Gadgets and Gizmos

Dell Launches Crystal Display

Dell has launched a sleek LCD display, the Dell Crystal. This flat-panel monitor received a Best of Innovations CES 2008 award for its unique design and will be featured at the show. With a sticker price of $1,199, the high-end display is a sleek, stylish display with a “floating” screen on a polished metal tripod base with four-millimeter ultra-clear tempered glass and audio speakers wired into the frame along with a 2.0 mega pixel Webcam with microphone.

The display features 1680 x 1059 native resolutions, Dell’s True Color technology with 98 percent color gamut, 2ms typical response time (gray to gray) and a 2000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. The Dell Crystal also has HD connectivity with DVI/NDMI with HDCP, sub-woofer out capabilities and USB connectivity.

Dell also unveiled an updated Inspiron laptop, which is 25% smaller and thinner, and almost a half a pound lighter, than its predecessor model, the company said. Dell focused on style with the new 15.4-in. Inspiron 1525. The laptop can be can be customized with four new optional patterns and color-coordinated accessories like wireless mice, notebook sleeves and messenger bags.

The updated notebook also adds a built-in 2.0 mega pixel webcam with dual-digital array microphones and noise isolation headphones and high-resolution displays, Dell said. The Crystal is a 22” widescreen with a 1680x1050 resolution and Dell’s documentation says that it’s “suitable for casual entertainment and general productivity.”

It features Dell’s True Color Technology, which includes a claimed typical colour gamut of 98 percent. The response time is set at just 2ms grey-to-grey, which suggests that this panel isn’t going to be anything particularly special, even though Dell says the panel has a high colour gamut.