The iDock friendly monitor from Viewsonic.
Excellent screen quality, color and contrast levels, 8-in-1 card-reader, 4 USB ports, iPod dock.
Specialist to International Presence: 1987 to the Early 1990s
In 1987, James Chu launched Keypoint Technology Corporation, a distribution company that specialized in computer peripherals, such as power supplies, keyboards, and computer monitors. Chu, a native of Taiwan, had held a variety of sales positions before immigrating to the United States in 1986 to become president of United States operations for a Taiwanese keyboard manufacturer.
The early 1990s saw a decrease in personal computer prices, a proliferation of high-end workstations, the growing use of graphical interfaces, and increased corporate demand for monitors with lower radiation emissions, higher refresh rates, and better ergonomics. In keeping with the times, in 1990 Keypoint Technologies introduced the ViewSonic brand of color computer monitors in two series, professional and graphics. The monitors were especially suited for Windows, graphical user interfaces, and desktop publishing environments. ViewSonic also introduced its "green" monitor, which conformed to the energy conservation guidelines of the Environmental Protection Agency's Star Program. The company adopted the mission and focus of developing and delivering affordable advanced visual display products and changed its name to ViewSonic. Its new logo, three colorful finches, was intended to symbolize innovation, quality, and value.
ViewSonic experienced a steady demand for its monitors, and in 1992 Inc. magazine included the firm in its fastest-growing companies list. A year later, with revenues of just over $100 million, the company began to branch out internationally, joining with Al Ghurair Enterprises for Computers to distribute ViewSonic products in the United Arab Emirates. Further expansion occurred in 1994 both domestically and internationally with the addition of two new regional sales offices in Tampa Bay, Florida, and Chicago, Illinois, and two new European offices, one in Paris and the other in Dusseldorf.
The base doubles up as the iPod dock as well as the 3-watt sub-woofer, sporting a similar looking gleaming black finish. You can shove in any iPod as the monitor ships with adaptors for all iPod models (except the shuffle) and you can play music through the speakers without turning on the PC or the monitor.
A downside to it is that the base requires extra power via a separate 12V adapter and the USB and audio cables create chaos in the monitor's rear.
The base is also equipped with 4 USB ports (three in the front and one at the back), a volume control pot, an eight-in-one card reader, microphone and headphone jacks in the front as well as audio in/out jacks. The placement of the front USB ports is such that it becomes a little tricky to remove a USB drive if you place the keyboard too close to the stand.
The iPod dock has many features like being able to play audio through the '2.1' sound system in the monitor. Also, you can play videos from the iPod on the monitor if your comp is on along with iTunes installed on your system.
Apart from this, the monitor has a DVI-D and a D-sub connector, so you can connect to any comp regardless of whether it has a graphic card or not.
| Viewsonic ViewDock VX1945wm Features | General Display type Flat panel Display technology Active Matrix LCD WSXGA Display size (diagonal) 19 in. Viewable size (diagonal) 19 in. Front panel controls Menu navigation; iPod dock power; volume On-screen controls Auto Image Adjust, Contrast/Brightness, Input Select, Colour Adjust, Manual Image Adjust (H./V. Position, H. Size, Setup Menu, Language, OSD Position, OSD Timeout) Other features iPod dock Size (W x H x D) 450x449x8 mm Weight 12.6 kg Available colours Black Included cables DVI, D-Sub Included accessories 8-in-1 memory card reader Image Aspect ratio 16:9 Max resolution 1400 x 900 pixels Image brightness 300 cd/m2 Contrast ratio 700:1 Refresh rate 5 Video input Digital video input format DVI Analogue video input format D-Sub TV tuner No Power Power consumption (in operation) 59 W System requirements Compatibility PC, Mac | |
