14 DAY TRIAL // ViewSonic has officially introduced a touch-enabled monitor that doesn't attempt to stand out too much, no more than the mere idea of touch input implies at any rate.
We've written more than our fair share of articles concerning monitors and other panels with support for multiple simultaneous touch points.
The ViewSonic TD2220 doesn't even pretend to be part of that category. Instead, it settled for a nice and straightforward dual point optical touch system, which recognizes two fingers and the corresponding gestures.
Given the diagonal of 22 inches, there is little chance of more than one or two hands (one finger each) being on the LCD at any given time, especially considering how counterintuitive it is to reach out to a desk display all the time.
In fact, if it weren't for the impending arrival of Microsoft's Windows 8 (such as it is) and its native support for touch, the company may very well have skipped the feature completely.
By all accounts, the rest of the specs are arguably enough to justify the price of $329 / 329 Euro, insofar as a 22-incher is allowed to sell for such a sum anyway.
The native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels isn't a surprise. The pixel density went past the “curiosity” stage many months ago.
What does stand out, though, is the dynamic contrast ratio of 20,000,000:1 (optimizes image clarity in dark scenes when the ambient light is low or absent).
The two USB ports are a nice touch too (they allow a mouse and/or keyboard to be used directly with the monitor, not needing a PC).
Moving on, the TD2220 is designed with DVI (HDCP support included) and VGA inputs, plus integrated speakers with SRS Premium Sound.
Finally, the response time is of 5ms and the power consumption is up to 40% lower compared to other displays of similar size (Energy Star and EPEAT Silver certified).