bells and whistles like a USB hub -- along with the composite and S-Video ports, as far as we can tell -- but still sports that 1,680 x 1,050 widescreen resolution, 20.1-inch viewing area and a DVI port with HDCP. The monitor even bests the 2007WFP with a 5ms response time, compared to the latter's 16ms, but the best news comes in the form of the spankin' $289 pricetag, which compares quite favorably to the 2007WFP's $529 MSRP, or even its $400-ish Froogle price. The E207WFP should be available "immediately" worldwide, and if you can do without the high-end frills, or one of those schmancy jumbo-sized 24 or 30-inchers, it doesn't seem you could go far wrong with this unit.

[gman @ Oct 12th 2006 12:39AM]

You're right, LCD's have a 1:1 ratio between viewable area ad size.

I believe the display is actualy 20.1" on the diagonal and 20.1" Viewable.
But from what I've seen everyone just calls them 20" displays.

[Phantom1219 @ Oct 12th 2006 1:04AM]

For those of us who don't know how Dell measures the LCD monitors.

http://www.dell.com/content/learnmore/learnmore.aspx?~id=crt_vs_lcd#1

[Paul J. @ Oct 11th 2006 11:56PM]

Geez, 20" Widescreen for under $300. Given that $289 is the Dell MSRP I wouldn't be surprised to see this for less than $250 after coupons/promotions. There's no reason in the world for anyone to use a 15" LCD anymore.

[strider_mt2k @ Oct 12th 2006 12:06AM]

Hoho! This is NICE!

Maybe...Maybe.

[Mrfreezie @ Oct 12th 2006 12:13AM]

Wow, is it me or is that a crazy good deal? I am getting one.

[Benson @ Oct 12th 2006 12:17AM]

available immediately my ass.

[elbow @ Oct 12th 2006 12:28AM]

Benson, how are we exactly supposed to interpret that comment/invitation?

[Jeff @ Oct 12th 2006 12:13PM]

He means it isn't available yet. Did you check Dell's site? It's not there.

Anyway, check out http://www.groupedia.com/fun/ass_idioms.html for more.

My ass! : Expression of incredulity. "You're going to get up at 5am? My ass!"

[Benson @ Oct 12th 2006 12:40AM]

haha! you got me. I should have thought that out a bit better. But Dell doesn't have the monitor available for sale yet. ;)

[CY Lam @ Oct 12th 2006 12:45AM]

So if you type E207wfp into Google, you'll come across this "GSA Pricelist" excel file.

http://ftpbox.us.dell.com/slg/federal/gsa/gsapricelist.xls

Further googling reveals that these are the prices set for federal purchases... for what it's worth, it's still interesting how much they price everything.

For the E207wfp, it's MSRP at 350, GSA for 347.45.

[Sam @ Oct 12th 2006 12:47AM]

Let me describe my experiance with the Dell 2007WFP. The monitor came out, got a 9 rating from Cnet, so I decided "Well, Cnet is reputable right?" and I bought one. It was 370 dollars (Which was a steal at the time, and still would be a steal today) which included shipping and all that. But guess what? The monitor had horrible color banding (Google for it if you don't know what it is, basically colors not gradiating *SP* smooth, but rather in bands). I thought it was just my monitor, so I got a replacement, and same problem (Even though Dell assured me multiple times that it was just the one monitor with the flaw). After the second one, I decided to go online to Dell's forums to complain, and guess what I found? About 100 other people with the same problem. Turns out the ENTIRE line was borked, and Dell knew about it. So what did Dell do? Nothing, till another 100 people showed up, and the story got some press (thanks to Slashdot), at which point they finally said "Ok, we have a version 2, it fixes the problem, and we'll pay all the shipping to and from". Great I thought, so I shipped my monitor back and got the replacement. Same problem with the Color Banding (and yes, it was definatly the new version). Same problem happened to many others aswell. At this point I was completely fed up, so I decided to return the thing for a complete refund. I shipped my monitor back through DHL Air Express (Dell payed) and thought that all was right with the world. And then 2 weeks later, and no refund, I call Dell back to figure out what the problem is. The man on the phone barely spoke English, which was the first barrier with this, and he informs me that the tracking number I provided for the package was wrong. I was looking directly at the receipt that DHL had given me, and dictating the number from that, but still it was wrong. (This is at the month point, after dozens of emails to customer support person after person, who kept telling me that they had handled it). To cut the story slightly short, I had to call DHL and get a copy of the receipt, because the outsourced Indian part of Dell Co. doesn't have the phone number or the means to call the Monitor Repair Center in the United States, Even though I had their number (If I had called, they could have told me they had the monitor, but the Indian tech support wouldn't refund based on my word, as if). 2 weeks later, I FINALLY got my refund.

