Apple fans gets a high-quality screen
with iOS special sauce
I've become blase about how thin modern
displays can be, but even I was struck by the depth of 12.6mm that the AOC
MyStage E2343Fi offers. It's also very light at 2.8 kg, making me wonder before
I opened it if AOC had sent me an empty box.
In terms of monitor specifications, it's
all that you might expect from a high-quality 23" 1080pTN technology
display.
Inputs are provided for VGA and HDMI on the
rear of the base, which therefore can't be separated from the screen. That
means there's also no VESA mount for wall positioning, but AOC has balanced
this limitation by using the base in an usual way.
The base has a soft acoustic covering that
encloses two 5W 'SRS premium' speakers, but more importantly, the front has an
Apple iOS-compatible docking station.
Due to the shape of the dock, this is
specifically made for the iPhones and iPods, and dropping one of these into
place allows the monitor to become a media centre driven by the Apple hardware.
You're told not to have a 'bumper' on the device, and depending which model you
own, you'll either get audio through the speakers or the video output on the
screen too. Nice.
Menu selection allows for a choice of which
input to have, and you can also have combinations like HDMI video and iPod
audio if you wish.
I was hoping that AOC had considered
Android users by providing a means to connect their hardware, but it entirely
dropped that ball. There is a USB port on the rear, but it won't charge a
phone, because it's for connecting to the PC via an entirely non-standard
male-to-male cable (provided). And, unless the screen is actually connected via
VGA to a running PC, the audio line is ignored entirely. That's a double-fail,
although I still managed to get it to work nicely via an HDMI cable from my HTC
Sensation XE.
The USB connection can be used to sync the
iOS device to the PC, but AOC didn't consider providing any pass-through USB
hub for a mouse or keyboard.
A little lateral thinking might have given
this product a much wider appeal, but it appears that AOC only has love for
Apple here.
As a product, the MyStage E2343Fi somewhat
inconsistent, in that the screen is excellent and delivers well saturated
colours, and the speakers have very little bass. I'll admit, they do have great
treble, but they're not likely to win any audio quality awards.
The other cloud on this horizon is the
launched-by-now iPhone 5, which I confidently predict doesn't have the same
docking connector as the previous models, and therefore won't work with the
E2343Fi. As such, this monitor is exclusively for those Apple fans who don't
intend to upgrade to the latest hardware.
This is a nice monitor, but for this money
I'd want an IPS panel, and the docking station facility is only useful while
compatible working hardware still exists.
AOC does make a similar model without the
docking station, the i2353Fh, and that costs about $240 or less, and is has the
added bonus of being an IPS panel.
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Viewable Image Size
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23" (169)
|
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Brightness (Typical)
|
250 cd/m2
|
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Contrast Ratio
|
50,000,0001
|
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Response Time
|
2 ms
|
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Optimum Resolution
|
1920 x 1080 @ 60Hz
|
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Analogue Input
|
RGB D-Sub
|
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Digital Input
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HDMI (DVI-D with HDCP)
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Built-in Stereo Speakers
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2 x 5W
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Universal iPhone/iPod Docking Station
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Video & photo playback on some models
|
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Energy Star Compliant
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Yes
|
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EPEAT Rated
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Yes
|
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Dimensions
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21.5 x 15.9x7.2" (547.2 x 404.6 x 182mm)
|
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Weight
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6.27 lbs (2.85 kgs)
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Details
Price: $325.99
Manufacturer: AOC
Required spec: PC with VGA or HDMI
outputs and an Apple iPhone, iTouch or iPod
|
