 "Acer S235HL Review")
When it comes to Acer, one’s mind usually races to the brand’s laptop line-up or that of other computer peripherals. The brand is highly regarded and introduces products that offer great value for money and are loaded with incredible features. Building on their line-up of monitors, the brand recently raised the curtains on the S235HL, a display that has a unique design and specifications that can compete with some of the higher-end monitors present in the market. Read on to know more about this model from Acer.
Design and Build Quality
When it comes to the design of the Acer S235HL, the monitor can be placed alongside better looking models that are currently available in the market. However, it is its design that brings some novelty to the table. It features a stand that is located at the side, as opposed to being in the centre, as is more common on TVs and monitors. The entire unit is sleek and futuristic, lending the monitor an aesthetic appeal, but it is not a new concept as Acer has adopted this design in the past as well with their S273HL. This 23-inch monitor sports a glossy black bezel with sharp edges giving it a premium look. The bezel on all four sides measure less than half an inch, which definitely adds to the looks of the monitor. The bezel is devoid of any branding, instead Acer opted to put their logo on the stand. This monitor is really slim and measures just 15mm in depth at its thinnest point. The rear panel is devoid of any connectivity options, which give the monitor a minimalistic look.
Stylish all over
The stand is a good option to add their branding, as it is quite wide. Though the stand is wide, it is not really thick, therefore it does not take away the looks of the monitor. The stand, unlike the bezel is finished in matte black and silver. The use of the different textures further enhance the style factor. The stand does offer a fair amount of tilt, which can help in viewing the monitor at different angles, but there is no swivel found here. The base of the monitor is on the wider side as compared to most monitors, but this does not hamper its looks in anyway. It too features a glossy finish with the sharp edges and it complements the monitor really well. The reason for the large footprint is that because the monitor does not feature any controls or connectivity options, all of these are located here.
The top of the base features the controls for the menu, settings, volume and modes, while the base rear comprises inputs, such as two HDMI ports, an audio line out and a VGA port. While it may be an advantage for the brand to add two HDMI ports, the lack of a DVI may not be a major concern as most of the entry-level graphic cards available in the market nowadays feature HDMI connectivity. The overall build quality of the monitor is really good and from the looks of it, it should survive the test of time.
Features
When it comes to features, the chief attribute of this 16:9 23-inch display is that it is a widescreen LED LCD monitor that boasts of a resolution of full HD 1080p. Though this may be the main feature, it is fairly common and is found on practically all higher-end monitors available in the market. Apart from this, the other highlighted features include a dynamic contrast ratio of 100,000,000:1 and a 5ms response time. The 5ms response on this TN panel monitor can allow gamers to view sequences in a smooth motion flow, this can come useful during first person shooter games.
Extremely slim design
The interface of the Acer S2350HL is something we really liked as the information onscreen was well-detailed. There were no issues with the layout, allowing one to easily navigate through without any hassle. The fluidity of scrolling between the different sections and subsections is something that we really liked too as there was no lag noticed. The monitor comes with a range of preset modes, such as standard, game, eco, etc. This allows one to easily switch between the modes depending on the content type that they are viewing. This is a fast and easy option, instead of the long drawn process of calibrating it every time. Many monitors come with preset modes, but very few offer the layout quite as simplified as this model.
Having two HDMI ports is another useful addition as one can have their PC connected as well as another device as well as say a Blu-ray player or a gaming console. However, there are quite a few monitors available in the market that boast of more than a single HDMI input, hence, though useful, this feature is not just limited to this model and does not deserve any added points for featuring it.
Performance
While aesthetics may be a chief reason for one to consider this monitor, the performance of the S2350HL is what matters the most. To start our testing procedure, we calibrated it using the Spyder3 Elite colorimeter and besides calibrating the display, we measured the difference in brightness across the monitor, with the centre point being the constant. From this we observed that the highest difference in brightness was 21.8 percent, found at the upper left hand corner of the screen. This is quite a lot as compared to most of the other monitors we have reviewed in the recent past.
Buttons located on the base
DisplayMate
After calibrating the display using the Spyder3 Elite calibrator, we ran the DisplayMate test to determine various factors, such as backlighting levels, colour accuracy and black levels. From the tests, we determined that it had fared really well and there were no issues really. Primary colours appeared accurate, while greys and whites rendered well with no colours, such as green seeping in greys or pink tinges appearing in whites. Backlighting was not as good as there were patches appearing in different areas of the screen. Though this was not expected, as the monitor has done well, thus far, it was not as horrifying, either. In the colour intensity scales test, we observed that most of the bars were distinct and all seams were visible. Viewing angles are quite good, too even though the monitor uses a TN panel.
HD Playback
While watching HD content, we observed that playback was really good. Colours appeared accurate and did not look saturated. Skin tones appear natural and there was no orange tinge visible, a feature that is sometimes noticeable when a monitor is not that great. There was a lot of detail visible in dark areas, too, which show us that the monitor can be great for viewing not only basic activities, like word processing or making presentations, but can also be good for gameplay or watching movies.
Renders colours accurately
Verdict
The Acer S2350HL is priced in India at Rs.11,999. When it comes to design, it does really well. This monitor also does really well when it comes to performance and at a price of just below Rs.12,000, it can easily compete with a range of monitors priced at a much higher rate. This monitor is designed for those looking for a 23-inch solution for their desktop PC as well as those who want a great option for watching videos. If one is in the market with these sort of requirements while purchasing a monitor, then this is a model that definitely should be considered as it does not disappoint.
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