The moral of the story kids; Dell will offer you their rock bottom price ONLY if they have a reason to (They marked the faulty 2007WFP down to about 300 dollars so they could get rid of them in advance of their "Revised, Funtional" monitors) and when you have a problem, you will go through hell with the absolute worst customer support service on the entire planet. So in other words, I realize this is a great deal, but that is what I thought about the 2007WFP, and look what happened. Wait untill a real forum (Cnet, tomshardware, etc all get cherry picked review units that they know have no problems) to give the go ahead before you make the purchase. You won't be sorry if you don't buy from Dell.

[hongkongtechkid @ Aug 9th 2007 5:49PM]

Your review is much appreciated, the only problem is, this post is referring to a different monitor - the E207WFP not the 2007WFP.

[Deezee @ Oct 12th 2006 1:17AM]

I was just monitor shopping yesterday! Looking at the samsung lcd's. Time to reconsider my options.

[lankysob @ Oct 12th 2006 1:21AM]

not available yet.
apparently dell doesn't want my money...yet...

[pupkick @ Oct 12th 2006 1:22AM]

I guess I'm missing what separates this from the 2007?

[lankysob @ Oct 12th 2006 1:26AM]

"The new E207WFP eschews big brother 2007WFP's bells and whistles like a USB hub -- along with the composite and S-Video ports,"

eschews means it does without those things listed above.

[Paul @ Oct 12th 2006 12:05PM]

"The new E207WFP eschews big brother 2007WFP's bells and whistles [SNIP] along with the composite and S-Video ports,"

Which is odd, because the picture above quite clearly shows "1 2 3 4 5" input lights to the right of the buttons, which either means that this monitor has 5 inputs, Or that Engaget are using the wrong picture? If there isn't 5 inputs what are the 5 lights for? and if there are 5 inputs i can't think why they wouldn't include comp and S-Video....

[organique @ Oct 12th 2006 2:47PM]

My guess is that it was supposed to be "echoes" but got horribly misspelled, the kind of misspell that is so bad it turns out being a properly spelled word with a whole other meaning.

Maybe not, though.

[SCVanguard @ Oct 12th 2006 1:38AM]

Dell will probably sell it tomorrow as their weekly deals usually run from Thursday till Wednesday.

[Jake @ Oct 12th 2006 2:02AM]

I too have had several problems with my 2007fp beyond the color banding. There are serious issues with the DVI port when it comes to gaming. Battlefield 2 won't even run when you're using DVI, and other games don't run at full screen unless you've got the settings at the full 1600x1200. Apparently the monitor can't interpolate over DVI. If you're a gamer, I would very much suggest waiting on this purchase until you read some reviews from other gamers.

[summer boy @ Oct 12th 2006 2:18AM]

Though DELL monitor is cheap, its performance is not good enough. The resolution and color are important for monitor, but not only big.

[Rod Lim @ Oct 12th 2006 2:47AM]

Is it me or is the use of the word eschew a bit out of place? Isn't eschew for going without something that carries a negative connation? Unless the editor meant that those features are negative, I'm not so sure if that was the best use of the word.

[Carlos @ Oct 12th 2006 3:09AM]

I'm all for more pixles for the buck, but a sub-$300 20.1 inch monitor isn't all that new. I purchased a really great BenQ LCD about five months ago for $279.99 at regular price. So, this price-point isn't all that new although I would say that the Dell is sexier. Still love my BenQ though.

17" MacBook Pro + 20-inch screen = heaven

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824014105

[Jay Sparks @ Oct 12th 2006 3:21AM]

The 2007WFP MSRP is $399. Always has been.

[Sam @ Oct 12th 2006 3:51AM]

Quite frankly you can't trust a price from Dell. Dell's prices fluctuate daily, and throw on the coupons that come out all the time and it's impossible to be sure you are getting the best deal.

[SuperPhly @ Oct 12th 2006 6:44AM]

More info over here: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1108619

[Morad Rayyan @ Oct 12th 2006 7:26AM]

Honestly, I bought two of 2007wfp a month ago to make a dual-type for my office. And I just love it.

