14 DAY TRIAL // Dell could have probably adjusted the specifications sheet of its newest ultra-wide screen display, like giving it a better response time and refresh rate, but it would have meant an unnecessarily high price.
Not that we know for sure what that price is. The company may have formally released the new product, but it didn't specify the price. No doubt because it doesn't want to scare people away before the shipment date comes.
Even that isn't specifically known, but Dell did do the world the courtesy of providing a vague ETA (estimated time of arrival): November 2014. That's two months from now, or maybe two and a half if sales don't start as soon as the month does.
The product should be found at IFA 2014 though, this week, and since we'll be at the show, we might actually get to find out what the price will be.
Anyway, the newcomer has as many assets as it has drawbacks, assuming you're the sort of person who would like to play high-speed games on an ultrawide display with 21:9 aspect ratio anyway.
Dell invented the UltraSharp U3415W for media lovers who like to watch films in cinematic quality, but if you're a gamer you won't appreciate the response time of 8 ms, not when 5 ms is considered average and gaming displays run at 1 ms.
Another “disadvantage” is that the native resolution is of only 3440 x 1440 pixels, instead of some variation of 4K. Furthermore, the refresh rate of 60 Hz is not particularly awe-inspiring.
On the flip side, this is a curved monitor, a very rare type of screen even now. Moreover, the UltraSharp U3415W happens to benefit from blue light reduction technology, which reduces eye strain, and thus, allows you to watch film marathons without tiring very quickly.
As for connections to a computer, you'll want to use the HDMI 2.0 technology, which provides the necessary bandwidth to run the panel at its native specifications. You still get a mini-DisplayPort 1.2 connector and MHL though (mobile high-definition link, to stream phone content to the big screen over the air).
Finally, you have both analog inputs and digital audio passthrough for the two interfaces, meaning that those built-in 9W stereo speakers won't go to waste. We'll check out the other screen Dell revealed in time for IFA 2014 (Berlin, Germany, from September 5 to 10), as well as matching offers from LG, Samsung and everyone else with a stake in the display industry.