Iiyama LS 502U G

Author's product rating:   

Advantages:	Never fail  -  great value for money
Disadvantages:	Slightly curved screen

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Iiyama - a name I believe is synonymous with quality in computer displays. I've put this assertion forward before here and been subject to slight heckling but also received considerable support for the statement. I hope in this opinion to further back up my assertion that Iiyama is a brand name to be trusted.

At work we have computers everywhere. We stringently follow government guidelines to throw computers and technology into every facet of education. I'm not sure if this is based on a genuine premise that the quality of education improves or more on a need to be seen to spend money - perhaps that's a little too political a comment to slip into an introduction. It can'e be denied that a school with high quality recent technology that is being used regularly or even better, effectively, looks great to the casual observer.

The backbone of our technology is a sixteen machine computer suite and this has to be reliable. The tiniest inkling of lack of reliability and the masses desert for weeks quite rightly clamouring for things to work.

Cheap monitors are notorious - together with printers - for causing headaches for computer support staff. I have seen dramatic flashes and seen rooms filled with acrid burning electrical smoke. Not fun for the support staff but you should see the look on the faces of the users as they proclaim indignantly - "It wasn't me - I didn't do anything - I just clicked 'save' and then ...".

Therefore, when we last updated the backbone of the technology provision we paid a little extra for the monitors. 15" Rebadged rubbish was available for the breathtakingly cheap price of around about £80.00. By upping the price to around £130.00 we obtained Iiyama.

Let's be honest - thesze are budget Iiyama monitors. They are firstly smaller than much of the market offerings and secondly have a definite curve. In these days of flat screens, curves don't score points. However, a small curve doesn't make the huge difference that your local monitor salesman might have you believe. A flat screen is great - less reflection and you can see it better from the side. Me, I've never really done much work in front of my computer whilst sitting off to the side.

This monitor comes with a 0.28dpi rating. (That is dots per inch). In the old days we used to look for smaller and smaller dpi ratings on monitors but as time has gone on it is now generally accepted that slightly larger numbers are good on slightly larger screens. This monitor produces a wonderful crisp and clear image. Colour saturation and brightness are easily controlled by front mounted buttons as are changes to the viewing area. As well as the standard horizontal and vertical position and size you can also correct the trapezium shape of the screen to ensure that despite the curved screen the viewable image is as large as possible into the corners.

The best part of this monitor is the reliability. We have sixteen of these in a room and they have rarely been switched off - often onto standby but rarely off. Three years after purchase they are still all going strong. No problems. No explosions, electrical burning or any other adverse and scary events.

OVERALL
To have a budget monitor of this quality is great. To have a budget monitor last as long as this having had the use of this is superb. To have sixteen of these monitors behave perfectly for so long is exceptional. I have no problem in recommending these to folks looking for budget monitors.