IBM T560

WHAT'S HOT: In our image-quality tests, the T560 displayed crisp text on business documents. Colors, though less impressive, were still bright and easy on the eyes. Encased in stealth black, the T560 strikes an elegant pose with its thin bezel and short-necked pedestal. You can adjust the panel's height by stretching it up and out.

The T560's panel can bend back far enough to rest against the base, making it a good choice for conference room presentations.

The signal and power cables plug easily into the panel's base--unlike with many LCDs, you don't have to flip it upside down to thread cables from its underside. The LCD accepts signals from digital and analog video cards and it ships with both types of cables--a nice extra.

WHAT'S NOT: The T560's relatively high price ($619) might generate a few comments from your purchasing department.

Its pixel response time of 45ms trails that of competing brands, most of which offer a zippier rate of 25ms. (A relatively slow response time creates the potential for image degradation--minor color distortion and ghosting in DVD games, for example, or movies with jerky action scenes.)

Though the controls--crescent-shaped buttons that run across the panel's right edge--are attractively designed, we found them somewhat hard to navigate and less responsive to the touch than those on other models we've looked at. We had to hunt for the auto-adjust control, which isn't prominently placed in the primary OSD menu; a dedicated button located on the bezel would have been handier.

WHAT ELSE: The panel pivots easily into portrait mode, and the PivotPro software sets up in a few clicks. For color matching tasks, a single license of LiquidView software is available for download. The monitor ships with a thorough manual.

UPSHOT: Like most of IBM's other LCD displays, the T560 is a pleasure to look at, but it's pricey for a flat-panel monitor that lacks both a USB hub and speakers.

SUMMARY

IBM T560 15-inch screen, 1024 by 768 native resolution, 14.4 by 9.3 by 17.2 inches, 10.8 pounds, TFT panel, analog and digital inputs. Three-year warranty (including backlight); 24-hour weekday toll-free tech support. $619 888/746-7426 www.ibm.com