Samsung now shipping Touch of Color LCD monitors

Even if you're not exactly in the market for a new flat-panel, Samsung's still hoping to snag a bit (or all) of your latest paycheck with its Touch of Color LCD monitors. Hinted at during CES and officially unveiled back in April, these displays boast a 5-millisecond response time, transparent plastic bezel, 10,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, twin 3-watt speakers, a built-in ATSC / ClearQAM TV tuner (!) and an optical digital audio port for channeling 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound. As for resolutions, the 24-inch T240HD and 26-inch T260HD both offer full 1080p, while the 22-inch T220HD gets a 1,680 x 1,050 panel. Snag whichever one suits your fancy right now for $429, $549 or $599 from smallest to largest.

[rahul @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:21PM]

T220HD has been available in the market for some time now.

[zshift @ Jul 23rd 2008 2:48PM]

yeah, we've had it at best buy for over a month now

[StammesOpfer @ Jul 23rd 2008 7:17PM]

yup infact I got mine in the mail today from newegg $380

[krunal patel @ Jul 24th 2008 6:36PM]

the 22 inch has been at costco for a month and the 24 just arrived a week ago prices are 480 for 24 and 380 for 22.... have to be the best tvs i have seen in that price range...

[iHoppipolla @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:22PM]

"smallest to largest", huh.

Not the other way around?

[Pochi @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:22PM]

Is it just me or are those prices really, really good?

[Matthew Hilario @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:43PM]

they seem alright.. they're not THAT big if you think about it.

[The Voice of Reason @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:24PM]

I got the 220HD at costco about a month ago -


Only problem is that it doesn't have any wall mounting possibilities on the back of it...

Big bummer

[How_P @ Jul 30th 2008 1:49PM]

Other than this, is there any other faults with this monitor? I was seriously thinking of getting the T220 as it looks great, has good specs and a really decent price (and £40 cashback in the UK!). I've been looking for reviews but have not come across any with hands on testing.

[Kevin @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:24PM]

The specs read like a TV, but the price reads like a monitor.

[The Voice of Reason @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:26PM]

Prices are good Pochi - got the 220 for $349

I thought it was such a good deal until I got home and found no screw mounts on the back of the monitor for wall mounting - as mentioned above.


It's a really great monitor though, and a pretty decent TV!

[phanbouy @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:31PM]

CEO Kun-Hee Lee just had a sandwich and later he will get a manicure.

You heard it first on Samsungadget! ;P

[otaking241 @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:38PM]

Just got the T220HD recently. It's a beautiful display and does support 1080p input, but stretches it to fit the lower resolution screen.

[apread @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:40PM]

Must use TN panels at these prices

[rektide @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:45PM]

Benq V2400 and G2400WD both use a fast response S-IPS and can be had for $450 / $400. S-IPS are seen as "premium" so most manufacturers mark them up.

[John @ Jul 24th 2008 5:18PM]

the 260 at least uses TFT.

[Xoolia @ Aug 22nd 2008 12:40AM]

to rektide:

these BenQs are TNs. Check it out at http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/search.php?query=&select=model

[Blanka @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:46PM]

Are the 24 and 26 16:9 dispays? That would be a pity.

[andrew oh @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:04PM]

no they are 16:10, I own a T240HD

[JMMGoalster @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:49PM]

got the 22" on sale at BB for $300.....practically a steal

[phanbouy @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:50PM]

really? $300 for a 22" TN is a steal? you can routinely get 24"s that are M-PVAs and other non-TN's for $300. not to rain on your parade.

[phanbouy @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:00PM]

check that... P-MVA

[dhytspam @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:03PM]

It does have the DTV and all the great connections needed for a multi use monitor. No need kick em in the dick. I think it's a great idea and I chose to buy one of these a while ago for my next computer build for going back to Uni in September. It will server me greatly.

[andrew oh @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:01PM]

Bought a T240HD a week ago. Great monitor, very clear and low response time. I love the fact that you can get free network HD channels without having to pay monthly to cable provider.

Seriously though I dont know what the big effin deal about how TN displays suck. The new displays are costlier, and seriously, who the hell is going to view their monitor at a 160 degree angle? Its simply dumb. Its better to get a good deal on a TN display then get gipped over the other new display technologies.

[JMMGoalster @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:02PM]

eh oh well...i just wanted to get a working monitor...i got 2 DOA monitors in a row from NewEgg.

[JMMGoalster @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:02PM]

thats to phanbouy above....

[phanbouy @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:05PM]

not surprised... new egg is a rotten egg when it comes to monitors and related return policy.

i bought mine at an Office Depot sale

[JMMGoalster @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:12PM]

Hahaha yeah, I know that now. They're good for other hardware though.

