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Apple 24-inch LED Cinema Display Review
12.18.09 10:16 PM Filed in: Apple Reviews
Lots of GeekGals rock their Macbook as their only computer. The portable panache is great, but what happens when you go home? A laptop is not ergonomically awesome for sitting at a desk and working. Not to mention, between the monitor, charger, mouse, printer, speakers and external drive - you have an ugly mess of wires.
Apple has the solution, and tragically - it’s almost $900, almost as much as a new Macbook. What’s the story, Apple? Is this another in your long line of overpriced monitors, or do you have the goods this time?
The Good
This is just a gorgeous monitor, the perfect companion to any Mini DisplayPort enabled Macbook. The GeekGal quickly fell in love with the vibrant color, the sleek aesthetics, and the Macbook-specific features. If you have an Apple unibody laptop, and have the cash to spend, there is no better accessory you can buy.
Besides the power cord, there is a single wire on the Apple LED with three neatly arranged components. A Mini Displayport input, an Apple Magsafe charger, and a USB cable. You plug those three wires into your Macbook and voila! Your Mac is ready to rock at home. The speakers and iSight camera are built into the monitor.You can plug an external keyboard, mouse and printer into the Apple LED, and you are ready for action. It’s a beautifully functional solution. I paired mine up with the DeskStandz, seen in the picture above, to hold my Macbook Pro in a neat, upright position. The result is a clean desk at home.
Besides the excellent connectivity features, the Apple LED is a beautiful monitor. The Geekgal has found the color to be very true, with and excellent viewing angle. This means that people sitting at an angle that is not directly in front of it can still see the screen. The brightness is also excellent.
With Apple, the aesthetics of the device are as important as the function. The design is very close to the iMac - brushed aluminum with a black, bordered screen. It looks perfectly at home next to her dude’s 27-inch iMac. The monitor is VESA compliant, meaning if you want to mount it on your wall, there are a large range of accessories that will work for that.
The Bad
This monitor is undoubtedly expensive. It’s $900 new. To put that in perspective, Dell makes a monitor that’s had decent reviews for just $230. Make no mistake, it’s not in the same class as the Apple LED, but there are a plethora of other cheaper options if that’s your priority.
The other downside is the Mini DisplayPort, a new interface that Apple has put its full weight behind. The advantage is, it’s a much smaller port than the old DVI plug, and looks much neater on a MacBook. The disadvantage is, most computers don’t have a Mini DisplayPort output. All modern Apple machines support this standard, so if you’re a MacHead, let not your heart be troubled. If you’re planning on using this monitor with a Windows box, you’ll need a $150 converter.
Conclusion
It’s pricey, but the Apple 24 inch LED is a fabulous companion to a Macbook or a Mac Mini. The connectivity features make this the simplest way to use your Macbook at home, and the image quality is top notch. If the price is more than you want to spend, you can find them on the Apple refurb site for $700, and used on Craig’s List for even less. If you’re the kind of Geekgal that likes life on the go with her Macbook, the Apple LED lets you rock it in style at home too.
The Dude’s Perspective
A monitor is one of those things that should do its job invisibly - something you don’t think about because it works well. Like: I can just think, I’d like a drink, and a monkey waiter comes, brings me a drink and then disappears. A monitor should be like that.
A sucky monitor draws attention to itself, skitzing out, being splotchy, shading yellow in spots and refreshing slowly. Because I’m cheap, I’ve bought a lot of sucky monitors. This isn’t one of them. The images are sharp, the colors are crisp, it has a high refresh rate. This monitor quietly does its job without calling attention to itself.
By the way, Geekgal has just informed me that I’ve been charging my Macbook off a power cable attached to the monitor for several months now. I just thought it was a power cord coming from... I don’t know, some place of magic I don’t understand? (As I write this, she’s making monkey noises, making fun of me.) I do admit, I didn’t know it could do that (even though she told me fifty times using words I didn’t understand, like “electricity” and “Magsafe”, but it’s still pretty awesome.
This is just a gorgeous monitor, the perfect companion to any Mini DisplayPort enabled Macbook. The GeekGal quickly fell in love with the vibrant color, the sleek aesthetics, and the Macbook-specific features. If you have an Apple unibody laptop, and have the cash to spend, there is no better accessory you can buy.
Besides the power cord, there is a single wire on the Apple LED with three neatly arranged components. A Mini Displayport input, an Apple Magsafe charger, and a USB cable. You plug those three wires into your Macbook and voila! Your Mac is ready to rock at home. The speakers and iSight camera are built into the monitor.You can plug an external keyboard, mouse and printer into the Apple LED, and you are ready for action. It’s a beautifully functional solution. I paired mine up with the DeskStandz, seen in the picture above, to hold my Macbook Pro in a neat, upright position. The result is a clean desk at home.
Besides the excellent connectivity features, the Apple LED is a beautiful monitor. The Geekgal has found the color to be very true, with and excellent viewing angle. This means that people sitting at an angle that is not directly in front of it can still see the screen. The brightness is also excellent.
With Apple, the aesthetics of the device are as important as the function. The design is very close to the iMac - brushed aluminum with a black, bordered screen. It looks perfectly at home next to her dude’s 27-inch iMac. The monitor is VESA compliant, meaning if you want to mount it on your wall, there are a large range of accessories that will work for that.
The Bad
This monitor is undoubtedly expensive. It’s $900 new. To put that in perspective, Dell makes a monitor that’s had decent reviews for just $230. Make no mistake, it’s not in the same class as the Apple LED, but there are a plethora of other cheaper options if that’s your priority.
The other downside is the Mini DisplayPort, a new interface that Apple has put its full weight behind. The advantage is, it’s a much smaller port than the old DVI plug, and looks much neater on a MacBook. The disadvantage is, most computers don’t have a Mini DisplayPort output. All modern Apple machines support this standard, so if you’re a MacHead, let not your heart be troubled. If you’re planning on using this monitor with a Windows box, you’ll need a $150 converter.
Conclusion
It’s pricey, but the Apple 24 inch LED is a fabulous companion to a Macbook or a Mac Mini. The connectivity features make this the simplest way to use your Macbook at home, and the image quality is top notch. If the price is more than you want to spend, you can find them on the Apple refurb site for $700, and used on Craig’s List for even less. If you’re the kind of Geekgal that likes life on the go with her Macbook, the Apple LED lets you rock it in style at home too.
The Dude’s Perspective
A monitor is one of those things that should do its job invisibly - something you don’t think about because it works well. Like: I can just think, I’d like a drink, and a monkey waiter comes, brings me a drink and then disappears. A monitor should be like that.
A sucky monitor draws attention to itself, skitzing out, being splotchy, shading yellow in spots and refreshing slowly. Because I’m cheap, I’ve bought a lot of sucky monitors. This isn’t one of them. The images are sharp, the colors are crisp, it has a high refresh rate. This monitor quietly does its job without calling attention to itself.
By the way, Geekgal has just informed me that I’ve been charging my Macbook off a power cable attached to the monitor for several months now. I just thought it was a power cord coming from... I don’t know, some place of magic I don’t understand? (As I write this, she’s making monkey noises, making fun of me.) I do admit, I didn’t know it could do that (even though she told me fifty times using words I didn’t understand, like “electricity” and “Magsafe”, but it’s still pretty awesome.