Like Samsung's LD190G, the new LG Flatron W2230S is a monitor disguised as a digital photo frame.  It's designed to act as an extra display for a laptop computer.

The case comes in a range of different colours, with the aim of appealing to a wider public.  According to the manufacturer's information, this 22'' Full HD display will be as much a piece of interior decor as it is a piece of computer equipment, but that will depend on your own taste.


Hardware: just one VGA

LG has only included the very bare minimum of hardware: one VGA input.  Although it's only designed to be connected to a laptop or a netbook, the lack of a DVI input is disappointing, especially now that more and more laptops include DVI or HDMI ports.

A 5 ms TN display: only for office work and lightweight gaming

Coloured    Transparent
Average ghosting over ten frames

Our tests confirmed what LG told us: this is a 5 ms display.  In practice, that means it isn't responsive enough to keep up with 'fast' games, meaning FPS titles like Quake and Call of Duty are off the agenda.  It's still up to the job for office work and less demanding games.

If you're involved in a multiplayer game, the W2230 won't hold you back as its input lag is never more than a single frame on average.

Accurate colours and great contrast

Default Colours

Ideal Colours

The colours are accurate overall, although they suffer a slight blue tinge.  The measurements we took showed a deltaE score of 2.7.  If you're not used to reading out tests, deltaE is a measure that describes the average discrepancy between the colours requested by the graphics card and those actually displayed on screen.  We usually consider a deltaE score of less than 3.0, the gap is small enough to be invisible to non-trained users.

That means that the W2230S has colours that are accurate enough for editing your photos at home.  If you want something more advanced, you'd better choose a VA- or and IPS-based monitor which will provide wider viewing angles and a more even display across the surface of the screen.

Contrast (xxx:1)	Black (cd/m²)
100 cd/m²  200 cd/m²	100 cd/m²  200 cd/m²

As well as having accurate colours, this is a monitor with a contrast ratio of over 1000:1.  That won't ruffle the Samsung F2380M's feathers with its 2800:1 contrast ratio, but it's better than the bulk of today's other monitors, which top out at 850:1.