I do play bf2, cs, wow, and other games as well.. And they all work just perfectly fine.

I might go for this one as well, and end up with 3. But I just love it. Totally recommend it.

[Jay Sparks @ Oct 12th 2006 7:56AM]

Where are you getting that $289 price from?

[david @ Oct 12th 2006 8:47AM]

My dell lcd has worked perfectly since i got it, maybe the problems are only on the US models?

[Morty Salt @ Oct 12th 2006 8:48AM]

Well, I guess as Apple can get deals on flash/HD for their ipod. Dell can due the same with LCD panels. Really an unbelievable price. Well, I guess I'll be getting a couple Dells to sit next to my PMAC.

[etalien @ Oct 12th 2006 9:05AM]

"The E207WFP should be available "immediately" worldwide"

When will they ship? Any time soon? Can't find anything on the Dell website...

[blackcat @ Oct 12th 2006 10:24AM]

I'm a photographer. Would this monitor have good enough colour reproduction (if I calibrate it) for working on photos professionally?

[tvh2k @ Oct 12th 2006 10:37AM]

In response to color banding on 2007WFP, I recently purchased 4 of these from Dell SmallBiz for the office. The monitors were marked rev A02, and I saw no color banding whatsoever. Nice stands too--they pivot portrait or landscape, horizontally ~90 degrees, vertically a bit less than 90 degrees, and raise the screen up and down about 10 inches. To bad I was installing them on VESA mounts against the wall.

[dynamik @ Oct 12th 2006 10:50AM]

I purchased a 2407wfp for myself and a 2007wfp for my wife. These were both Rev A01 and both suffered from color-banding when used over a DVI connection (The banding does not occur over a VGA connection). This was frustrating since their website stated that they fixed the problem three weeks before I purchased mine, and I assumed mine would already have been updated. I guess it's cheaper for them to try to sell off the A01s and exchange the ones for people who complain.

I told them about the problems I was experiencing and they immediately sent me shipping labels to ship my current monitors back for free and sent my new monitors next-day or second-day air. It was cumbersome and I wish it would have been done right the first time, but I'm very happy with the monitors overall.

If you have a Rev A01, Dell had stated they would replace it free regardless of when you've purchased it. Even if you're using VGA or aren't experiencing problems, I'd encourage you to get an A02 while their offer is still good. For those of you that are experiencing problems with specific games, try updating your video drivers and see if the game itself has any updates. These monitors have worked flawlessly on a range of ATI cards from the 9800 up to the X800XT.

[ExcavatE @ Oct 12th 2006 10:51AM]

The thing is there was a really bad issue with color banding which isn't so bad in itself (hey these things happen) but dell wouldn't admit it intil there was like a 91 page thread on the issue: http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=dim_monitor&message.id=54714&view=by_date_ascending&page=90

I'm not saying I would never buy a moniter from dell but as someone who works extensively on photography I would need some sort of assurance that this issue has been thoroughly delt with. I'll guess I'll be waiting on reviews and forum commentary.

[dynamik @ Oct 12th 2006 10:57AM]

I also wanted to mention, that with monitors this size, you will always experience some banding (though the Rev A01 issue was obviously extreme and a result of improperly interpretting the DVI signal). This happens because all monitors (at least under ~$50,000) only display 256 variations of each color. If you create a black-to-white gradient in Photoshop across a 20" wide monitor, you'll get a step approximately every 1/16". This is extremely subtle, but noticeable if you have a discerning eye. Just keep this in mind before claiming the monitor is defective.

[Chris @ Oct 12th 2006 11:08AM]

I am a photographer with a brand new Apple Mac Pro and I am looking for a good 20 inch wide screen monitor. Would this one be good for me? I do not game so those technical aspects do not apply to me, but would it be good for photo's and videos?

[DigitalBoy @ Oct 12th 2006 11:17AM]

I purchased the 2007WFP several month's ago, and am quite happy with the monitor.

I have experienced no problems with color banding, nor any display issues with any games. As long as the game supports the native 1680 X 1050 resolution, it looks great. Unlike another commentor, I have had no problems running Battlefield 2, or any other title.

Although I wish the 2007WFP had a bit better response time.
I wil be picking up a E207WFP when they are made available for my main display, and use the 2007WFP as my secondary.