[John @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:15PM]

I'm not really a fan of the Touch of Color stuff Samsung came up with. From what I've read, it's really hit or miss with people - either you love it, or you can't stand it. I suggest looking at one of these in person before buying, since pictures don't do a good job of showing the accent.

[Jack @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:26PM]

I'm new, what is a "TN display" and why does it suck the devil's ass?

[phanbouy @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:34PM]

cuz TN's look like washed out ass even within normal viewing angles... it's enough so that even on a 22/24"+ monitor the sides will already look different from the center. god forbid you want to watch movies on them too; their vertical viewing angles are abysmal.

it used to be that TN's offered marginally better response-rates than other mid-priced LCD types for gaming. but this seems to no longer be the case.

the TN vs. other LCD types has raged in the forums for years; most of the pro-TN comments are by those overcompensating for purchase guilt, and the anti's are from those like myself who've actually gone to stores and compared non-TN to TN side by side.

don't expect any of the tools at Best Buy (or any other identifying info handy there) to tell you what kind of LCD you're looking at.. though once you've learned to spot a TN they're easy to tell apart.

[Ray-- @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:51PM]

You've never really lived until you've heard 5.1 audio on 3-watt speakers!

[Reid @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:58PM]

Oh noes! Samsung is going to take all of my $599 paycheck!

[216 @ Jul 23rd 2008 2:07PM]

Must.buy.$500 Monitor WITH Digital TV Tuner Built In.NOW

And for a college student, that's a STEAL (A TV AND a 24in Monitor in one? for $500? WHAT)

[TheBasslineFiend @ Jul 23rd 2008 3:02PM]

Yeah... that happened to me on Friday, received it Tuesday. It was well worth the purchase. My PS3 approves as well (2 HDMI inputs).

[CosterMonger @ Jul 23rd 2008 4:31PM]

it's a great Idea! Just change inputs between doing homework/office-work-at-home, watching TV, and gaming.

WARNING: might make fat and feeble :)

[Redbeaver @ Jul 23rd 2008 2:36PM]

for a 10,000 dynamic ratio and 5ms response... it aint half bad for the price. and it looks pretty :)

[Taylor @ Jul 23rd 2008 5:09PM]

Does anyone else realize that, at least according to the engadget article, even the large monitors only have a 1080 panel? Normally 24" and 26" displays are much higher resolution that that. Or is the article just missing their true resolutions?
Because it would NOT be a steal if they were only 1080 pixels high!
-Taylor

[River @ Jul 24th 2008 12:18PM]

The T240HD and T260HD are 1920 x 1200.

[macserv @ Jul 23rd 2008 5:15PM]

"Hey, macserv, why are all of your designs slightly pinkish?"

[Toulon @ Jul 27th 2008 3:01PM]

Can anyone comment on the "Touch of Color" aspect of these monitors? It sounds like it's an ambient light that goes around the outside of the screen . . . that would drive me NUTS! If you're working/watching something in the dark, I don't want some stupid red border around my screen, I just want to see what I'm trying to look at! Can you turn if off? How bright is it? Any info would be great.

[Choco_Taco @ Oct 8th 2008 9:58AM]

I actually got my 26" T260HD Monday, I think the actual contrast ratio of the monitor is 1000/1 but the software does 10,000/1, but I'm not entirely sure on that. From what I can tell that's what it seems like, though I haven't installed the software yet. I read on Newegg about it being some marketing gimmick. My older Samsung 204t colors though seem more vivid and I thought the contrast was a little bit better and I could turn it up a lot higher for a more intense picture. If I turn down the contrast on the T260HD below 90 the colors look washed out and faded. I actually have the contrast set to 100, which I was hoping I could go even higher. A thing that does help though is selecting the color temperatures, made a huge difference after playing with that and setting it to warm, that can be found in the settings / color tools menu. The viewing angles are also pretty weak compared to other monitors I've seen and even my older 204T, though normally I stare directly at my monitor so that is not much of a problem. I am a designer but I bought this monitor cause my office is also in my room and I could use a new TV. It would of been nice if it had picture in picture and I could work on this monitor while watching TV in the corner, just because the desktop space is so huge. A good thing about this monitor is as a designer my print outs seem to actually be a closer match to the T260HD then my older Samsung. But one thing that bothers me are the blacks don't seem that dark at all which could be a problem as my older LCD's the blacks even seemed a bit darker. To the last questions from Toulon, there is no ambient light around the outer edge of the screen, just in the bottom corner under the power button and it stretches about 1 inch just to show that it is powered on.