I’m not sure how many of you have been waiting for curved desktop monitors to come along, but if you have been, Samsung has a great-looking option set to hit the market in just a couple of days. It’s called the SD590C, is 27 inches, features a 1080p resolution, and is set to cost $430 USD.
Admittedly, even at this price-point, 1080p resolution on such a large display is a bit underwhelming, but as this is a curved model, it’s hard to argue that its design doesn’t constitute part of that premium. Nonetheless, other specs include a 3000:1 contrast ratio, a 4ms gray-to-gray response time, a 60Hz refresh rate, and a 178° viewing angle. Despite the fact that the SD590C is curved, it can still mount on your wall like any other display. For inputs, you’ll have VGA (still?), DVI, and DisplayPort to choose from, as well as audio in / out ports.
If you’re an especially enterprising user, you may even be able to buy 20 or so of these displays to create an in-home monitor circle. Creating a scene from CSI is now easier than ever! Officially, though, Samsung suggests you stick to just two or three.
Other perks of the SD590C include 5W 2-channel speakers built right into the curve, as well as a specific gaming mode that helps optimize the display for that use. Part of that mode includes brightening up some of the darkest darks, so that you’ll still be able to see what’s going on in a poorly-lit scene. Another notable feature is Game Boost, which is an audio optimization that helps improve the most important sounds in games to make sure that they stand out over background music. Since the SD590C has a built-in headphone jack, I’d imagine that Game Boost will apply to sound driven through that as well, and not only through the built-in speakers.
We’re not sure yet which etailers will be hit with this model, but we should begin to see it creep up before the weekend. So, if you want to throw your PC a curveball, this is your solution.