NEC E232WMT 23-Inch Touchscreen Monitor Review

Reviews
By Christian Eberle
published

When Windows 8 added 10-point multi-touch support, we expected a flood of desktop touchscreen monitors to hit the market. That hasn’t happened yet but NEC is making maximum effort with the E232WMT. Today we check it out in our lab.

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Results: Viewing Angles, Uniformity, Pixel Response And Input Lag

To learn how we measure screen uniformity, please click here.

The E232WMT's glass touch layer creates an additional variable, which affects off-axis image quality. It’s an IPS screen though, so the shift in luminance and color is small. To the side, you can see a blue tint and a drop in brightness. From above, the color goes a little green, while shadow detail is crushed. Overall, NEC still exceeds the performance of a regular TN monitor. It'd be easy to conclude, then, that TN technology is a poor choice for touchscreens.

Screen Uniformity: Luminance

To the eye, black uniformity is decent. However, our meter reveals hotspots in the upper-left and center of the screen. In case you’re wondering, the touch layer does not cause image distortion when it's pressed. Rather, the surface is quite solid, sitting high enough above the TFT layer to prevent contact.

Here’s the white field measurement:

The E232WMT’s white field uniformity is excellent, matching some of the better displays we’ve reviewed. I didn't see any issues with it whatsoever. Our measurements show slightly elevated levels in the lower-right corner of the screen, though.

Screen Uniformity: Color

Color uniformity registers a near-invisible 1.66 Delta E. In fact, only three of the nine zones measured a result over one.

Pixel Response And Input Lag

Please click here to read up on our pixel response and input lag testing procedures.

A 23-millisecond draw time puts the E232WMT slightly ahead of a typical IPS display. Visually, there isn’t a difference in the blur level, but the number above does positively affect the overall lag result below.

And here are the lag results:

We were pleasantly surprised to see the E232WMT post a lag result in 60 Hz gaming monitor territory. While we don’t expect gamers to flock to this or any other display emphasizing touch input, you should still get decent responsiveness from it in fast-paced titles. You’ll want a higher native refresh rate or G-Sync technology for top performance. But this NEC acquits itself well.

Christian Eberle
Christian Eberle
Contributing Editor

Christian Eberle is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware US. He's a veteran reviewer of A/V equipment, specializing in monitors. Christian began his obsession with tech when he built his first PC in 1991, a 286 running DOS 3.0 at a blazing 12MHz. In 2006, he undertook training from the Imaging Science Foundation in video calibration and testing and thus started a passion for precise imaging that persists to this day. He is also a professional musician with a degree from the New England Conservatory as a classical bassoonist which he used to good effect as a performer with the West Point Army Band from 1987 to 2013. He enjoys watching movies and listening to high-end audio in his custom-built home theater and can be seen riding trails near his home on a race-ready ICE VTX recumbent trike. Christian enjoys the endless summer in Florida where he lives with his wife and Chihuahua and plays with orchestras around the state.

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7 Comments Comment from the forums
  • joravecz
    Christian, you apparently didn't do your homework. There are multiple touchscreen models available from Viewsonic, Acer and others. To say the NEC is the second touchscreen after Dell looks incorrect to me. I've been waiting for reviews of those other models, but if you don't know they're out there I guess I'll be waiting for a while.
    Reply
  • blackmagnum
    I have never thought that business-consumer minded NEC would sell touchscreen models. The FAR reaching effects of Windows 8!
    Reply
  • therogerwilco
    LOL
    since the two major operating systems, OS X and Windows
    So that means the two major phone OS's are Android and Windows phone!
    OSX isn't a major OS. It's at 6.74% right now.
    Reply
  • xenol
    The expensive con sort of irks me. Not that it's a con, but it just feels generically placed. Expensive compared to what? Someone may find all monitors over $200 too expensive, regardless.

    I dunno, just nitpicking.
    Reply
  • qlum
    LOL
    since the two major operating systems, OS X and Windows
    So that means the two major phone OS's are Android and Windows phone!
    OSX isn't a major OS. It's at 6.74% right now.
    It would probably be a lot lower if you disregard laptops. Maybe the Linux distros even surpass is then.
    Reply
  • Karsten75
    Can anyone say "gorilla arm?" LOL
    Reply
  • gc9
    "OSX isn't a major OS. It's at 6.74% right now."

    So by that reasoning, what do you think about the USA, which holds less than 4.5% of the world population? Higher spending customers are more important for some.
    Reply