New low price for 22'' LCDs: 149 euros

In April of this year, we wrote about the falling price of 22'' LCD monitors which came under 200 euros for the first time.

Now in Septmber, the floor has dropped away again and the Hyundai N220W is now less than 149 euros including shipping.

We tested this screen when it was first available, and appreciated its good quality finish and its attractive case which set it apart from other entry-level monitors which are all too often bulky. And after a few adjustments to the settings, it's capable of good colors, too.

In technical terms, the screen performs fairly modestly. It has a TN panel, which leads to a very small vertical viewing angle - everything looks black when you look down on it from above - and its response time is 5 ms. This is perfectly acceptable for everyday use, even if it will frustrate the most demanding gamers.

Importantly, it only has a single VGA port, with neither DVI nor HDMI. This is irritating, but not a deal-breaker given that it doesn't alter the monitor's reactivity or its color - it just makes life more complicated if you want to attach it to a console or a graphics card that only comes with DVI, for instance.

This is a screen that we have already recommended to our friends and family, all non-gamers who wanted a simple screen that wasn't too expensive but big enough to be good for surfing the web.

Even we don't always go for the 5-star options: when budgets are tight, you've got to know how to shop wisely.

> Our original test: Hyundai N220W

NB: the Hyundai N220W just celebrated its first birthday, having been launched in summer 2007. Even then we were stunned by what we though was its low price: 249 euros.

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