Acer X203H 20 inch LCD Monitor

If you've read my review of the Acer Aspire One 8.9 netbook, you might think I'm a little biased toward their products. Well, I wasn't until I bought this monitor. Now? Yes, I'm totally biased. They've definitely scored a return customer who trusts the brand name, not only based on the netbook, but on this completely different product, their AcerX203H bd Black Monitor.

The pricing you see on epinions is right in line with what I paid for it, from one of the largest online retailers; choosing standard shipping made shipping free.

I needed a new monitor. I have no idea, honestly, how old my old one was. It had to be at least 8. It had the giant back, like a tube television, and when we started smelling something burning...yeah. Time for that monitor to meet the landfill. It served well over the years, but it became obsolete.

Enter the search for a new monitor. About 1.5 years ago, I bought my son a 19 inch Envision LCD monitor. That is the only LCD monitor I can actually compare this one to, since other LCD monitors that I looked at were not actually used by me. In brick and mortar stores like You-Know-Who-Mart, good luck finding someone that will turn a monitor on to show you what it does.

And when you're looking online to buy one, you're looking..at a picture of a monitor..through a monitor. Hmm. What a pickle.

So it was via hijacking my son's Envision monitor that I ended up finding this Acer. The Envision was purchased at an office supply store, that we'll call "Paper Clips", and ran about $175 including tax. At the time, it was the best price I could find, and since I knew absolutely zilch about LCD monitors, I figured, what the hey. That monitor is now discontinued, but its replacement is really not that much cheaper.

Enter the Acer with an extra inch of screen, and $45 shaved off the price. I already liked the brand, but wasn't too sure of how a monitor would measure up to one of the "known" brands.

I know there's at least $100 difference between the ones I'd looked at, and this one. The price was actually the dealmaker, but I did comparison shop the specs.

Now, if you're a techie, stop reading right here. Just like my other Acer review, you'll feel trapped in an episode of Sesame Street. You know all there is to know about LCD monitors, so I don't even know why you're reading this, lol.

But for those like me, who are clueless, who might know LCD technology because of things like oversized televisions your husbands "HAD" to have? Yes, this is for you.

I know that you can change the screen resolution, but the factory settings are just fine. There are buttons on the front bottom of this monitor that say things like "e" and "auto" and "menu." I don't bother them and they don't bother me.

The blue light on the lower right when it's on is identical to a Dell monitor I saw at my attorney's office. I had to squint to read "Dell" on it, because the brand name is right where mine says "acer". The outside housing really is identical.

And for that matter, I didn't see much difference in how the monitor conveys the pictures. Unlike my old monitor, everything is crisper. It's also crisper than the Envision, which as I said, really isn't that old. The widescreen is still taking some getting used to, but that's not the monitor settings' fault. It's the ME settings' fault. It was the same thing when we went from standard TV to Oversized LCD WHY DO WE NEED SUCH A HUMUNGOUS TV set.

Oh, did I scream in caps? I did the day that thing came home, too. Sorry about that...

But I didn't scream this time, when UPS brought this box with the new monitor. It arrived quickly, and a quick visual inspection in the box showed no defects. Now, to see it actually in action:

Installation couldn't have been easier: I made my husband do it.
No, seriously, I did. But he had it connected within a few minutes with minimal grumbling, so I'll go so far as to say that it probably was easy even for the person who physically  had to do it.

I've had it for about 10 days now and still am not 100% used to the widescreen, but honestly, Acer is a bargain. If it dies in a year or two, it was cheap enough that it won't kill the wallet to replace...unlike some of the more expensive models out there. I did some comparison shopping, and dollar for dollar, this one is what suited this household. Are there bigger monitors out there? Absolutely. Acer also has larger models. Are there better ones? That's debatable. If you define "better" by "I spent more than you", well, then I feel sorry for you. Because price doesn't necessarily equate better quality.

And this monitor (and the netbooks) are living proof.