As for the price point, you can pick up the 2007WFP about $339. Are the extra's woth $50 more? Possibly, I find the USB hub invaluable for connecting misc peripherls that are typically on my desktop anyway. Such as iPod Dock, Joysticks, mouse, etc. I dont have to run the USB cables all the way to the PC. As for the additional video input, I personally do not utilize them, but I have considered hooking up the game console or a DVD player, and most likely will when I get a 2nd display.

[TheStu @ Oct 13th 2006 10:39AM]

Paul, I'm not sure where these lights are that you speak of, because all I see are six buttons. One for power, on the far right, and then the rest for menu controls. The lab at school that I work in has dual 1907s tied to the workstations, and they all have the six buttons as well, but only 1 LED if im not mistaken

[lankysob @ Oct 12th 2006 2:21PM]

Since Dell still hasn't put anything on their site about this monitor yet (except the govermental pricing sheet noted earlier), this has to be a pic of the 2007WFP.

In any case, Dell needs to put the E207WFP on their site already...so Engadget can get an accurate picture and I can get me a new monitor.

[cocomo @ Oct 12th 2006 2:09PM]

From what I belive the 2007WFP uses the same LCD as the Apple LCDs. I'm looking forward to buying a Dell LCD at pay day this month. I might just buy this one instead of the 2007WFP

[hostile @ Oct 12th 2006 2:11PM]

Still not available at dell.com.

[shaun @ Oct 12th 2006 3:47PM]

hmm... the 2007FP (not wide) has dissapeared off the dell canada website...

[fuser @ Oct 12th 2006 5:29PM]

I have the 24 and the 20 and both these monitors work awesome and I have never had a problem with either one whether it is watching a movie, playing a game or surfing the web.
But I do know from first hand experience that Dell did have some problems with the first round of these monitors with the color banding but to be fair to them they were quite prompt IMO about fixing the problem and they have always been good about exchanging defective units (sometimes, however, you may need to prod your tech a bit but they will do it.)
But before you go on about bashing Dell just remember that Dell's panels are the EXACT same as Apple's. They are made by the same company and come off the same assembly line. The only difference is the plastic that surrounds them and the name on it and of course the price. It always makes me laugh to see people who paid twice as much for the same monitor and think that it is in some way better just because it says "Apple".

[myscrnnm @ Oct 12th 2006 9:15PM]

"For those of us who don't know how Dell measures the LCD monitors.

http://www.dell.com/content/learnmore/learnmore.aspx?~id=crt_vs_lcd#1"

That still doesn't make sense. Cuz they are saying that the viewable area is larger than the total surface area, it would be a physical impossibility. And if we are to assume that the afore mentioned 20-inches also refers to the viewable area, then the two areas would be different.

[Sam @ Oct 13th 2006 12:26AM]

What some people fail to understand was that we weren't bashing Dell..because they are Dell, we were doing it because they lied to us for months on the forums. Someone before mentioned the forum, and all the logs of those forums are surely dead and buried, but we had multiple hundred+ post forums going that were full of people that Dell screwed over. They are entitled to a tech fudge up here and there, but they KNEW that this problem existed, and tried to cover it up (The 2004 models had the same problem, with the same video scaling chip, and then they put out the 2007's anyway, knowing the problem existed.) That is the kind of company Dell is (And for the record, I use PC's exclusively, Apple sells proprietary overpriced junk).

I now use 3 samsung monitors (2x20" 1600x1200's on either side of a 20" 1680x1050) and I couldn't be happier.

Oh and to answer the guy before, photo editing should be done on a CRT if you want accurate colors. That's the general consensus.

(Oh and the stand on the 2007WFP is jank, even though the guy before said otherwise. Look at the Cnet video review to see why. It's wobbly as all hell)

[cricalix @ Oct 13th 2006 6:57AM]

No sign of that model number on the UK or US sites for Dell, just on that FTP server that someone linked earlier. Knowing how Dell UK works though, it'll be priced in the �300 range, making it 50% more expensive than the US 'version'.

[basketofkittens @ Oct 13th 2006 9:50AM]

This is probably Dell's response to this Samsung:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824001081

Myself and several of my friends have this Samsung, and it's a great monitor.

[Paul @ Oct 13th 2006 11:35AM]

Suppose it depends how bright your screen is, but the picture that Engaget are using definitely shows them. But as it's apparently a picture of a completely different monitor then it's a mute point.

[Adam J. @ Oct 15th 2006 2:14AM]

I just thought you all might like to know that the model pictured would be the E207WFPV. The E207WFP wouldn't have the "V"-shaped foot.