Acer AL1932d

Acer's $399 AL1932d is quite a looker. Its semitransparent bezel curves backward at the top, imparting an aerodynamic, sports-car-like touch. Coordinating with the stand, a slender accent of shiny, silvery material frames the wide bezel and sets it off as effectively as a velvet-lined box showcases a piece of fine jewelry. When the monitor is on, blue indicator LEDs glow softly through the bezel and respond to buttons tucked away on its right side.

Despite its unique design, the AL1932d is ergonomically flawed. It lacks any physical adjustments other than tilt. If this sleek monitor doesn't sit at the right level for your eyes, you have the choice between using risers (rarely the most aesthetic of office equipment) or literally risking your neck as you crane or slouch for a view.

At its actual job of being a monitor, the AL1932d shows both strengths and weaknesses. It performed well across the board on our text screens, making an especially strong showing with the often-tricky diagonal lines of our screen of E's and M's. In fact, its text scores rose to the top 20 percent of recently tested monitors to earn it a text rating of Very Good.

The clean, even, and very white screen that the AL1932d displayed in our white-screen graphics test probably helped it display text so nicely. However, its rendering of other graphics screens delivered pale, washed-out images weak in detail. In our grayscale test, for example, none of our 12 jurors could distinguish any of the dark shades of gray from black on the AL1932. This trouble with detail in dark areas hurt it on our photo test screens of a fruit tart and a group portrait as well. Dogged with these woes, the AL1932d earned a lukewarm graphics rating of Good.

Text really pops on the wide-bezeled Acer AL1932d, but graphics are less impressive--and the lack of adjustment features may make you look elsewhere.

Laura Blackwell