Samsung's 2263DX dual-display monitor: Good for those with limited desk space

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Samsung’s 2263DX, first introduced at this year’s CES, tried to grab your attention—and your $550 hard-earned dollars—by adding an external, 7-inch monitor to the package. While the benefits of a multi-display setup are still dubious (though fully one-half of the CrunchGear staff uses at least two displays, myself included), it’s a nice little extra to have. PC World agree, but only to a point. The dead trees publication’s main problem with the monitor(s) is that the value added by the 7-inch display doesn’t necessarily justify its price tag. A regular 22-inch monitor costs about half of what the 2263DX does; for the same price, in other words, you could have two 22-inch monitors.

Then for whom is this monitor?

Let’s say you don’t have sufficient desk space for two 22-inch monitors. The 2263DX, then, could be for you. PC World says that the additional monitor, which connects to your PC via a USB cable and has its own on-board processor, works just fine for IM windows, Photoshop tools, media players, etc. (Though the external monitor did exhibit some slowdown. That could merely be a software issue, however.) And to be honest, that’s more or less what I use my second display for—Mail.app, iTunes, whatever. Peripheral applications, thus leaving my main display solely for Safari and TextEdit.

Looks to me like deciding whether or not you should look into the 2263DX has entirely everything to do with how much desk space you have. If you’ve barely any space to work with, it might not be a bad investment. If, on the other hand, you’ve space to kill, you’re probably better off getting two full-size monitors.

Again, that’s if you decide to go the multi-display route at all. I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t. I doubt it’s made me any more productive.

Samsung 2263DX [PC World]