Philips Launches Two 29-inch 21:9 AH-IPS Monitors

News
By Niels Broekhuijsen
published

Phillips has rolled out two almost identical 29" AH-IPS W-LED 21:9 monitors.

Phillips has released two 29" 21:9 IPS monitors, one of which is aimed at the consumer market, and the other at the business environment.

Both of the monitors are almost identical, featuring the same panel and specifications. They carry a 29" AH-IPS panel with a resolution of 2560 by 1080 pixels. They feature bidirectional viewing angles of 178 degrees, a dynamic contrast ratio of 20,000,000:1, a static contrast ratio of 1000:1, 300 cd/m2 maximum brightness, and a response time of 7 ms. Connectivity is taken care of by a DisplayPort, a Dual-link DVI port and two HDMI ports. There is also a headphone out port.

The difference between the two screens is in the stand. The consumer version, the 298X4QJAB, has a very simple stand that only allows the user to swivel the screen back and forth by -5 to +20 degrees. The business version, the 298P4QJEB, has a much more advanced stand, which can not only swivel at the same angles as the consumer version, but it is also adjustable in height by 150 mm, rotates to portrait mode, and rotates sideways with a 130 degree swivel foot, 65 degrees in each direction.

The business oriented version also features a four-port USB 3.0 hub.

MSRP pricing is set by the Dutch company at €499 for the Philips 298X4QJAB, and €529 for the business oriented Philips 298P4QJEB.

Business Oriented Philips 298P4QJEB

Consumer Oriented Philips 298X4QJAB
Niels Broekhuijsen
Niels Broekhuijsen

Niels Broekhuijsen is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He reviews cases, water cooling and pc builds.

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11 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Darkk
    I'd pay extra for the business model to get a better stand.
    Reply
  • TonyCa
    Waiting for Asus to release 21:9 screen.
    Reply
  • de5_Roy
    i like how vendors are coming out with monitors useful for reading long forum threads (in portrait mode).
    these'll be very useful for toms' new format. especially with long article threads where you have to continuously click 'display moar commentz' to read more comments. ^_^
    Reply
  • ramzbo
    Im still waiting for curved screens. It might happen :D
    Reply
  • spentshells
    That's a nice product.
    Reply
  • ubercake
    I wish some manufacturer would release a wide format like this or wider with 120Hz or better and a 1 or 2 ms response time. Talk about the ultimate gaming monitor?!! Why aren't we seeing better refresh rates on more of these new monitors?

    I think these screens are a good idea, but the input lag of IPS and 60Hz is 10-year old tech. If you're not gaming or light gaming, I guess these are fine.
    Reply
  • huilun02
    I'm waiting for the 26:9 monitor. Just for laughs
    Reply
  • major-error
    I couldn't care less about the stand; With a vertical-stacked VESA mount, it's the first thing to go....if I were in the market for new monitors. My pair of Ultrasharp U2412Ms are still good enough.
    Reply
  • CaedenV
    10715744 said:
    Im still waiting for curved screens. It might happen :D

    It may yet happen, but the obvious issue is backlighting. If you use a tech like plasma, or old CRT style tech where the screen itself gives off light, then you can mold that onto a curved display (and in fact that has happened on both counts). This is something where OLED could become really useful, but OLED is really expensive outside of cell phone sized screens, and it has color adjustment issues over time that other cheaper screens do not need to contend with.

    Another less obvious issue is packaging. Making what is essentially a thicker display means larger packaging, more warehouse space, more truck space, more display space, etc. When the demand for it is there then these are not major barriers, but for a limited run production it is a rather annoying problem to contend with.

    Lastly there is the issue of distortion and viewing angle. Yes, a traditional flat panel has distortion when you look at it, but because it is on a flat plane that distortion is very easy to compensate for with the human brain because all distortions are uniform. From a manufacturer perspective it is not particularly difficult to put pixels on a grid. But when you add a curvature to a product? Well, that becomes all sorts of issues. If you are sitting dead center, then all is well, and it should look ideal. But if you get off axis then you end up with all sorts of issues. Say you are sitting a little to the right of the monitor; All of the sudden everything on the right side of the screen will become skinny, while the left side everything becomes wider than expected. Not a huge deal when talking about a 17-24" display, but people who want curved displays are typically using 28+" displays where you are going to have more pronounced distortions no matter what you do.

    It will eventually happen... but it may be a while
    Reply
  • universal remonster
    10715744 said:
    Im still waiting for curved screens. It might happen :D

    Here ya go! http://www.tech-faq.com/vision-station.html
    Will you pick one up for me too? Actually, it's a cool idea, but too low res. 1024x1024 on that big of screen would look like Minecraft all the time. So just imagine..... PLAYING MINECRAFT on it!! My eyes!!

    But concerning the monitor in the article, I am curious to see one at sitting distance. I just moved from a 1200p 24" to a 1440p 27" monitor about a month ago. When I initially set it up and sat in front of it, it kind of threw me for a loop. A 27" is just starting to get wide enough, and the edges are far enough away compared to the middle of the panel, to barely give it a sort of "fisheye" shape (That's the best way I can describe it) because it is not curving and keeping all points of the screen at the same distance from my eyes. Now that I have had it for a month or so, I don't really see or at least notice it anymore. It seems with an even wider 29" flat monitor this effect would be even more exageratted. I'm sure it is because I sit too close, but I like the monitor to be just far enough away to where I can't distinguish pixels.
    Reply