26" LCD TVs: Are They Ready for Prime Time?

Dell W2600: Withhold Your Prejudices 

Dell? A TV manufacturer? Why not MP3 players while they're at it? Dell is one of those computer companies that are hot to diversify. With PC sales down, many corporations are looking to leverage their know-how and expand their product offerings. And Dell has chosen the somewhat daring route of offering an LCD TV. It's a risk to the extent that expectations where TV sets are concerned are higher than for computer monitors. Was the Dell W2600 worth the effort?

Design And Finish

The design of the W2600 won't leave you cold. The cast-aluminum base is well made and has a copper/gold ring where it joins the pivot that lets you rotate the panel. The screen and speakers are surrounded by an aluminum frame. The shiny black plastic is fairly sturdy. In fact, Dell's TV set shows its background in the choice of materials - sturdy but a little ungainly.

Ergonomics

Obviously this is where Dell had the most convincing to do, and they've been fairly successful. Dell has forgotten about its computer-world origins and gone back to the drawing board to offer a remote control that's a far cry from the generic models that usually come with IT products like tuner cards. The remote is practical, and so are the menus. The panel can be rotated left and right, but has no tilt adjustment. The cast-aluminum base is massive and very stable.

Equipment

Dell has gone out of its way to justify the somewhat high price of its TV compared to the competition. There's a plethora of connectors - everything is here, sometimes in duplicate or even triplicate, sometimes with video and also audio outputs. And to put the icing on the cake, Dell offers an optional multi-format memory-card reader, to let you show off your photos without having to plug in your camera.