Planar PL2010M 20 inch LCD Monitor

Our office has been using Planar flat panel LCDs for a few years now, going back to 18" models I reviewed in late 2001/early 2002. In large part as a result of the quality of those monitors in long term use, and the quality of service we received from Planar when we had a problem with a single monitor (one of our original 18" screens died after about 2 1/2 years, had been part of a matched pair for dual output, and Planar replaced BOTH screens with newer 19" screens as comparable 18"s were not available at the time - under warranty (3 year parts/labor) at no cost to us. Compare that to retail monitors where the warranty typically ranges from 3 months to 1 year, and you immediately see the difference) I decided to purchase a number of new Planar screens for the office, including 2 of the PL2010M.

These screens were necessitated in part by a single user, who has his laptop LCD set at a resolution of 1600x1200, and wanted the same resolution on his dual desktop displays. (He didn't like having to change his resolution back and forth when switching between docked and undocked.) Many flat panel purchasers may not be aware of this, but with desktop LCDs, to get a display res. of 1600x1200, you need to purchase a 20" screen - with virtually every screen below that size, regardless of manufacturer, the maximum resolution available from the screen is 1280x1024.

Last week, the screens came in, and yesterday, I set up these for my finicky user. After a single reboot, we were able to setup both to work with his laptop/docking station combination to run at 1600x1200. The clarity and sharpness of the screens is quite remarkable, and for the price, these are a great value compared to many other 20" screens, and a much better value, dollar for dollar, than most 21" screens.